67480 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Notices 

15 In Washington, the meal period must 

commence between two and five hours from the 

beginning of the shift. The rest break must 

commence no later than the end of the third hour 

of the shift. WAC 296–126–092 

16Nevada requires one 10-minute break if the 

employee works between 31⁄2 and 7 hours; two 10- 

minute breaks if the employee works between 7 and 

11 hours; three 10-minute breaks if the employee 

works between 11 and 15 hours; or four 10-minute 

breaks if the employee works between 15 and 19 

hours. See NAC 608.145(a)–(d). 

or more for every 5 hours worked and 

a rest break of 10 minutes or more for 

every 4 hours worked.15 See WAC 296– 

126–092. The State of Nevada requires 

employers to provide nonexempt 

employees a 30-minute meal period 

when working a continuous eight hours 

and a 10-minute break for each four (4) 

hours worked or major fraction 

thereof.16 See NRS 608.019; NAC 

608.145. 

Here, the diversity of State regulation 

of required meal and rest breaks for 

CMV drivers has resulted in a 

patchwork of requirements, and several 

commenters have described the 

difficulty navigating them. In this 

regard, the American Association of 

Bakers stated that its member 

companies and drivers who are part of 

regional distribution networks have had 

to create ‘‘elaborate schedules to remain 

in compliance with separate meal and 

rest break rules that are far less flexible’’ 

than the Federal HOS regulations. C.R. 

England provided a map showing the 

patchwork of State-mandated break laws 

that a driver could encounter on one or 

more long-haul trips that span the 

country, and stated that complying with 

disparate State laws in this regard was 

costly and time consuming. The 

National Association of WholesalerDistributors commented that one of its 

member companies that operates in six 

States must spend ‘‘several thousand 

dollars annually simply to track the 

differences in [rest break] rules for the 

states in which they operate.’’ Other 

commenters, such as the Association of 

American Railroads, Motor Carriers of 

Montana, New Prime, and the National 

Association of Small Trucking 

Companies, also discussed operating 

procedure adjustments and other 

administrative burdens that result from 

varying State requirements which serve 

to disrupt the flow of interstate 

commerce. 

The International Brotherhood of 

Teamsters argues that drivers pass 

through an assortment of State or local 

regulations throughout their workday, 

including varying speed limits, tolling 

facilities, and enforcement zones for 

distracted driving and DUI; yet those 

rules do not constitute an unreasonable 

burden on interstate commerce. The 

Agency is not persuaded by this 

argument. The 1984 Act explicitly 

prohibits the Agency from 

‘‘prescrib[ing] traffic safety regulations 

or preempt[ing] state traffic regulations’’ 

such as those described. 49 U.S.C. 

31147(a). In addition, issues 

surrounding State taxation and tolling 

are well outside the scope of the 

Agency’s statutory authority. Therefore, 

the extent to which the ‘‘assortment of 

state or local regulations’’ cited by the 

International Brotherhood of Teamsters 

unreasonably burden interstate 

commerce, if at all, as compared to the 

MRB Rules is not part of the Agency’s 

deliberative process. 

The Agency determines that enforcing 

the MRB Rules decreases productivity 

and results in increased administrative 

burden and costs. In addition, the 

Agency believes it to be an unreasonable 

burden on interstate commerce for 

motor carriers to have to cull through 

the varying State requirements, in 

addition to Federal HOS rules, to 

remain in compliance, as commenters 

have described. As explained above, 

uniform national regulation is less 

burdensome than individual State 

regulations, which are often conflicting. 

Therefore, the Agency concludes that 

the MRB Rules place an unreasonable 

burden on interstate commerce. 

Preemption Decision 

As described above, the FMCSA 

concludes that: (1) The MRB Rules are 

State laws or regulations ‘‘on 

commercial motor vehicle safety,’’ to the 

extent they apply to drivers of propertycarrying CMVs subject to the FMCSA’s 

HOS rules; (2) the MRB Rules are 

additional to or more stringent than the 

FMCSA’s HOS rules; (3) the MRB Rules 

have no safety benefit; (4) the MRB 

Rules are incompatible with the 

FMCSA’s HOS rules; and (5) 

enforcement of the MRB Rules would 

cause an unreasonable burden on 

interstate commerce. Accordingly, the 

FMCSA grants the petitions for 

preemption of the ATA and the SCRA, 

and determines that the MRB Rules are 

preempted pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 31141. 

California may no longer enforce the 

MRB Rules with respect to drivers of 

property-carrying CMVs subject to 

FMCSA’s HOS rules. 

Dated: December 21, 2018. 

Raymond P. Martinez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28325 Filed 12–21–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2001–11213, Notice No. 

23] 

Drug and Alcohol Testing: 

Determination of Minimum Random 

Testing Rates for 2019 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notification of determination. 

SUMMARY: This notification of 

determination announces FRA’s 

minimum annual random drug and 

minimum annual random alcohol 

testing rates for covered employees and 

for maintenance-of-way (MOW) 

employees for calendar year 2019. 

DATES: This determination takes effect 

December 28, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gerald Powers, FRA Drug and Alcohol 

Program Manager, W33–310, Federal 

Railroad Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590 (telephone 202–493–6313); or 

Sam Noe, FRA Drug and Alcohol 

Program Specialist, Federal Railroad 

Administration (telephone 615–719– 

2951). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA is 

announcing the 2019 minimum annual 

random drug and alcohol testing rates 

for covered service employees, and the 

2019 minimum annual random drug 

and alcohol testing rates for MOW 

employees. For calendar year 2019, the 

minimum annual random testing rates 

for covered service employees will 

continue to be 25 percent for drugs and 

10 percent for alcohol, while the 

minimum annual random testing rates 

for MOW employees will continue to be 

50 percent for drugs and 25 percent for 

alcohol. 

