Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 1998 / Rules and Regulations 27

B. Notice-and-Comment Under the

Administrative Procedures Act (APA)

This document is a final agency

action, but may not be subject to the

notice-and-comment requirements of

the APA, 5 U.S.C. 553(b). EPA believes

that because of the limited time

provided to make a determination that

the deadline for action on the section

126 petitions should be extended,

Congress may not have intended such a

determination to be subject to noticeand-comment rulemaking. However, to

the extent that this determination is

subject to notice-and-comment

rulemaking, EPA invokes the good cause

exception pursuant to the APA, 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(3)(B). Providing notice and

comment would be impracticable

because of the limited time provided for

making this determination, and would

be contrary to the public interest

because it would divert agency

resources from the critical substantive

review of the section 126 petitions.

C. Effective Date Under the APA

Today’s action will be effective on

December 15, 1997. Under the APA, 5

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), agency rulemaking

may take effect before 30 days after the

date of publication in the Federal

Register if the agency has good cause to

mandate an earlier effective date.

Today’s action—a deadline extension—

must take effect immediately because its

purpose is to move back by a three-day

period the December 15, 1997 deadline

for the section 126 petitions. Moreover,

EPA intends to use immediately the

new extension period to continue to

develop an appropriate schedule for

ultimate action on the section 126

petitions, and to continue to develop the

technical analysis needed to develop the

notice of proposed rulemaking. These

reasons support an effective date prior

to 30 days after the date of publication.

D. Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget

has exempted this regulatory action

from Executive Order 12866 review.

E. Unfunded Mandates

Under the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et

seq., EPA must undertake various

actions in association with proposed or

final rules that include a Federal

mandate that may result in estimated

costs of $100 million or more to the

private sector or to State, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate. In

addition, before EPA establishes any

regulatory requirements that may

significantly or uniquely affect small

governments, EPA must have developed

a small government agency plan. EPA

has determined that these requirements

do not apply to today’s action because

this rulemaking (i) is not a Federal

mandate—rather, it simply extends the

date for EPA action on a rulemaking;

and (ii) contains no regulatory

requirements that might significantly or

uniquely affect small governments.

F. Regulatory Flexibility Act

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA must

propose a regulatory flexibility analysis

assessing the impact on small entities of

any rule subject to the notice-andcomment rulemaking requirements.

Because this action is exempt from such

requirements, as described above, it is

not subject to RFA.

G. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), added by

the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

(SBREFA), EPA submitted, by the date

of publication of this rule, a report

containing this rule and other required

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S.

House of Representatives and the

Comptroller General of the General

Accounting Office. This rule is not a

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

H. Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain any

information collection requirements

which require OMB approval under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.)

I. Judicial Review

Under CAA section 307(b)(1), a

petition to review today’s action may be

filed in the Court of Appeals for the

District of Columbia within 60 days of

January 2, 1998.

Dated: December 15, 1997.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–34199 Filed 12–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA–97–3145]

RIN No. 2127–AB85

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety

Standards; Head Impact Protection

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Correcting amendments.

SUMMARY: On April 8, 1997, (62 FR

16718) NHTSA published a final rule

amending Standard No. 201, ‘‘Occupant

Protection in Interior Impact,’’ to

include another phase-in option, allow

manufacturers to carry forward credits

for vehicles certified to the free-motion

headform impact requirements prior to

the beginning of the phase-in period,

exclude buses with a GVWR of more

than 3,860 kilograms (8,500 pounds),

specify that all attachments to the

vehicle upper interior components are

to remain in place during compliance

testing, and make other changes to the

test procedure to clarify some areas of

confusion. This document corrects

minor errors in S2 and S8.12(a)(1) of

Standard No. 201 (49 CFR 571.201).

DATES: The amendments are effective on

January 2, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

following persons at the NHTSA, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590.

For non-legal issues: Dr. William Fan,

Office of Crashworthiness, NPS–11,

telephone (202) 366–4922, facsimile

(202) 366–4329, electronic mail

‘‘bfan@nhtsa.dot.gov’’.

