19022 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

Flooding source(s) Location of referenced elevation ** 

*Elevation in feet (NGVD) 

+Elevation in feet 

(NAVD) 

#Depth in feet 

above ground 

∧Elevation in meters 

(MSL) 

Communities affected 

Effective Modified 

ADDRESSES 

City of Centralia 

Maps are available for inspection at 118 West Maple Street, Centralia, WA 98531. 

City of Chehalis 

Maps are available for inspection at 1321 South Market Boulevard, Chehalis, WA 98532. 

Unincorporated Areas of Lewis County 

Maps are available for inspection at 351 Northwest North Street, Chehalis, WA 98532. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 

97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’) 

Dated: March 7, 2011. 

Sandra K. Knight, 

Deputy Federal Insurance and Mitigation 

Administrator, Mitigation, Department of 

Homeland Security, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8116 Filed 4–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

46 CFR Part 502 

[Docket No. 11–05] 

RIN 3072–AC43 

Rules of Practice and Procedure 

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Maritime 

Commission (FMC or Commission) is 

seeking comments on possible 

amendments to its Rules of Practice and 

Procedure to update and clarify its 

rules, and to reduce the burden on 

parties to proceedings before the 

Commission. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

May 6, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking to Karen V. 

Gregory, Secretary, Federal Maritime 

Commission, 800 North Capitol Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20573–0001. 

Submit electronic comments to 

secretary@fmc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen V. Gregory, Secretary, Federal 

Maritime Commission, 800 North 

Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20573–0001, Tel.: (202) 523–5725. Email: secretary@fmc.gov. Rebecca A. 

Fenneman, General Counsel, Federal 

Maritime Commission, 800 North 

Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20573–0001, Tel.: (202) 523–5740. Email: generalcounsel@fmc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Commission proposes to amend part 

502 of title 46 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to update and improve its 

Rules of Practice and Procedure, 46 CFR 

part 502. The rules in 46 CFR 502.1– 

502.991 are designed to secure just, 

speedy, and inexpensive resolution of 

proceedings before the Commission. On 

February 24, 2011, certain changes to 

subparts A, H, I, S, and T of part 502 

were published in the Federal Register, 

76 FR 10258 (February 24, 2011) and are 

now in effect. The Commission intends 

to update and revise the rest of its Rules 

of Practice and Procedure. By this 

advance notice, it seeks public comment 

addressing existing rules that should be 

updated to reflect current practices and 

technologies, or could be improved to 

bring about more efficient and userfriendly procedures. Following receipt 

and consideration of comments, the 

Commission intends to issue specific 

proposed rules in a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking and solicit additional 

public comment on its proposal. 

A. Modernization and Efficiency 

Enhancement 

The Commission proposes to amend 

and update any rules in part 502 that 

may be appropriate in order to improve 

their effectiveness and enhance 

administrative efficiency, both in use of 

material and human resources. In line 

with this goal, the recent revision to 

subpart A requests all filings to be 

submitted in electronic PDF format, as 

well as paper. This first step towards 

accepting documents in electronic form 

will give the Commission an 

opportunity to develop new internal 

procedures that reduce paper and staff 

time. The Commission is interested in 

suggestions and information from the 

public regarding electronic filing and 

docket systems they have used and 

found most efficient and user-friendly. 

The Commission intends to make the 

best use of electronic resources 

currently at its disposal and recognizes 

the importance of electronic 

communications. 

The Commission contemplates 

editorial revisions to clarify language as 

well as substantive changes to make the 

rules more effective and efficient for the 

industry and the Commission. All 

procedural rules are being examined for 

possible revision. At the outset, some of 

the initial candidates for change are: 

qualification of non-attorney 

practitioners, 46 CFR 502.27; content of 

filed complaints and answers, 46 CFR 

502.62–502.64; intervention by the 

Bureau of Enforcement in complaint 

proceedings, 46 CFR 502.42; rules 

governing computation of time, time of 

filing, and enlargements of time, 46 CFR 

subpart G; hearing procedures, 46 CFR 

subpart J; requirements for filing briefs, 

including the time periods for filing 

exceptions, page limits, and contents, 46 

CFR subpart M; and the functions and 

authorities of the presiding officer in 

proceedings. Consideration will also be 

given to the possible addition of rules 

for the use of summary judgment in 

proceedings; voluntary and involuntary 

dismissal of complaints in line with the 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP); 

and the use of cross-claims and thirdparty complaints in Commission 

proceedings. 

Additionally, the Commission seeks 

comment on whether it should amend 

its rules on filing and service of 

documents. Several federal agencies 

now require physical receipt of 

documents to meet filing and/or service 

deadlines. Currently the Commission’s 

rule provides that ‘‘the date of filing 

shall be either the date on which the 

pleading, document, or paper is 

physically delivered to the Commission 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / Proposed Rules 19023 

by a party, the date on which a party 

certifies it to have been deposited in the 

mail or delivered to a courier, or the 

date of email transmission.’’ 46 CFR 

502.2(b) (previously 46 CFR 114(c)). 

The Commission also seeks comment 

on the possible applicability of the 

FRCP to proceedings before the 

Commission consistent with its 

responsibilities under the 

Administrative Procedure Act. 5 U.S.C. 

