[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 23 (Thursday, February 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6215-6216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2474]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2009-0019 (Notice No. 09-1)]


Information Collection Activities

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA 
invites comments on certain information collections pertaining to 
hazardous materials transportation for which PHMSA intends to request 
renewal from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

DATE: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 6, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the docket number 
(PHMSA-2009-0019) by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing 
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number or Regulation Identification Number (RIN) for this 
notice. Internet users may access comments received by DOT at: http://www.regulations.gov. Note that comments received will be posted without 
change to: http://www.regulations.gov including any personal 
information provided.
    Requests for a copy of an information collection should be directed 
to Deborah Boothe or T. Glenn Foster, Office of Hazardous Materials 
Standards (PHH-11), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., East Building, 2nd Floor, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone (202) 366-8553.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Boothe or T. Glenn Foster, 
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards (PHH-11), Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone (202) 
366-8553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the public 
and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies 
information collection requests that PHMSA will be submitting to OMB 
for renewal and extension. These information collections are contained 
in 49 CFR 171.6 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR 
Parts 171-180). PHMSA has revised burden estimates, where appropriate, 
to reflect current reporting levels or adjustments based on changes in 
proposed or final rules published since the information collections 
were last approved. The following information is provided for each 
information collection: (1) Title of the information collection, 
including former title if a change is being made; (2) OMB control 
number; (3) summary of the information collection activity; (4) 
description of affected public; (5) estimate of total annual reporting 
and recordkeeping burden; and (6) frequency of collection. PHMSA will 
request a three-year term of approval for each information collection 
activity and, when approved by OMB, publish notice of the approval in 
the Federal Register.
    PHMSA requests comments on the following information collections:
    Title: Rulemaking, Special Permits, and Preemption Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0051.
    Summary: This collection of information applies to rulemaking 
procedures regarding the HMR. Specific areas covered in this 
information collection include Part 105, Subpart A and Subpart B, 
``Hazardous Materials Program Definitions and General Procedures''; 
Part 106, Subpart B, ``Participating in the Rulemaking Process''; Part 
107, Subpart B, ``Special Permits''; and Part 107, Subpart C, 
``Preemption.'' The Federal hazardous materials transportation law 
directs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations for 
the safe transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. We are 
authorized to accept petitions for rulemaking and appeals, as well as 
applications for exemptions, preemption determinations and waivers of 
preemption. The types of information collected include:
    (1) Petitions for Rulemaking: Any person may petition the Office of 
Hazardous Materials Standards to add, amend, or delete a regulation in 
Parts 110, 130, 171 through 180, or may petition the Office of the 
Chief Counsel to add, amend, or delete a regulation in Parts 105, 106 
or 107.
    (2) Appeals: Except as provided in Sec.  106.40(e), any person may 
submit an appeal to our actions in accordance with the Appeals 
procedures found in Sec. Sec.  106.110 through 106.130.
    (3) Application for Special Permit: Any person applying for a 
special permit must include the citation of the specific regulation 
from which the applicant seeks relief; specification of the proposed 
mode or modes of transportation; detailed description of the proposed 
special permit (e.g., alternative packaging, test, procedure or 
activity), including as appropriate, written descriptions, drawings, 
flow charts, plans and other supporting documents, etc.
    (4) Application for Preemption Determination: With the exception of 
highway routing matters covered under 49 U.S.C. 5125(c), any person 
directly affected by any requirement of a State, political subdivision, 
or Indian tribe may apply to the Chief Counsel for a determination 
whether that requirement is preempted by Sec.  107.202(a), (b) or (c). 
The application must include the text of the State or political 
subdivision or Indian tribe requirement for which the determination is 
sought; specify each requirement of the Federal hazardous materials 
transportation law, regulations issued under the Federal hazardous 
material transportation law, or hazardous material transportation

[[Page 6216]]

