Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2018 / Notices 693 

States will submit the following 

documentation in the Grants.gov 

system: 

1. SF–424 Application for Federal 

Assistance; 

2. SF–424A Budget Information for 

Non-Construction Programs; 

3. SF–424B Assurances for NonConstruction Programs; 

4. Grants.gov Lobbying Form; 

5. SF–LLL Disclosure of Lobbying 

Activities, as required; 

6. Key Contacts Form; 

7. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; 

8. Title VI Assurance; and 

9. Supplemental Attachments. 

Second and Third Years of 3-Year Plan 

In the second and third years of the 

3-year plan, FMCSA is planning for 

States to revise budgets to reflect current 

costs and revise program goals and 

certifications, if needed, as part of the 

annual update and to submit the 

Substantiation of MOE Calculations. 

Unanticipated Funding or Program 

Changes 

FMCSA will require States to update 

their 3-year plan if there are unexpected 

changes in funding or authorization 

resulting in different requirements and 

will notify States accordingly. 

Additional Information 

For other information on this 

program, please see https://

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/grants/mcsap-basicincentive-grant/motor-carrier-safetyassistance-program-mcsap-grant. 

Issued on: December 20, 2017. 

Cathy F Gautreaux, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00014 Filed 1–4–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0319] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Application for an 

Exemption From the Agricultural and 

Food Transporters Conference of 

American Trucking Associations 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

requests public comment on an 

application for exemption from the 

Agricultural and Food Transporters 

Conference (AFTC) of the American 

Trucking Associations (ATA) to allow 

certain alternate methods for the 

securement of agricultural commodities 

transported in wood and plastic boxes 

and bins and large fiberglass tubs, and 

hay, straw, and cotton bales that are 

grouped together into large singular 

units. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSR) generally require 

loads to be secured by a minimum 

number of tiedowns based on article 

length, and the aggregate working load 

limit of those tiedowns must be at least 

one-half times the weight of the article 

or group of articles being transported. 

Based on the results of a comprehensive 

test program conducted by FMCSA in 

collaboration with the California 

Highway Patrol (CHP), the California 

Department of Food and Agriculture, 

the California Trucking Association, and 

others, AFTC believes that use of certain 

alternate cargo securement methods will 

maintain a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

of safety achieved without the 

exemption because the test results 

confirmed that the performance 

requirements of the regulations are met 

when using the alternate securement 

methods. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 5, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

2017–0319 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Website: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the Federal electronic docket site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday– 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

exemption process, see the ‘‘Public 

Participation’’ heading below. Note that 

all comments received will be posted 

without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the ‘‘Privacy Act’’ heading for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov or to Room W12– 

140, DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 

Public participation: The http://

www.regulations.gov website is 

generally available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. You may find 

electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section 

of the http://www.regulations.gov 

website as well as the DOT’s http://

docketsinfo.dot.gov website. If you 

would like notification that we received 

your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgment 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Luke Loy, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–0676, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4007 of the Transportation 

Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA– 

21) [Pub. L. 105–178, June 9, 1998, 112 

Stat. 401] amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 

31136(e) to provide authority to grant 

exemptions from the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 

On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published 

a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing 

section 4007. Under this rule, FMCSA 

must publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The Agency must provide 

the public with an opportunity to 

inspect the information relevant to the 

application, including any safety 

analyses that have been conducted. The 

Agency must also provide an 

opportunity for public comment on the 

request. 

The Agency reviews the safety 

analyses and the public comments and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 


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694 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2018 / Notices 

of safety equivalent to or greater than 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)). If the Agency denies 

the request, it must state the reason for 

doing so. If the decision is to grant the 

exemption, the notice must specify the 

person or class of persons receiving the 

exemption and the regulatory provision 

or provisions from which an exemption 

is granted. The notice must specify the 

effective period of the exemption (up to 

5 years) and explain the terms and 

conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

AFTC Application for Exemption 

AFTC applied for an exemption from 

49 CFR 393.102, 393.106, 393.110, and 

393.114 to allow alternate methods for 

the securement of (1) agricultural 

commodities transported in wood and 

plastic boxes and bins and large 

fiberglass tubs, and (2) hay, straw, and 

cotton bales that are grouped together 

into large singular units. A copy of the 

application is included in the docket 

referenced at the beginning of this 

notice. 

On September 27, 2002, FMCSA 

published new cargo securement rules 

(67 FR 61212). The rules were based on 

the North American Cargo Securement 

Standard Model Regulation, reflecting 

(1) the results of a multi-year research 

program to evaluate U.S. and Canadian 

cargo securement regulations; (2) the 

motor carrier industry’s best practices; 

and (3) recommendations presented 

during a series of public meetings 

involving U.S. and Canadian industry 

experts, Federal, State, and Provincial 

enforcement officials, and other 

interested parties. 