To set its minimum annual random 

testing rates for each year, FRA 

examines the last two complete calendar 

years of railroad industry drug and 

alcohol program data submitted to its 

Management Information System (MIS). 

The rail industry’s random drug testing 

positive rate for covered service 

employees (employees subject to the 

hours of service laws and regulations) 

remained below 1.0 percent for 2016 

and 2017. The Administrator has 

therefore determined the minimum 

annual random drug testing rate for the 

period January 1, 2019, through 

December 31, 2019, will remain at 25 

percent for covered service employees. 

The industry-wide random alcohol 

testing violation rate for covered service 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Notices 67481 

employees remained below 0.5 percent 

for 2016 and 2017. Therefore, the 

Administrator has determined the 

minimum random alcohol testing rate 

will remain at 10 percent for covered 

service employees for the period 

January 1, 2019, through December 31, 

2019. Because these rates represent 

minimums, railroads may conduct FRA 

random testing at higher rates. 

MOW employees became subject to 

FRA random drug and alcohol testing in 

June 2017. The Administrator has 

determined that the minimum annual 

random testing rates initially 

established for MOW employees will 

remain in effect since FRA does not yet 

have MIS data on their industry-wide 

performance rates. Therefore, for the 

period January 1, 2019, through 

December 31, 2019, the minimum 

annual random drug testing rate will 

continue to be 50 percent for MOW 

employees, and the minimum annual 

random alcohol testing rate will 

continue to be 25 percent for MOW 

employees. As with covered service 

employees, because these rates 

represent minimums, railroads may 

conduct FRA random testing of MOW 

employees at higher rates. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Ronald L. Batory, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28290 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2010–0029] 

National Railroad Passenger 

Corporation’s Request for Positive 

Train Control Safety Plan Approval and 

System Certification 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This document provides the 

public with notice that on August 9, 

2018, the National Railroad Passenger 

Corporation (Amtrak) submitted its 

Positive Train Control Safety Plan 

(PTCSP) Revision 0, dated July 17, 2018, 

to FRA via the Secure Information 

Repository. Amtrak asks FRA to approve 

its PTCSP and issue a Positive Train 

Control System Certification for 

Amtrak’s Interoperable Electronic Train 

Management System (I–ETMS). 

DATES: FRA will consider comments 

received by January 28, 2019 before 

taking final action on the PTCSP. FRA 

may consider comments received after 

that date if practicable. 

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning 

this proceeding should identify Docket 

Number FRA–2010–0029 and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Website: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Carolyn Hayward-Williams, Staff 

Director, Positive Train Control/Signal & 

Train Control Division, at 202–493– 

6399 or c.hayward-williams@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In its 

PTCSP, Amtrak asserts that the I–ETMS 

system it is implementing is designed as 

an overlay PTC system as defined in 

Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) 236.1015(e). The PTCSP describes 

Amtrak’s I–ETMS implementation and 

the associated I–ETMS safety processes, 

safety analyses, and test, validation, and 

verification processes used during the 

development of I–ETMS. The PTCSP 

also contains Amtrak’s operational and 

support requirements and procedures. 

Amtrak’s PTCSP and the 

accompanying request for approval and 

system certification are available for 

review online at www.regulations.gov 

(Docket Number FRA–2010–0029) and 

in person at DOT’s Docket Operations 

Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The 

Docket Operations Facility is open from 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Interested parties are invited to 

comment on the PTCSP by submitting 

written comments or data. During its 

review of the PTCSP, FRA will consider 

any comments or data submitted. 49 

CFR 236.1011(e). However, FRA may 

elect not to respond to any particular 

comment and, under 49 CFR 

236.1009(d)(3), FRA maintains the 

authority to approve or disapprove the 

PTCSP at its sole discretion. 

Privacy Act Notice 

In accordance with 49 CFR 211.3, 

FRA solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its decisions. DOT posts 

these comments, without edit, including 

any personal information the 

commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

See https://www.regulations.gov/privacy

Notice for the privacy notice of 

regulations.gov. In order to facilitate 

comment tracking, we encourage 

commenters to provide their name, or 

the name of their organization; however, 

submission of names is completely 

optional. If you wish to provide 

comments containing proprietary or 

confidential information, please contact 

FRA for alternate submission 

instructions. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

21, 2018. 

Robert C. Lauby, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28317 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on Proposed Highway Projects in 

Texas 

AGENCY: Texas Department of 

Transportation (TxDOT), Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of limitation on claims 

for judicial review of actions by TxDOT 

and Federal agencies. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces actions 

taken by TxDOT and Federal agencies 

that are final. The environmental 

review, consultation, and other actions 

required by applicable Federal 

environmental laws for this project are 

being, or have been, carried-out by 

TxDOT and a Memorandum of 

Understanding dated December 16, 

2014, and executed by FHWA and 

TxDOT. The actions relate to various 

proposed highway in the State of Texas. 

These actions grant licenses, permits, 

and approvals for the projects. 

DATES: By this notice, TxDOT is 

advising the public of final agency 

actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A 

claim seeking judicial review of TxDOT 

and Federal agency actions on the 

highway project will be barred unless 

the claim is filed on or before May 27, 

2019. If the Federal law that authorizes 

judicial review of a claim provides a 

time period of less than 150 days for 

filing such a claim, then that shorter 

time period still applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carlos Swonke, Environmental Affairs 

Division, Texas Department of 


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