security regulations or directives issued by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security with which the applicant seeks the State or political 
subdivision or Indian tribe requirement to be compared; explain why the 
applicant believes the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe 
requirement should or should not be preempted under the standards of 
Sec.  107.202; and state how the applicant is affected by the State or 
political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement.
    (5) Waivers of Preemption: With the exception of requirements 
preempted under 49 U.S.C. 5125(c), any person may apply to the Chief 
Counsel for a waiver of preemption with respect to any requirement 
that: (1) The State or political subdivision thereof or Indian tribe 
acknowledges to be preempted under the Federal hazardous materials 
transportation law, or (2) that has been determined by a court of 
competent jurisdiction to be so preempted. The Chief Counsel may waive 
preemption with respect to such requirement upon a determination that 
such requirement affords an equal or greater level of protection to the 
public than is afforded by the requirements of the Federal hazardous 
materials transportation law or the regulations issued thereunder, and 
does not unreasonably burden commerce.
    The information collected under these application procedures is 
used in the review process by PHMSA in determining the merits of the 
petitions for rulemakings and for reconsideration of rulemakings, as 
well as applications for special permits, preemption determinations and 
waivers of preemption to the HMR. The procedures governing these 
petitions for rulemaking and for reconsideration of rulemakings are 
covered in Subpart B of Part 106. Applications for special permits, 
preemption determinations and waivers of preemption are covered under 
Subparts B and C of Part 107. Rulemaking procedures enable PHMSA to 
determine if a rule change is necessary, is consistent with public 
interest, and maintains a level of safety equal to or superior to that 
of current regulations. Special permit procedures provide the 
information required for analytical purposes to determine if the 
requested relief provides for a comparable level of safety as provided 
by the HMR. Preemption procedures provide information for PHMSA to 
determine whether a requirement of a State, political subdivision, or 
Indian tribe is preempted under 49 U.S.C. 5125, or regulations issued 
thereunder, or whether a waiver of preemption should be issued.
    Affected Public: Shippers, carriers, packaging manufacturers, and 
other affected entities.
    Recordkeeping:
    Number of Respondents: 3,304.
    Total Annual Responses: 4,294.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,219.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Title: Radioactive (RAM) Transportation Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0510.
    Summary: This information collection consolidates and describes the 
information collection provisions in the HMR involving the 
transportation of radioactive materials in commerce. Information 
collection requirements for RAM include: Shipper notification to 
consignees of the dates of shipment of RAM; expected arrival; special 
loading/unloading instructions; verification that shippers using 
foreign-made packages hold a foreign competent authority certificate 
and verification that the terms of the certificate are being followed 
for RAM shipments being made into this country; and specific handling 
instructions from shippers to carriers for fissile RAM, bulk shipments 
of low specific activity RAM and packages of RAM which emit high levels 
of external radiation. These information collection requirements help 
to establish that proper packages are used for the type of radioactive 
material being transported; external radiation levels do not exceed 
prescribed limits; and packages are handled appropriately and delivered 
in a timely manner, so as to ensure the safety of the general public, 
transport workers, and emergency responders.
    Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of radioactive materials in 
commerce.
    Recordkeeping:
    Number of Respondents: 3,817.
    Total Annual Responses: 21,519.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,270.
    Frequency of collection: On occasion.
    Title: Subsidiary Hazard Class and Number/Type of Packagings.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0613.
    Summary: The HMR require that shipping papers and emergency 
response information accompany each shipment of hazardous materials in 
commerce. In addition to the basic shipping description information, we 
also require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division 
number(s) to be entered in parentheses following the primary hazard 
class or division number on shipping papers. This requirement was 
originally required only by transportation by vessel. However, the lack 
of such a requirement posed problems for motor carriers with regard to 
complying with segregation, separation, and placarding requirements, as 
well as posing a safety hazard. For example, in the event the motor 
vehicle becomes involved in an accident, when the hazardous materials 
being transported include a subsidiary hazard such as ``dangerous when 
wet'' or a subsidiary hazard requiring more stringent requirements than 
the primary hazard, there is no indication of the subsidiary hazards on 
the shipping papers and no indication of the subsidiary risks on 
placards. Under circumstances such as motor vehicles being loaded at a 
dock, labels are not enough to alert hazardous materials employees 
loading the vehicles, nor are they enough to alert emergency responders 
of the subsidiary risks contained on the vehicles. Therefore, we 
require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division number(s) to 
be entered on the shipping paper, for purposes of enhancing safety and 
international harmonization.
    We also require the number and type of packagings to be indicated 
on the shipping paper. The requirement makes it mandatory for shippers 
to indicate on shipping papers the numbers and types of packages, such 
as drums, boxes, jerricans, etc., being used to transport hazardous 
materials by all modes of transportation.
    Shipping papers serve as a principal means of identifying hazardous 
materials during transportation emergencies. Firefighters, police, and 
other emergency response personnel are trained to obtain the DOT 
shipping papers and emergency response information when responding to 
hazardous materials transportation emergencies. The availability of 
accurate information concerning hazardous materials being transported 
significantly improves response efforts in these types of emergencies. 
The additional information would aid emergency responders by more 
clearly identifying the hazard.
    Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of hazardous materials in 
commerce.
    Recordkeeping:
    Number of Respondents: 250,000.
    Total Annual Responses: 6,337,500.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 17,604.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 2, 2009.
Edward T. Mazzullo,
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-2474 Filed 2-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P