1210 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2011 / Notices 

1Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. 

(Mitsubishi), is organized under the laws of the 

state of California. Mitsubishi manufactures and 

imports motor vehicles and replacement 

equipment. 

imminent threat of such an emergency 

occurring exists, and public safety 

would benefit from providing the 

railroad industry with operational relief, 

the emergency waiver procedures of 49 

CFR 211.45 will go into effect. In such 

an event, the FRA Administrator will 

issue a statement in the ERD indicating 

that the emergency waiver procedures 

are in effect and FRA will make every 

effort to post the statement on its Web 

site http://www.fra.dot.gov/. Any party 

desiring relief from FRA regulatory 

requirements as a result of the 

emergency situation should submit a 

petition for emergency waiver in 

accordance with 49 CFR 211.45(e) and 

(f). Specific instructions for filing 

petitions for emergency waivers in 

accordance with 49 CFR 211.45 are 

found at 49 CFR 211.45(f). Specific 

instructions for filing comments in 

response to petitions for emergency 

waivers are found at 49 CFR 211.45(h). 

Privacy 

Anyone is able to search all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

665, Number 7, Pages 19477–78). The 

statement may also be found at http:// 

www.dot.gov/privacy.html. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 3, 

2011. 

Robert C. Lauby, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Regulatory and Legislative Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2011–125 Filed 1–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2010–0176; Notice 1] 

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., 

Receipt of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

Mitsubishi Motors North America, 

Inc. (Mitsubishi) 1 has determined that 

an unknown number of replacement 

seat belts that it imported do not 

include the installation, usage and 

maintenance instructions required by 

paragraphs S4.1(k) and S4.1(l) of 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies. 

Mitsubishi filed an appropriate report 

pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and 

Noncompliance Responsibility and 

Reports on October 25, 2010. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 

CFR part 556), Mitsubishi has petitioned 

for an exemption from the notification 

and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

Chapter 301 on the basis that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. 

This notice of receipt of Mitsubishi’s 

petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and 30120 and does not represent 

any agency decision or other exercise of 

judgment concerning the merits of the 

petition. 

Mitsubishi explained that an 

unknown number of nonconforming 

seat belt assemblies were sold by 

Mitsubishi to its authorized dealers in 

the United States for resale and 

replacement purposes. 

NHTSA notes that the statutory 

provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to 

file petitions for a determination of 

inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to 

exempt manufacturers only from the 

duties found in sections 30118 and 

30120, respectively, to notify owners, 

purchasers, and dealers of a defect or 

noncompliance and to remedy the 

defect or noncompliance. 

Paragraphs S4.1(k) and S4.1(l) of 

FMVSS No. 209 requires: 

(k) Installation instructions. A seat belt 

assembly, other than a seat belt assembly 

installed in a motor vehicle by an automobile 

manufacturer, shall be accompanied by an 

instruction sheet providing sufficient 

information for installing the assembly in a 

motor vehicle. The installation instructions 

shall state whether the assembly is for 

universal installation or for installation only 

in specifically stated motor vehicles, and 

shall include at least those items specified in 

SAE Recommended Practice J800c, ‘‘Motor 

Vehicle Seat Belt Installations,’’ November 

1973. If the assembly is for use only in 

specifically stated motor vehicles, the 

assembly shall either be permanently and 

legibly marked or labeled with the following 

statement, or the instruction sheet shall 

include the following statement: 

This seat belt assembly is for use only in 

[insert specific seating position(s), e.g., ‘‘front 

right’’] in [insert specific vehicle make(s) and 

model(s)]. 

(l) Usage and maintenance instructions. A 

seat belt assembly or retractor shall be 

accompanied by written instructions for the 

proper use of the assembly, stressing 

particularly the importance of wearing the 

assembly snugly and properly located on the 

body, and on the maintenance [o]f the 

assembly and periodic inspection of all 

components. The instructions shall show the 

proper manner of threading webbing in the 

hardware of seat belt assemblies in which the 

webbing is not permanently fastened. 

Instructions for a nonlocking retractor shall 

include a caution that the webbing must be 

fully extended from the retractor during use 

of the seat belt assembly unless the retractor 

is attached to the free end of webbing which 

is not subjected to any tension during 

restraint of an occupant by the assembly. 

Instructions for Type 2a shoulder belt shall 

include a warning that the shoulder belt is 

not to be used without a lap belt. 

Mitsubishi described the 

noncompliance as the failure to provide 

installation, use and maintenance 

instructions with the seat belt 

assemblies as required in FMVSS No. 

209 S4.1(k) and S4.1(l). 

Mitsubishi argues that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety for the following 

reasons: 

(1) The service seat belt assemblies in 

question are only made available to 

Mitsubishi authorized dealerships for 

their use or subsequence resale. The 

Mitsubishi parts ordering system used 

by Mitsubishi dealers clearly identifies 

the correct service seat belt components 

for any given model/model year/seat 

position combination and the parts are 

unique to each seat belt and designed to 

assemble properly only in their 

intended application. 

(2) When ordering Mitsubishi 

replacement seat belt parts, the dealer 

must refer to the Mitsubishi parts 

catalog to identify the ordering part 

number with the information on the 

specific vehicle model type, location 

and model year. Each replacement seat 

belt assembly is packaged individually 

with a specific part number label to 

ensure shipping the correct parts. 

