32038 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 112 /Thursday, June 11, 1998 / Notices

By Order 98–6–7 fares may be

increased by the following adjustment

factors over the October 1979 level:

Atlantic, 1.3284

Latin America, 1.4838

Pacific, 1.5152

For further information contact: Keith

A. Shangraw (202) 366–2439.

By the Department of Transportation: dated

June 5, 1998.

Charles A. Hunnicutt,

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and

International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98–15559 Filed 6–10–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–97–3202]

Waiver for Canadian Electric Utility

Motor Carriers From Alcohol and

Controlled Substances Testing

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of final determination.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is waiving certain

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

and drivers from the alcohol and

controlled substances testing

requirements in connection with certain

limited emergency operations. The

FHWA received a petition from Hydro

Quebec and Eastern Utilities Associates

to waive these carriers. The FHWA

received no comments to the proposed

waiver. The FHWA will waive those

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

and drivers who enter the United States

at the emergency request of a member

New England Mutual Assistance Roster

utility to quickly restore electric utility

service for the New England electric

utilities and their customers. The

FHWA is taking this action in

accordance with the Commercial Motor

Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. This waiver

for Canadian electric utility motor

carriers extends only to the alcohol and

controlled substances testing

requirements for drivers required to be

licensed under the commercial driver’s

license (CDL) requirements.

DATES: This final determination is

effective on July 13, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

David Miller, Office of Motor Carrier

Research and Standards, (HCS–10),

(202) 366–4009; Mr. Michael Falk,

Office of the Chief Counsel, (HCC–20),

(202) 366–1384; Federal Highway

Administration, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

An electronic copy of this document

may be downloaded using a modem and

suitable communications software from

the Federal Register Electronic Bulletin

Board Service at (202) 512–1661.

Internet users may reach the Federal

Register’s home page at URL: http://

www.nara.gov/nara/fedreg and at the

Government Printing Office’s databases

at URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/

suldocs.

Under What Authority Does the FHWA

Have Responsibility To Act?

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

Act of 1986 (CMVSA) (Pub. L. 99–570,

Title XII, October 27, 1986, 100 Stat.

3207–170), as amended, requires the

FHWA to provide notice and an

opportunity for comment before the

FHWA waives a regulation as it applies

to individuals or commercial motor

vehicles. The specific section of the law,

now codified at 49 U.S.C. 31315,

provides the following:

After notice and an opportunity for

comment, the Secretary of Transportation

(Secretary) may waive any part of this

chapter or a regulation prescribed under this

chapter as it applies to a class of individuals

or commercial motor vehicles if the Secretary

decides the waiver is not contrary to the

public interest and does not diminish the

safe operation of commercial motor vehicles.

A waiver under this section shall be

published in the Federal Register with

reasons for the waiver. (Pub. L. 103–272, Sec.

1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1029).

This waiver authority has been

delegated to the Federal Highway

Administrator [49 CFR 1.48(v) (1997)].

On March 12, 1998 (63 FR 12144), the

FHWA published a notice of petition for

waiver and requested comments. The

FHWA received no comments to the

docket. The FHWA, therefore, will grant

the petition and waive the alcohol and

controlled substances testing

requirements as proposed in the March

12, 1998, notice.

Who May Use This Waiver?

The Canadian utilities belonging to

the New England Mutual Assistance

Roster may use this waiver. The

following four utilities and any other

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

in the provinces of Ontario, New

Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec

responding to the six New England

States will also be eligible to use this

waiver from compliance.

1. Hydro-Quebec 75 Boulevard ReneLevesque ouest, Montreal, Quebec

H2Z 1A4

2. Ontario Hydro, 700 University

Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X6

3. New Brunswick Power Corporation,

515 King Street, P.O. Box 2000,

Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 4X1

4. Novia Scotia Power Incorporated,

P.O. Box 910, Halifax, Nova Scotia

B3J 2W5.

The FHWA limits this waiver to

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

responding to any New England Mutual

Assistance Roster member utility’s

request for emergency assistance.

What Conditions Apply to This Waiver?

