July 22, 2020, FR Notice (60-Day)

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 141 / Wednesday, July 22, 2020 / Notices

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381.315(a)). The Agency must provide
the public an opportunity to inspect the
information relevant to the application,
including any safety analyses that have
been conducted. The Agency must also
provide an opportunity for public
comment on the request.
The Agency reviews the safety
analyses and the public comments, and
determines whether granting the
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to, or greater than,
the level that would be achieved by the
current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for the
grant or denial, and, if granted, the
specific person or class of persons
receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from
which exemption is granted. The notice
must also specify the effective period of
the exemption (up to 5 years), and
explain the terms and conditions of the
exemption. The exemption may be
renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
III. PLCA Application for Exemption
The PLCA is a trade association of
unionized pipeline contractors
specializing in the construction and
maintenance of oil and gas transmission
pipelines. PLCA members are
committed to completing every job with
the highest level of attention to safety,
quality, and environmental compliance.
Pipeline jobs range from construction of
major interstate and intrastate pipelines
to maintenance and repair work for
utilities, and these projects vary in
duration, from a few weeks to six
months or more on a major construction
project. Their members typically hire
workers on a project-by-project basis
who will work on multiple jobs each
year, typically traveling all over the
United States to do so. Pipeline
construction companies operate a fleet
of CMVs, most of which are operated by
holders of commercial driver’s licenses
(CDLs). PLCA believes that the current
HOS regulations are ill-suited to address
the needs and safety concerns of
pipeline industry drivers. Pipeline
contractors are skilled tradesman and
driving is ancillary to their primary role
as construction workers, as they
typically spend only a few hours a day
operating CMVs on public roads.
PLCA requests exemption from the
following HOS provisions:
(1) The short-haul exception [49 CFR
395.1(e)(1)] recently amended by the
final rule adopted on June 1,2020, with
an effective date of Sept. 29, 2020 (85
FR 33396) retains the requirement that
drivers return to the work reporting
location from which they were

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dispatched in the morning. PLCA
requests that drivers for its member
companies who otherwise meet the
requirements of the short-haul
exception be allowed to return to a
different location than the one where
they started their workday.
(2) Drivers subject to the Agency’s
HOS regulations are required to use
ELDs if they must complete RODS on
more than 8 days in any 30-day period
[49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(iii)(A)(1)]. PLCA
requests that drivers for its member
companies be allowed to use paper
RODS unless RODS are required on
more than 16 days in any 30-day period.
(3) Drivers are prohibited from driving
CMVs after having been on duty for 70
hours in a period of 8 consecutive days
[49 CFR 395.3(b)(2)]. PLCA requests that
drivers for its member companies be
prohibited from driving only after
having been on duty for 80 hours in 8
days. The PLCA also requested that
drivers of CMVs used exclusively in the
construction and servicing of pipelines
be allowed the same HOS exceptions
currently available to oilfield operations
[49 CFR 395.1(d)].
IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or
Greater Level of Safety
PLCA asserts that granting the
exemptions sought will not negatively
impact safety. Drivers working for PLCA
member companies involved in pipeline
construction and maintenance are not
engaged in continuous driving.
Conversely, they work on the pipeline
right-of-way often operating different
construction vehicles. Because of the
different jobs, they normally perform
and minimal driving they do, they are
less susceptible to fatigue. The applicant
adds that as pipeline workers spend
most their day working on the pipeline
right-of-way and typically only drive on
public roads at the start and end of the
workday; drivers would not be on
public roads any longer by virtue of the
longer workday. Pipeline drivers very
rarely, if ever, utilize their entire 11
hours allowable daily driving time.
PLCA develops and administers, in
conjunction with the labor unions
robust training programs for union
pipeline contractor employees,
including CMV drivers focused on safe
operations. PLCA member contractors
and their drivers have excellent safety
records and the applicant does not
anticipate any additional reduction in
safety attributable to the granting of the
exemptions sought.
A copy of the exemption application
is available for review in the docket for
this notice.

