March 10, 2015

VIA EMAIL 

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Chairman Elliot F. Kaye

4330 East West Highway

Bethesda, MD 20814

Re: 16 CFR Part 1422, Docket No. CPSC-2009-0087

Request for Extension of Comment Deadline

Dear Chairman Kaye,

On behalf of the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA), I write with 

regard to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recent response to ROHVA’s FOIA 

appeal and, as a result of that response, to request an extension of time to comment on the Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (the NPR). 

On February 5, 2015 ROHVA emailed its appeal regarding the numerous gaps in the 

CPSC’s document production. More than a month later, on March 9, 2015, the CPSC’s General 

Counsel emailed her response (the letter is mistakenly dated March 6, 2015). That letter 

confirms that the CPSC’s prior FOIA responses were materially incomplete and failed to 

disclose significant information and materials underlying the NPR. 

As a result, and less than a month before the April 8 comment deadline, the CPSC has 

now promised to produce at some future date all the following documents and data essential for 

meaningful comment on the NPR: 

• A complete copy of the previously-redacted Tab D “database excel spreadsheets 

and the corresponding codebook” [CPSC General Counsel’s Letter at 1];

• A complete copy of the never-produced “Tab F-related spreadsheet, along with 

the underlying records associated with this spreadsheet” [Id. at 3];

• “All documents identified in the ROHVA spreadsheet listing the 32 incidents 

referenced in the FOIA Appeal” [Id. at 4];

• “All incident reports identified by applicable staff as relating to completed 

Epidemiological Investigation Reports (“EIRs”)” [Id.];

• “All incident reports that previously were not provided because they represented 

duplicate reports” [Id. at 5];

• “Additional documents... as noted above” (which the letter does not define) [Id.];
2

• “Address Incidents 75 and 78, which were specifically cited in the FOIA Appeal” 

[Id.]; and 

• “As a result of additional inquiries relating to the FOIA Appeal, staff identified 

additional responsive documents that were not previously provided to ROHVA” 

[Id.]. 

The CPSC’s belated commitment to provide these materials to ROHVA, in response to 

ROHVA’s FOIA appeal, seems to be a positive step toward fulfilling Commissioner Adler’s 

vision for the CPSC “as one of the most open and transparent federal agencies.” [January 15, 

2015 Statement of Commission Robert Adler on the Request for an Extension of the Comment 

Period for the Proposed Rulemaking for Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles.] But it plainly 

leaves a significant amount of additional work for all involved, and has seriously delayed and 

impeded ROHVA’s ability to comment on the NPR. ROHVA already has spent a great deal of 

time and money on the CPSC’s prior serial, and materially incomplete, productions. ROHVA 

will now have to expend additional effort, time, and expense reviewing and analyzing these

documents, once they are received (and assuming the next CPSC production is complete).

Accordingly, under these circumstances, ROHVA requests a 90-day extension of the 

comment period from April 8, 2015 to July 7, 2015. An extension of the comment period is 

essential for the CPSC staff to produce all the documents, and for ROHVA to (a) review the 

documents for completeness, the volume of which is unknown in light of the CPSC’s vague 

references to “additional responsive documents;” (b) correspond with the CPSC regarding any 

remaining gaps in the production; (c) analyze the documents; and (d) prepare meaningful

comments in response to the NPR. 

In light of the fast-approaching April 8 deadline, the CPSC’s belated 

acknowledgement of the document problems on March 9, and the problems (and solutions)

being solely within the CPSC’s control, ROHVA requests a response by this Friday, 

March 13. ROHVA’s prior extension request was not answered for over a month, and it would 

be unfair to repeat that slow-moving process under these circumstances. ROHVA hopes that the 

CPSC shares a desire for a fair process that will provide a full opportunity to review, analyze,

and comment upon the NPR and the underlying data and staff analyses on which it is based. 

Sincerely,

Erik Pritchard

cc: Commissioner Robert S. Adler

Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle

Commissioner Joseph Mohorovic

Commissioner Marietta S. Robinson

Executive Director Patricia Adkins

Secretary Todd Stevenson