Dealers routinely confirm that the part 

received matches their order to validate 

that the correct parts were received. 

(3) Installation instructions for seat 

belts are readily available in the 

Mitsubishi workshop manuals. 

Technicians at Mitsubishi dealerships 

that replace seat belts have access to the 

installation instruction information in 

the workshop manual. Installers other 

than Mitsubishi dealership technicians 

also have seat belt installation 

information available in the workshop 

manuals and are available on the 

Mitsubishi Service Web site. As a result, 

the seat belt parts can be successfully 

installed with the information already 

available even though installation 

instructions were not accompanied in 

the replacement seat belt assemblies. 

(4) Instructions for proper use and 

maintenance are described in the 

owner’s manual which is installed in 

each vehicle. Therefore, incorrect usage 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2011 / Notices 1211 

1The Board will grant a stay if an informed 

decision on environmental issues (whether raised 

by a party or by the Board’s Office of Environmental 

Analysis (OEA) in its independent investigation) 

cannot be made before the exemption’s effective 

date. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 

I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should 

be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may 

take appropriate action before the exemption’s 

effective date. 

2Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

fee, which is currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 

1002.2(f)(25). 

and maintenance by the vehicle owner 

is highly unlikely. 

Mitsubishi is also not aware of any 

customer or field reports of replacement 

seat belt assemblies being incorrectly 

installed in the subject applications as 

a result of the absence of the installation 

instructions in the service part. 

Mitsubishi also is not aware of any 

reports requesting the installation 

instruction, which is believed to be 

indicative of the availability of this 

information from the other sources 

mentioned above. 

Finally, Mitsubishi has taken action to 

ensure that all replacement seat belt 

assemblies are packaged with the 

required installation instructions and 

has corrected all the replacement seat 

belt assemblies in the inventory for 

shipment to dealers. 

In view of the above, Mitsubishi 

believes that the described 

noncompliance with FMVSS No. 209 is 

inconsequential and does not present a 

risk to motor vehicle safety. Thus, 

Mitsubishi requests that its petition, to 

exempt it from providing recall 

notification of noncompliance as 

required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 

remedying the recall noncompliance as 

required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be 

granted. 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments on this petition. Comments 

must refer to the docket and notice 

number cited at the beginning of this 

notice and be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

a. By mail addressed to: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

b. By hand delivery to U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. The Docket Section is open 

on weekdays from 10 am to 5 pm except 

Federal Holidays. 

c. Electronically: By logging onto the 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) Web site at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Comments may also be faxed to 1–202– 

493–2251. 

Comments must be written in the 

English language, and be no greater than 

15 pages in length, although there is no 

limit to the length of necessary 

attachments to the comments. If 

comments are submitted in hard copy 

form, please ensure that two copies are 

provided. If you wish to receive 

confirmation that your comments were 

received, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard with the comments. 

Note that all comments received will be 

posted without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

Documents submitted to a docket may 

be viewed by anyone at the address and 

times given above. The documents may 

also be viewed on the Internet at 

http://www.regulations.gov by following 

the online instructions for accessing the 

dockets. DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement is available for review in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477–78). 

The petition, supporting materials, 

and all comments received before the 

close of business on the closing date 

indicated below will be filed and will be 

considered. All comments and 

supporting materials received after the 

closing date will also be filed and will 

be considered to the extent possible. 

When the petition is granted or denied, 

notice of the decision will be published 

in the Federal Register pursuant to the 

authority indicated below. 

Comment closing date: February 7, 

2011. 

Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8). 

Issued on: January 3, 2011. 

Claude H. Harris 

Acting Associate Administrator for 

Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–79 Filed 1–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 293X)] 

Union Pacific Railroad Company— 

Abandonment Exemption—In Wright 

County, IA 

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) 

filed a verified notice of exemption 

under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F—Exempt 

Abandonments to abandon a line of 

railroad known as Kanawha Industrial 

Lead, extending from milepost ¥0.55 to 

milepost ¥0.1, a distance of .45 miles, 

near Belmond, in Wright County, Iowa. 

The line traverses United States Postal 

Service Zip Code 50421. 

UP has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead 

traffic on the line to be rerouted; (3) no 

formal complaint filed by a user of rail 

service on the line (or by a state or local 

government entity acting on behalf of 

such user) regarding cessation of service 

over the line either is pending with the 

Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 

with any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of complainant within 

the 2-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) 

(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 

(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment shall be protected under 

Oregon Short Line—Abandonment 

Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & 

Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville 

Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To 

address whether this condition 

adequately protects affected employees, 

a petition for partial revocation under 

49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) has been received, this 

exemption will be effective on February 

8, 2011, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues,1

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and 

trail use/rail banking requests under 49 

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by January 

18, 2011. Petitions to reopen or requests 

for public use conditions under 49 CFR 

1152.28 must be filed by January 27, 

2011, with the Surface Transportation 

Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, 

DC 20423–0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to UP’s 

representative: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., 

101 North Wacker Drive, #1920, 

Chicago, IL 60606. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

UP has filed a combined 

environmental and historic report 

which addresses the effects, if any, of 

the abandonment on the environment 

and historic resources. OEA will issue 

an environmental assessment (EA) by 

January 14, 2011. Interested persons 

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing 

to OEA (Room 1100, Surface 


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