[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2573-2574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-1004]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 40

[Docket OST-99-6578]
RIN 2105-AC49


Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing 
Programs

AGENCY:  Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION:  Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY:  The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is scheduling 
three public listening sessions on its notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) to revise the Department's drug and alcohol testing procedures, 
published in the Federal Register on December 9, 1999 ( 64 FR 69076 ). 
The meetings are scheduled approximately 90 days after the publication 
of the NPRM to provide the public time to read and review the document. 
The intent of the meetings is to obtain additional information from the 
public that was not submitted in formal comments to the docket.

DATES AND ADDRESSES:  The public meetings will be held on March 20 and 
21, 2000, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004; on March 28, 2000, 
at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport, 5711 West Century Boulevard, Los 
Angeles, CA 90045, telephone number (310) 410-4000, fax (310) 410-6177; 
and on March 30, 2000, at the Crowne Plaza, Dallas Market Center, 7050 
Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, telephone number (214) 630-8500, 
fax (214) 630-0037. Meeting facilities may accommodate only a limited 
number of attendees and all participants and commenters must pre-
register to ensure entry into the meetings. Registration procedures are 
specified under supplemental information below. Other persons will be 
accommodated as space and time permit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For general meeting information and 
to register for one of the meetings, contact the DOT contractor, Marti 
Bludworth, Transportation Safety Institute (TSI), Special Programs 
Division, DTI-100, 4400 Will Rogers Parkway, Suite 205, Oklahoma City, 
OK 73108-2057, telephone number (800) 862-4832, extension 323, fax 
number (405) 946-4268, or e-mail <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ee3effcfae7d1d1ece2fbeaf9e1fcfae6cefafde7a0e4ededece7a0e9e1f8">[email protected]</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

    The purpose of the meetings is to provide all segments of the 
transportation industry and the general public with an opportunity to 
make statements, which have not already been made previously, to the 
docket. These meetings would also give DOT the opportunity to ask 
questions and ensure that the public comments are clearly understood by 
the Department. It may also give the Department the opportunity to 
clarify issues related to comments that had already been submitted to 
the docket during the early days of the formal comment period. 
Questions by commenters and other attendees to the DOT will be 
permitted as time allows.

B. Procedural Matters

    The meeting in Washington, DC will be held for a day and a half to 
provide ample opportunity for attendees to make comments and for DOT to 
have additional time, if needed, to ask follow up questions. This 
geographic location will also provide added opportunity for additional 
DOT staff and industry representatives from the Capital area to attend 
the meeting. All facilities will be ADA accessible. The Department will 
provide sign-language interpreters, if requested. Attendees needing 
this accommodation should notify TSI no later than February 28, 2000. 
If no requests are received, this service may not be available.
    Because these are listening sessions, DOT will not offer space for 
vendors or exhibitors to display their products.
    All meetings will have limited, first-come-first-served capacity 
due to physical constraints of the facilities. ``First come'' will be 
based on the date that the registration information is received by TSI. 
Once the capacity of the meeting room is reached, DOT will not be able 
to ensure entry to subsequent applicants. TSI will confirm

[[Page 2574]]

those who are registered as attendees, those who are registered to 
speak, and those for whom space is not available. Provisions may be 
made at the meeting sites to grant additional admission to offset ``no-
shows'' who previously registered for attendance.

C. Registration Procedures

    All attendees, to include commenters, must pre-register with TSI 
for these meetings. For all attendees, the following information is 
requested: Full name, full mailing address, and telephone number (in 
case the address is not legible or additional information is needed); 
the name of the city at which you want to attend the meeting; and if 
you will register at the hotel to take advantage of blocked rooms (Los 
Angeles and Dallas only). TSI will confirm your attendance by mail.
    Commenters must provide the same information listed above and, in 
addition, indicate which agency, association, company, or institution 
they are representing and which issue they will address (e.g., 
Collection, MRO, Laboratory).
    For convenience to the public, a form has been developed to 
simplify registration for these meetings. A copy may be obtained from 
TSI or from the DOT Fax-On-Demand system, by calling (800) 225-3784 and 
requesting document number 140; the registration form will be faxed to 
the requestor. Use of the form will expedite the process of 
registration and provide quicker notification to attendees.
    Please note that attendees at the Washington, DC meeting will have 
to make arrangements for hotels and other lodging facilities on their 
own, since the meeting is being held in a Federal building. Names, 
addresses, and telephone numbers of local hotels can be obtained from 
TSI and will be included in the registration packet. The hotels in Los 
Angeles and Dallas have blocked out rooms for attendees at group rates. 
These will be available on a first-come basis. Room reservations must 
be made by the attendees directly with the hotel. Group rates will be 
available until March 6, 2000, at the Los Angeles and Dallas hotels, 
after which, they may revert to normal rates.

D. Written Statements

    Individuals, whether speaking in a personal or a representative 
capacity on behalf of an organization, will be limited to a 4-minute 
statement. The Department will try to accommodate all individuals 
wishing to present statements at these meetings. If the available time 
does not permit this, individuals will be scheduled based on the date 
their registration is received by TSI. However, the Department reserves 
the right to exclude some individuals from speaking to avoid 
duplication or if it is necessary to present a balance of viewpoints 
and issues.
    Individuals wishing to make statements are requested to submit 
three copies of their comments to be received by TSI no later than 
February 28, 2000; statements received after that date may not be 
selected. These should be typed for clarity, include the commenters 
name, address, phone number, and which agency or group you represent. 
These will be placed into the docket following the meetings and will be 
available to the public for review. The Department will not be 
recording the statements read at the meetings. However, the Department 
plans to record the two scheduled question and answer sessions and any 
questions asked by the panel of the commenters or the attendees and 
their answers.

E. Tentative Agenda

    The following is a draft agenda and may be modified based on 
commenters input and type of statements submitted. There will be a 
question and answer session after the morning session and again after 
the afternoon session. Questions should be submitted at the meeting 
site on 3 x 5 cards at the time of registration for the morning 
sessions and at the registration desk following lunch, for the 
afternoon sessions. Please note that the Washington, DC meeting will be 
scheduled for one and a half days, will start at 9 a.m. both days, and 
will end at 5 p.m. on the first day and 1 p.m. on the second day. Also, 
there will be no registration on the previous evening; registration 
will begin at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the meeting. The Washington, DC 
meeting agenda will be similar to the one day agenda, with additional 
time for statements and question and answer sessions.

Tentative Agenda for Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX Meetings

Previous evening: Registration 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
7-7:45  Registration
8-8:15  Opening remarks--administrative announcements
8:15-9  presentation
9-9:45  Collection Issues
9:45-10:15  Break
10:15-11:15  Labor/Management/Employee Issues
11:15-12  Alcohol Testing Issues
12-12:30  Questions and Answers
12:30-2  LUNCH
2-2:45  Medical Review Officer (MRO) Issues
2:45-3:30  Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) Issues
3:30-4  Break
4-4:45  Service Agents/Public Interest Exclusion Issues
4:45-5:30  Laboratory Issues
5:30-6:30  Questions and Answers; General Comments and Wrap Up

    These meetings are intended to solicit additional information and 
public views on the NPRM.


    Issued this 11th Day of January, 2000, at Washington, DC.
Mary Bernstein,
Director, Office of Drug and Alcohol, Policy and Compliance, Department 
of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 00-1004 Filed 1-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-U


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