The FHWA requires the following five

conditions, modified from the New

England Mutual Assistance Roster

principles, to serve as the basis for this

waiver governing emergency assistance

between the Canadian utilities and the

New England utilities in the United

States:

1. The emergency assistance period

begins when the Responding Canadian

Electric Utility Motor Carrier’s (the

Responding Carrier) drivers or

equipment cross the United StatesCanada border transporting equipment

and supplies to the Requesting New

England Mutual Assistance Roster

Motor Carrier (the Requesting Carrier).

The emergency assistance period

terminates when the Responding Carrier

completes the transportation of such

drivers or equipment and crosses back

into Canada across the Canada-United

States border.

2. The drivers of the Responding

Carrier must at all times during the

emergency assistance period in the

United States continue to be drivers of

the Responding Carrier and must not be

deemed drivers of the Requesting

Carrier for any purpose.

3. The Responding Carrier must make

available at least one supervisor in

addition to the crew foremen. All

instructions for work to be done by the

Responding Carrier’s crews must be

given by the Requesting Carrier to the

Responding Carrier’s supervisor(s); or,

when the Responding Carrier’s crews

are to work in widely separated areas,

to such of the Responding Carrier’s

foremen as may be designated for the

purpose by the Responding Carrier’s

supervisor(s).

4. All time sheets and work records

pertaining to the Responding Carrier’s

drivers furnishing emergency assistance

must be kept by the Responding Carrier.

5. The Requesting Carrier must

indicate to the Responding Carrier the

type and size of trucks and other

equipment desired as well as the

number of job functions of drivers

requested, but the extent to which the

Responding Carrier makes available

such equipment and drivers must be at

the Responding Carrier’s sole discretion.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 112 /Thursday, June 11, 1998 / Notices 32039

To Whom May the Canadian Utilities

Provide Emergency Assistance?

The FHWA limits this waiver to

emergency assistance provided by the

Canadian electric utility motor carrier

members in the four named Canadian

provinces to any member of the New

England Mutual Assistance Roster in the

New England region of the United

States. The following six States make up

the New England region of the United

States:

1. Connecticut

2. Maine

3. Massachusetts

4. New Hampshire

5. Rhode Island

6. Vermont

The following 19 electric utilities

presently make up the United States

members of the New England Mutual

Assistance Roster. In the future, any

new members in the above named six

States will also be eligible to receive

emergency assistance from the waived

Canadian electric utilities.

1. Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, 33

State Street, P.O. Box 932, Bangor,

Maine 04401

2. Boston Edison Company, 800

Boylston Street, Boston,

Massachusetts 02199

3. Burlington Electric Department, 585

Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont

05401

4. Central Maine Power, 83 Edison

Drive, Augusta, Maine 04336

5. Central Vermont Power Service

Corporation, 77 Grove Street, Rutland,

Vermont 05701

6. Citizens Utilities Company, Box 604,

Newport, Vermont

7. Commonwealth Electric Company,

2421 Cranberry Highway, Wareham,

Massachusetts 02571

8. Concord Electric Company, One

McGuire Street, Concord, New

Hampshire 03301

9. Eastern Utilities Associates, P.O. Box

2333, Boston, Massachusetts 02107.

Includes the following five electric

utility divisions.

a. Blackstone Valley Electric

b. Eastern Edison

c. EUA Service Corporation

d. Montaup Electric

e. Newport Electric

10. Exeter & Hampton Electric, 114

Drinkwater Road, Kensington, New

Hampshire 03874

11. Fitchburg Gas and Electric

Company, 285 John Fitch Highway,

P.O. Box 2070, Fitchburg,

Massachusetts 01420

12. Green Mountain Power Corporation,

25 Green Mountain Drive, P.O. Box

850, South Burlington, Vermont

05402–0580

13. New England Electric System, 25

Research Drive, Westborough,

Massachusetts 01582

14. Northeast Utilities, P.O. Box 270,

Hartford, Connecticut 06141–0270

15. Public Service of New Hampshire,

1000 Elm Street, P.O. Box 330,

Manchester, New Hampshire 03105

16. Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant,

55 Weir Street, Taunton,

Massachusetts 02780

17. The United Illuminating Company,

157 Church Street, New Haven,

Connecticut 06506

18. Vermont Electric Power Company,

Inc., RR 1, Box 4077, Rutland,

Vermont 05701

19. Vermont Marble—Power Division,

61 Main Street, Proctor, Vermont

05765.