551–559. The Commission’s rules 

currently provide that the FRCP will 

apply in situations that are not covered 

by a specific Commission rule to the 

extent the federal rules are consistent 

with sound administrative practice. 46 

CFR 502.12. The presiding officer also 

has discretion to waive any rules ‘‘to 

prevent undue hardship, manifest 

injustice, or if the expeditious conduct 

of business so requires.’’ 46 CFR 502.10. 

The Commission desires to ensure that 

procedures are consistent with modern 

practice while giving due regard to 

limitations on its resources and the 

nuances of its own procedures and 

requirements. 

B. Modernization of Discovery Rules 

The Shipping Act of 1984 provides: 

‘‘In an investigation or adjudicatory 

proceeding under this part—* * * (2) a 

party may use depositions, written 

interrogatories, and discovery 

procedures under regulations prescribed 

by the Commission that, to the extent 

practicable, shall conform to the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure (28 App. 

U.S.C.).’’ 46 U.S.C. 41303(a). In 1984, the 

Commission promulgated discovery 

rules based primarily on the federal 

rules as they then existed. 49 FR 44369 

(November 6, 1984). The Commission 

also promulgated minor amendments to 

Rule 201 in 1999 and Rule 203 in 1993, 

but in all other respects the rules are 

unchanged since 1984. The 

Commission’s discovery rules are set 

forth in 46 CFR subpart L. 

The Federal rules regulating discovery 

have been amended many times since 

1984. Some amendments concerned 

matters that hardly existed in 1984, 

such as electronic discovery. FRCP 26, 

34. Other amendments altered 

established discovery procedures, 

including the scope of discovery 

(compare FRCP 26(b)(1) with 46 CFR 

502.201(h)); the requirement to provide 

initial disclosures, including 

identification of expert witnesses (FRCP 

26(a)); procedures for claiming privilege 

or protecting trial-preparation materials 

(FRCP 26(b)(5)); a limitation of number 

(FRCP 30(a)(2)) and conduct of 

depositions (FRCP 30(d)); and a 

limitation on the number of 

interrogatories (FRCP 33(a)(1)). The 

thirty-day period to respond to 

interrogatories and requests for 

production of documents that existed in 

the FRCP in 1984 was not included in 

the Commission’s rules. 

The Commission seeks public 

comments on whether to revise its 

discovery rules to conform more closely 

to the FRCP as they are formulated 

today. The Commission believes that to 

achieve the optimum result, any 

revision should consider the views of 

the parties and attorneys who would be 

subject to the revised rules. Therefore, it 

seeks their views through this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking. 

Interested parties may address the 

following questions or other concerns: 

1. What specific problems, if any, 

have you experienced with the 

Commission’s current rules of 

discovery? 

2. What specific problems, if any, 

would you foresee if the Commission 

were to adopt particular provisions of 

the discovery rules as they currently 

exist in the FRCP, giving due regard to 

the differences in the nature of the 

proceedings and practice before the 

federal courts and before the 

Commission? 

C. Informal Docket or Small Claims 

Procedures 

Subpart S of the Commission’s rules, 

46 CFR 502.301–502.305, governs 

informal procedures for adjudication of 

small claims. These procedures were 

established for use by complainants 

when the amount in controversy is 

$50,000 or less. In those cases, an 

appointed settlement officer will make a 

decision without necessity of formal 

proceedings. A complainant may 

request a Subpart S proceeding, but a 

respondent can elect not to consent to 

such proceeding. If a respondent does 

not consent, the matter will be heard by 

an administrative law judge under 

Subpart T, Formal Procedure for 

Adjudication of Small Claims. 

The Commission is seeking comment 

on Subpart S proceedings, in particular 

as to: effecting service when parties 

make themselves unavailable for service 

of claims and decisions, or become 

unreachable after initially participating 

in a proceeding; dismissal of claims if 

service on the respondent cannot be 

achieved; and if the Commission’s rules 

on ex parte communications, 46 CFR 

502.11, should apply to Informal Docket 

proceedings. The Commission is 

particularly interested in commenters’ 

experience with small claims 

procedures used by other government 

entities that the Commission might use 

as guidance when amending its own 

rules. 

The Commission will be able to better 

consider whether and how its Rules of 

Practice and Procedure should be 

amended if commenters provide 

specific examples regarding the current 

rules and possible improvement of the 

rules. Commenters transmitting 

comments by e-mail should indicate 

‘‘FMC 502 ANPR’’ in the subject line of 

the e-mail. All e-mail comments should 

be sent to secretary@fmc.gov. 

By the Commission. 

Karen V. Gregory, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8204 Filed 4–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6730–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 384 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2011–0039] 

RIN 2126–AB33 

Commercial Driver’s License 

Information System State Procedures 

Manual, Release 5.2.0 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM); request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA proposes to amend 

the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs) to incorporate by 

reference the most recent version of the 

American Association of Motor Vehicle 

Administrators, Inc.’s (AAMVA) 

Commercial Driver’s License 

Information System (CDLIS) State 

Procedures Manual (the Manual). All 

State driver licensing agencies would 

use this updated version of the Manual 

to develop the process required in 

transmitting, receiving, recording and 

updating information on a CDLIS driver 

record. Such information includes, but 

is not limited to, the commercial 

driver’s license (CDL) holder’s physical 

description, commercial and 

noncommercial driving status, medical 

certification status, convictions, 

disqualifications and accidents. The 

purpose of this proposal is to enhance 

the safety of commercial motor vehicle 

(CMV) operations on our nation’s 

highways. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

June 6, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 


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