For legal issues: Steve Wood, Office of

the Chief Counsel, NCC–20, telephone

(202) 366–2992, facsimile (202) 366–

3820, electronic mail

‘‘swood@nhtsa.dot.gov’’.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety

Standard No. 201 ‘‘Occupant Protection

in Interior Impact,’’ is intended to

reduce deaths and injuries resulting

from occupant impacts with vehicle

interiors. On April 8, 1997, NHTSA

published a final rule (62 FR 16718)

amending Standard No. 201 to (1)

include another phase-in option, (2)

allow manufacturers to carry forward

credits for vehicles certified to the freemotion headform impact requirements

prior to the beginning of the phase-in
28 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 1998 / Rules and Regulations

period, (3) exclude buses with a GVWR

of more than 3,860 kilograms (8,500

pounds), (4) specify that all attachments

to the vehicle upper interior

components are to remain in place

during compliance testing, and (5) make

other changes to the test procedure to

clarify some areas of confusion. This

rule corrects minor errors in the

previous final rule.

Since the publication of the April

1997 final rule, NHTSA received two

petitions for reconsideration from: (1)

The American Automobile

Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and

(2) ASC, Incorporated. NHTSA will

respond to those petitions through a

notice to be published in the Federal

Register later this year.

II. Summary of the Corrections

NHTSA has discovered a few

discrepancies between the preamble and

the regulatory text of the April 1997

final rule that require corrections.

NHTSA is making those corrections

through this notice.

The corrections are not substantive.

The first correction is in the wording of

49 CFR 571.201, S2. ‘‘Application’’ to

make the section to be consistent with

the statement in the preamble of the

final rule. It is clearly stated in the

preamble that requirements of S6 do not

apply to buses with a GVWR of more

than 3,860 kilograms (8,500 pounds).

The regulatory text incorrectly

indicates, however, that the

requirements of S6 do not apply to

buses with a GVWR of 3,860 kilograms

(8,500 pounds) or less. As indicated by

the preamble, NHTSA intended that

buses with a GVWR greater than 3,860

kilograms (8,500 pounds) be excluded

from the requirements of S6. The second

correction amends 49 CFR 571.201,

S8.12(a)(1) to clarify the location of the

rearmost head center of gravity for the

front outboard seating position (CG-F2)

and make the regulatory text consistent

with the definition of the seating

reference point. As published,

S8.12(a)(1) called for locating the head

center of gravity with the seat in its

rearmost adjustment position. NHTSA

notes that a seat may be capable of

adjustment to positions both forward

and rearward of the normal design

positions used for driving or riding. The

agency did not intend that an extreme

rearward adjustment, which is outside

the range of adjustment for normal use

by drivers or passengers, be used for

locating the head center of gravity.

Accordingly, S8.12(a)(1) is being

corrected so that location of the head

center of gravity may be based on the

seat being adjusted to its rearmost

normal design position.

As stated above, these amendments

are effective upon publication of this

notice. These amendments are merely

technical corrections of the final rule

that was published on April 8, 1997.

They impose no new substantive

requirements. Therefore, NHTSA finds

for good cause that any notice of

proposed rulemaking and opportunity

for comment on these amendments are

not necessary. Because of the nonsubstantive nature of the amendments,

NHTSA also finds for good cause that

making the rule effective upon

publication is in the public interest.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

Imports, Incorporation by reference,

Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.

Accordingly, 49 CFR Part 571 is

corrected by making the following

correcting amendments:

PART 571—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 571

of title 49 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115,

30117, and 30166; delegation of authority at

49 CFR 1.50.

2. S2 and S8.12(a)(1) of 49 CFR

571.201 are corrected to read as follows:

§ 571.201 Standard No. 201; Occupant

protection in interior impact.

* * * * *

S2. Application. This standard

applies to passenger cars and to

multipurpose passenger vehicles,

trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536

kilograms or less, except that the

requirements of S6 do not apply to

buses with a GVWR of more than 3,860

kilograms.

* * * * *

S8.12 * * *

(a) * * *

(1) Location of rearmost CG–F (CG–

F2). For front outboard designated

seating positions, the head center of

gravity with the seat in its rearmost

normal design driving or riding position

(CG–F2) is located 160 mm rearward

and 660 mm upward from the seating

reference point.

* * * * *

Issued on December 4, 1997.

Ricardo Martinez,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–34052 Filed 12–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P