The cargo securement rules include 

general securement rules applicable to 

all types of articles or cargo, with 

certain exceptions (§§ 393.100–393.114), 

and commodity-specific rules for 

cargoes that require specialized means 

of securement (§§ 393.116–393.136). 

The commodity-specific requirements 

take precedence over the general rules 

for a commodity listed in those sections. 

This means all cargo securement 

systems must meet the general 

requirements, except to the extent a 

commodity-specific rule imposes 

additional requirements that prescribe 

in more detail the securement method to 

be used. There are no commodityspecific rules applicable to the 

transportation of (1) agricultural 

commodities transported in wood and 

plastic boxes and bins and large 

fiberglass tubs, and (2) hay, straw, and 

cotton bales that are grouped together 

into large singular units. 

AFTC states that ‘‘For the past several 

years, Agricultural haulers in California 

have been utilizing annual exemptions 

granted by the CHP to continue to allow 

the use of previously existing cargo 

securement methods for hauling 

agricultural products. The California 

annual exemptions were granted 

because the strict application of the 

cargo securement requirements that 

FMCSA identified in a Final Rule in 

2002 and became effective in 2004 

would have resulted in a less secure 

agricultural commodity cargo 

securement environment.’’ 

In support of its application, AFTC 

states that ‘‘We are requesting this 

exemption after the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

performed testing and evaluation of 

various methods utilized in securing a 

wide variety of agricultural products for 

transport that occurred in 2007 and 

2008. Many cargo securement methods 

were tested including those used to 

secure plastic and wood bins, large 

fiberglass tubs, and hay and cotton 

bales. The study with FMCSA was a 

collaborative effort with the California 

Highway Patrol . . . , California 

Department of Food and Agriculture, 

California Trucking Association and 

several of our carrier members.’’ A copy 

of the draft report has been included in 

the docket referenced at the beginning 

of this notice. 

AFTC notes that the alternate 

securement methods for boxes, bins, 

and tubs are intended to apply only to 

the transportation of agricultural 

products from the field or storage to the 

first point of processing and the return 

or delivery of empty containers to the 

field or storage location. Additionally, 

loads transported in vans or that are 

contained on four sides by racks, or for 

other than agricultural operation as 

described above must be transported in 

accordance with the general cargo 

securement rules of §§ 393.100–393.114. 

AFTC states ‘‘The reason for the 

requested variances is because these 

agricultural commodities are ‘grouped’ 

into larger singular ‘units’ and these 

larger grouped units of cargo behave 

differently when tested to the 

performance requirements under 49 

CFR 393.102.’’ 

Interested parties are referred to the 

detailed cargo securement requirements 

outlined by AFTC in an attachment to 

its exemption application for each box/ 

bin/tub scenario and for hay and cotton 

bales. The attachment includes 

information regarding (a) the 

applicability of the alternative 

securement methods and definitions, (b) 

general provisions relating to required 

tiedowns and other securement devices, 

(c) construction of loads, and (d) 

securement of loads. 

The exemption would apply to all 

commercial motor vehicle operators 

nationwide that transport agricultural 

commodities in interstate commerce as 

described in the attachment to the 

exemption application. AFTC states that 

the alternative securement requirements 

‘‘will provide an increased level of 

safety and these securement techniques 

have been tested by the Volpe National 

Transportation Systems Center in 

cooperation with FMCSA and the 

California Highway Patrol.’’ Further, 

AFTC notes that granting the exemption 

‘‘will provide an increased level of 

safety as the alternate securement 

methods require more cargo securement 

than is currently required under the 

California exemptions the industry has 

been operating under for the past few 

years.’’ 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 

and 31136(e), FMCSA requests public 

comment from all interested persons on 

AFTC’s application for an exemption 

from 49 CFR 393.102, 393.106, 393.110, 

and 393.114. All comments received 

before the close of business on the 

comment closing date indicated at the 

beginning of this notice will be 

considered and will be available for 

examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. 

Comments received after the comment 

closing date will be filed in the public 

docket and will be considered to the 

extent practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FMCSA will continue to file 

relevant information in the public 

docket that becomes available after the 

comment closing date. Interested 

persons should continue to examine the 

public docket for new material. 

Issued on: December 28, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00013 Filed 1–4–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Notice of Funding Opportunity for 

America’s Marine Highway Projects 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity. 

SUMMARY: The Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2017, signed by 


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