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44357

V. Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C.
31315(b)(6), FMCSA requests public
comment from all interested persons on
PLCA’s application for an exemption.
All comments received before the close
of business on the comment closing date
indicated at the beginning of this notice
will be considered and will be available
for examination in the docket at the
location listed under the ‘‘Addresses’’
section of this notice. Comments
received after the comment closing date
will be filed in the public docket and
will be considered to the extent
practicable. In addition to late
comments, FMCSA will also continue to
file, in the public docket, relevant
information that becomes available after
the comment closing date. Interested
persons should continue to examine the
public docket for new material.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020–15815 Filed 7–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2020–0027–N–15]

Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, FRA seeks
approval of the Information Collection
Request (ICR) abstracted below. Before
submitting this ICR to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval, FRA is soliciting public
comment on specific aspects of the
activities identified in the ICR.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
September 21, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments and
recommendations for the proposed ICR
to Ms. Hodan Wells, Information
Collection Clearance Officer at email:
[email protected] or telephone: (202)
493–0440. Please refer to the assigned
OMB control number in any
correspondence submitted. FRA will
summarize comments received in
response to this notice in a subsequent
notice and include them in its
SUMMARY:

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44358

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 141 / Wednesday, July 22, 2020 / Notices

information collection submission to
OMB for approval.
The PRA,
44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part
1320, require Federal agencies to
provide 60-days’ notice to the public to
allow comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB
approval of the activities. See 44 U.S.C.
3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through
1320.12. Specifically, FRA invites
interested parties to comment on the
following ICR regarding: (1) Whether the
information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute
its functions, including whether the
activities will have practical utility; (2)
the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the
burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (3) ways for
FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information being
collected; and (4) ways for FRA to
minimize the burden of information
collection activities on the public,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

contributing factor.1 FRA uses the
information collected to verify that the
person responsible for the car reporting
mark is notified after the required visual
inspection when the freight equipment
has less than 80 percent of the required
retroreflective sheeting present,
undamaged, or unobscured. Further,
FRA uses the information collected to
verify that the required locomotive
records of retroreflective sheeting
defects found after inspection are kept
in the locomotive cab or in a railroad
accessible electronic database FRA can
access upon request. Finally, FRA uses
the information collected to confirm
that railroads/car owners meet the
prescribed standards for the inspection
and maintenance of the required
retroreflective material.
Type of Request: Extension with
change (revised estimates) of a currently
approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses.
Form(s): N/A.
Respondent Universe: 746 railroads/
car owners.
Frequency of Submission: On
occasion/monthly.
Reporting Burden:

CFR section

Respondent
universe

Total annual
responses

Average time
per responses

224.7—Waivers ........................................

746 railroads and
freight car owners.
2 manufacturers ......

10 petitions .............

8 hours ....................

80

$6,160

2 petitions ...............

40 hours ..................

80

6,160

AAR/300 car shops

33,380 notifications
of defect and restriction.

5 minutes ................

2,782

161,356

746 railroads and
freight car owners.

2,609 records of de- 5 minutes ................
fect and restriction.

217

12,586

746 railroads ...........

36,001 responses ...

3,159

180,102

224.15(b)—Special
approval
procedures—Petitions for special approval of
alternative standard.
224.109(a)—Inspection, repair, and replacement—Railroad freight cars—
Railroads notification to person responsible for reporting mark after visual inspection for presence and condition
when freight car on either side has
less than 80% of its retroreflective
sheeting not damaged, obscured, or
missing.
—(b) Locomotive record of freight
retroreflective sheeting defects found
after inspection kept in locomotive cab
or in railroad accessible electronic
database that FRA can access upon
request..
Total ..................................................

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information technology. See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
FRA believes that soliciting public
comment may reduce the administrative
and paperwork burdens associated with
the collection of information that
Federal regulations mandate. In
summary, FRA reasons that comments
received will advance three objectives:
(1) Reduce reporting burdens; (2)
organize information collection
requirements in a ‘‘user-friendly’’ format
to improve the use of such information;
and (3) accurately assess the resources
expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C.
3501.
The summary below describes the ICR
that FRA will submit for OMB clearance
as the PRA requires:
Title: Reflectorization of Freight
Rolling Stock.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0566.
Abstract: FRA issued this regulation
to mandate the reflectorization of freight
rolling stock (using retroreflective
material on freight cars and
locomotives) to enhance the visibility of
trains to reduce the number and severity
of accidents at highway-rail grade
crossings where visibility was a

Total Estimated Annual Responses:
36,001.
Total Estimated Annual Burden:
3,159 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour
Dollar Cost Equivalent: $180,102.
Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR
1320.5(b) and 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA
informs all interested parties that it may
1 See

70 FR 144, Jan. 3, 2005.

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N/A ..........................

not conduct or sponsor, and a
respondent is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.

Total cost
equivalent 2

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520
Brett A. Jortland,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020–15838 Filed 7–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

2 The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the
Surface Transportation Board’s Full Year Wage A&B
data series using the appropriate employee group

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Total annual
burden hours

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hourly wage rate that includes a 75-percent
overhead charge.

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