Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 219 / Thursday, November 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules 60817

Date: August 26, 1997.

William Leary,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish

and Wildlife and Parks.

[FR Doc. 97–29776 Filed 11–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[FL–70–9738b; FRL–5920–4]

Approval and Promulgation of State

Plans For Designated Facilities and

Pollutants: Florida

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA proposes to approve the

Section 111(d)/129 State Plan submitted

by Florida on November 18, 1996. The

State Plan was submitted by Florida to

satisfy certain Federal Clean Air Act

requirements. In the Final Rules Section

of this Federal Register, EPA is

approving the State’s Plan submittal as

a direct final rule without prior proposal

because the Agency views this as a

noncontroversial submittal and

anticipates that it will not receive any

significant, material, and adverse

comments. A detailed rationale for the

approval is set forth in the direct final

rule and incorporated by reference

herein. If no significant, material, and

adverse comments are received in

response to this proposed rule, no

further activity is contemplated in

relation to this proposed rule. If EPA

receives adverse comments, the direct

final rule will be withdrawn and all

public comments received will be

addressed in a subsequent final rule

based on this proposed rule. EPA will

not institute a second comment period

on this action.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing by

December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to Joey LeVasseur at the

EPA Regional Office listed below.

Copies of the documents relevant to this

proposed rule are available for public

inspection during normal business

hours at the following locations. The

interested persons wanting to examine

these documents should make an

appointment with the appropriate office

at least 24 hours before the day of the

visit.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 4, Air and Radiation

Technology Branch, 61 Forsyth Street,

SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303–3104.

Florida Department of Environmental

Protection, Air Resources

Management Division, Twin Towers

Office Building, 2600 Blair Stone

Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399–

2400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scott Davis at 404/562–9127 or Joey

LeVasseur at 404/562–9035.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the

information provided in the Direct Final

action which is located in the Rules

Section of this Federal Register and

incorporated by reference herein.

Dated: October 15, 1997.

A. Stanley Meiburg,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–29859 Filed 11–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

49 CFR Part 350

Public Meeting To Discuss the

Development of Functional

Specifications for Performance-Based

Brake Testers Used To Inspect

Commercial Motor Vehicles

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is announcing a

public meeting to discuss the

development of functional

specifications for performance-based

brake testing machines purchased with

Federal funds through the FHWA’s

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program

(MCSAP). The FHWA is nearing the

completion of a multi-year research

program to evaluate prototype

performance-based brake testing

technologies, including roller

dynamometers, flat-plate brake testers,

and breakaway torque brake testers. The

agency has determined that certain

performance-based brake testing

machines are eligible for funding under

MCSAP but only as screening and

sorting devices in commercial vehicle

inspections. The purpose of the public

meeting is to discuss the establishment

of generic functional specifications that

would be applicable to a range of brake

testing technologies. The functional

specifications would serve as guidelines

for the States to use in determining

whether the purchase of a specific brake

tester would be an eligible expense

under the MCSAP.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

December 8, 1997. The meeting will

begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.

The meeting will include a presentation

of the results to date from the brake

tester evaluation program and a review

of preliminary functional specifications.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration’s (NHTSA) Vehicle

Research and Test Center in East

Liberty, Ohio.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Larry W. Minor, Vehicle and Operations

Division, Office of Motor Carrier

Research and Standards, (202) 366–

4009; Mr. Steve Keppler, Intelligent

Transportation Systems—Commercial

Vehicle Operations Division, Office of

Motor Carrier Safety and Technology,

(202) 366–0950; or Mr. Paul Alexander,

State Programs Division, Office of Motor

Carrier Safety and Technology (202)

366–9579, Federal Highway

Administration, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Washington, D. C. 20590. Office

hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.,

e.t., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In 1993, the FHWA initiated a

research program to evaluate various

performance-based brake testing

technologies for use on commercial

motor vehicles. The purpose of the

program was to determine, through

field-test data collection, if

performance-based brake inspection

technologies could improve or assist

with the throughput and accuracy of the

current inspection techniques which

involve visual examination of

components, measurement of push-rod

travel on air-braked vehicles, and

listening for air leaks. Following the

completion of the first task of the

program, in which various performancebased technologies were analyzed,

several of the systems were selected for

evaluation in a roadside field-test

inspection program.