Is This Waiver of the Canadian

Electrical Utilities in the Public Interest

and Does it not Diminish the Safe

Operation of Commercial Motor

Vehicles?

The FHWA has determined this

waiver meets the requirements of 49

U.S.C. 31315 and believes it is in the

public interest to provide a limited

waiver to the Canadian electric utility

motor carriers. Unlike a Canadian forhire or private motor carrier that

regularly delivers or picks up products,

or a provincial or Canadian Federal

government entity regularly traversing a

State to service provincial citizen

interests, the Canadian utilities, on rare

occasions, enter the United States for

limited periods of time for the sole

purpose of restoring electrical service to

United States citizens. The FHWA

believes such limited and infrequent

operations in the United States do not

diminish the safe operations of

commercial motor vehicles and is in the

public interest, especially in the affected

localities.

The FHWA believes, through mutual

cooperation with Canadian authorities,

the Canadian Federal and provincial

governments have sufficient regulations

in place for Canadian electric utility

motor carriers to limit drivers’ use of

alcohol and controlled substances while

operating commercial motor vehicles

wholly within Canada. See Standard 6,

Items 12.1 through 12.6, 13.1, and 13.2

of the National Safety Code for Motor

Carriers, Canada, December 1994. Read

literally, the FHWA’s current

regulations require these Canadian

electrical utility motor carriers to set up

programs to conduct testing for drivers

who may never come across the United

States-Canadian border or for drivers

that cross the border on a very limited

emergency basis. The FHWA believes

that the alcohol and controlled

substances testing rules, by preventing

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

and their Canadian drivers from

responding quickly and effectively to

requests for electrical emergency relief

within the United States, may impede

rather than promote safety. The safe

operation of commercial motor vehicles

may well depend upon rapid emergency

response, e.g., to restore electricity to

traffic signals. The safety of the public

also depends upon rapid emergency

response, e.g., to restore electricity as a

source of heat and light to hospitals, the

elderly, and homes in general. The

regulatory burdens the testing

requirements entail are not justifiable

when their effect, during limited

periods when electric power failures

can most effectively be contained or

mitigated, is to increase the risks to

public health and welfare.

The FHWA believes this waiver will

not impair the safety of the Canadian

electric utilities’ motor vehicle

operations during emergencies. Other

applicable provisions of the Federal

Motor Carrier Regulations (49 CFR parts

300 through 399) remain in effect,

unless an authority having the power to

declare an emergency, as set forth in 49

CFR 390.23, does so. Commercial

driver’s license requirements in 49 CFR

part 383 (and those under the Canadian

National Safety Code) are not waived

even if 49 CFR 390.23 was used to grant

specific relief.

Based upon no comments to the

docket for the proposed waiver, the

FHWA finds good cause to assume the

public believes the waiver is in the

public interest and will not diminish

the safe operation of commercial motor

vehicles.

Analyses and Notices

The FHWA has determined that this

action is not a significant action within

the meaning of the Department of

Transportation’s policies and

procedures.

In compliance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–354, 5 U.S.C.

601–612), the FHWA has evaluated the

effects of this waiver on small entities

with twenty or fewer truck tractors or

straight trucks.

Final Flexibility Analysis (FFA)

This action provides a limited waiver

to certain Canadian electric utility

motor carriers and their drivers. The

FHWA believes there are a maximum of

four affected small entities at this time.

These are the Canadian electric utilities

named above. Additional Canadian

electric utilities will be eligible for this

waiver, if the electric utilities are

domiciled and operate primarily (i.e., 51
32040 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 112 /Thursday, June 11, 1998 / Notices

percent or more) in one of the four

Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec,

New Brunswick, or Nova Scotia.

The United States electric utilities

named must, without this waiver, limit

the responders available to restore

highway safety, e.g., traffic signals, and

restore electric power to their

customers. Failure to grant the waiver

will delay the efficient and quick

response to restore electric power to

prevent highway accidents and

incidents, and to save lives from cold

weather.

The FHWA believes no other Federal

rules exist for alcohol and controlled

substances testing of Canadian electric

utility motor carriers responding to New

England Mutual Assistance roster

members. The FHWA is aware of

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

and Department of Energy (DOE) testing

requirements for alcohol and controlled

substances, but believes these are

limited to nuclear power plants and

DOE installations in the United States.

The FHWA believes the four named

Canadian electric utility motor carriers

are not required by the NRC or DOE to

require alcohol and controlled

substances testing to restore electric

power to United States customers. The

FHWA requested the New England

Mutual Assistance Roster members to

provide information on whether the

NRC or the DOE have regulations

requiring such testing. The FHWA

received no comments from the roster

members or anyone concerning this

issue.

Based upon this FFA evaluation, the

FHWA believes any impact upon these

small entities is highly unlikely.

Furthermore, the FHWA notes the

Omnibus Act mandates alcohol and

controlled substances testing and the

CMVSA mandates the waiver authority

irrespective of the size of the entities.

For the reasons in the FFA above, the

FHWA certifies this action does not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

This waiver has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (the

Unfunded Mandates Act) (Pub. L. 104–

4, 109 Stat. 48). The FHWA has

determined this action does not have

sufficient unfunded mandate

implications to warrant the preparation

of an unfunded mandate assessment.

The amendments made by this waiver

do not have a substantial direct effect on

States, nor on the relationship or

distribution of power between the

national government and the States

because these changes do little to limit

the policy making discretion of the

States.

The waiver is not intended to preempt

any State law or State regulation.

Moreover, the changes made by this

waiver impose no additional cost or

burden upon any State. Nor does the

waiver have a significant effect upon the

ability of the States to discharge

traditional State governmental

functions.

For purposes of section 202 of the

Unfunded Mandates Act, the waiver of

alcohol and controlled substances

testing requirements does not impose a

burden greater than $100 million. The

FHWA, therefore, is not required to

prepare a separate unfunded mandate

assessment for this waiver.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,

the FHWA estimates this waiver has an

annual burden savings of about $21,000.

The information collection requirements

associated with compliance by

Canadian motor carriers and drivers

with part 382 was included in the

information collection budget approval

request approved on September 22,

1997, by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) under the PRA and has

been assigned OMB control number

2125–0543, approved through

September 30, 2000.

The FHWA estimates four Canadian

electric utility motor carriers send no

more than 100 drivers to the United

States for an emergency relief effort. The

FHWA estimates these four Canadian

electric utility motor carriers have a few

thousand drivers each since they are

monopolies in the areas they serve, but

only send a couple dozen drivers to an

emergency in the United States.

The FHWA has calculated the

information collection burden on these

carriers in complying with 49 CFR part

382 based upon figures submitted and

approved by the OMB in 1997. See

Docket No. FHWA–1997–2313–7. The

four motor carriers share an estimated

information collection start-up cost of

$US 10,000 (excluding laboratory set-up

costs) and an estimated recurring annual

cost of $US 21,000 and 240 hours of

time. The FHWA excluded laboratory

start-up information collection costs

because the approximately 70

laboratories across the United States and

Canada able to perform the analysis of

urine specimens have been in operation

for at least one year and have incurred

the start-up costs in prior years. The

Canadian motor carriers do not incur

the laboratory’s start-up costs. The

FHWA has calculated into the figure,

though, the information collection cost

of setting up contracts with the

laboratories to conduct the testing.

The FHWA has included revised

spreadsheets for these calculations in

the docket for review. Refer to the

docket number appearing at the top of

this document.

Since the FHWA is granting this

waiver, the FHWA will submit a request

to the OMB, on a Form OMB–83C, to

reduce the information collection

burden by these amounts.

The FHWA has analyzed this action

for the purpose of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and has determined

that this action does not have any effect

on the quality of the environment.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31301 et seq.; and 49

CFR 1.48.

Issued on: June 5, 1998.

Kenneth R. Wykle,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98–15609 Filed 6–10–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P