During the field tests, inspections

were performed using both visual and

performance-based methods to compare

their ability to detect vehicle brake

defects. In particular, a Commercial

Vehicle Safety Alliance Level 4

inspection (consisting of the brake and

tire portion of a Level 1 inspection) was

conducted in addition to a performancebased brake test. The dual inspections

were performed by State officials in

each of eight States that volunteered to

participate in the field test program.

The data collected from these dual

inspections were tabulated and
60818 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 219 / Thursday, November 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules

correlations were sought between

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Regulations (FMCSRs) violations, the

North American Uniform Vehicle Outof-Service Criteria used by officials in

the United States, Canada, and Mexico,

and various pass/fail criteria used by

manufacturers of performance-based

technology. In addition to the

performance-based brake ‘‘failure’’

information, data relating to the

operational characteristics of each

prototype machine were also collected

and evaluated. These data included

setup and tear down times, vehicle

inspection times, maintenance

requirements, user friendliness,

calibration procedures and results,

operator skill-level requirements and

information to generate a cost-benefit

analysis. A key source of data was the

interviews with State inspectors.

The preliminary findings from the

first phase of the prototype brake testing

program are documented in an interim

report, ‘‘Evaluation of PerformanceBased Brake Testing Technologies,’’

December 1995, FHWA–MC–96–004. A

copy of this report may be obtained by

contacting one of the individuals listed

at the beginning of this notice. The

interim report presents findings based

upon approximately one year of data

from roller dynamometers used in

Colorado and Ohio, and a flat plate

tester in Minnesota.

West Virginia is currently

participating in the field test evaluation

of a roller dynamometer, Wisconsin is

collecting data on a flat-plate tester, and

Maryland and Nevada are collecting

data on breakaway torque testers.

Connecticut participated in the testing

of a roller dynamometer for several

months but elected to discontinue its

involvement in the research program.

The final report on the research program

will be published in 1998.

Determination of Eligibility for MCSAP

Funding

On April 1, 1996, the FHWA issued

a memorandum advising agency staff

that two specific performance-based

brake testing machines are eligible for

funding under MCSAP. The

memorandum indicated that the devices

are prototypes, and are approved for

screening and sorting purposes only.

This means that States may request

MCSAP funding to purchase one of the

approved brake testers for use in

screening or sorting vehicles at

inspection cites. Vehicles that fail the

performance test would be inspected to

determine the reason for the poor test

results. Generally, motor carriers cannot

be cited for brake-related violations of

the FMCSRs solely on the basis of the

results from a performance-based brake

tester. Citations are based upon the

specific defects or deficiencies found

during the in-depth inspection.

The FHWA is considering the

development of pass/fail criteria for

braking force that could be enforced by

Federal and State officials using

performance-based brake testing

technologies. As inspection criteria or

regulations are developed through the

rulemaking process, the use of the

performance-based brake testing

machines could be expanded to include

enforcement of the new Federal brake

performance standards. The new

standards would be an alternative to the

stopping distances from 32.2 kilometers

per hour (20 miles per hour) currently

specified in 49 CFR 393.52 but rarely

enforced by Federal and State officials

because of difficulties in performing

such tests at roadside. If brake force

standards are developed through the

rulemaking process, the States would be

able to issue citations based upon the

output from the brake testers.

The development of pass/fail criteria

for braking force in commercial motor

vehicles will be considered for

rulemaking but will not be a topic of

discussion at the meeting. The meeting

will focus only on the development of

functional specifications for the brake

testing technologies to ensure that the

equipment accepted as eligible expenses

under the MCSAP are capable of

accurately measuring brake forces.

Meeting Information

The meeting will be held on

December 8, 1997, at the NHTSA’s

Vehicle Research and Test Center,

located near the intersection of State

Routes 33 and 347, East Liberty, Ohio.

This location is approximately 55 miles

northwest of Columbus, Ohio. The

meeting is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. The NHTSA’s Vehicle

Research and Test Center is located on

the grounds of the Transportation

Research Center, a privately owned

facility with controlled access. All

visitors to the Transportation Research

Center must be registered with the

security office and wear a visitor’s badge

at all times while on the premises.

Therefore, the FHWA requests that all

interested parties contact one of the

individuals listed at the beginning of

this notice by December 1 to provide

their name and company affiliation so

that security personnel at TRC can be

notified in advance. This will prevent

delays in gaining access to the facility.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 350

Highway safety, Motor carriers, motor

vehicle safety.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31136, 31502; 49 CFR

1.48.

Issued on: November 5, 1997.

George L. Reagle,

Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers.

[FR Doc. 97–29832 Filed 11–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P