2744 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

Because future appropriations levels 

were not known when the HSPPS final 

rule was published in September 2016, 

the final rule provided authority for the 

Secretary to lower the increased Head 

Start center-based service duration 

requirements based on an assessment of 

available funding closer to the 

requirement’s effective date in order to 

prevent thousands of disadvantaged 

children not having access to Head 

Start. 

Authority 

Section 1302.21(c)(3)(i) of the HSPPS 

final rule allows the Secretary to lower 

the required percentage of funded 

enrollment slots for which programs 

must provide 1,020 annual hours of 

planned class operations from the 50 

percent required in § 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), 

on or before February 1, 2018, based on 

an assessment of the availability of 

sufficient funding to mitigate a 

substantial reduction in funded 

enrollment. 

Funding Assessment 

The Secretary has made an 

assessment that Head Start 

appropriations are not sufficient to 

allow the requirement at 

§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), for 50 percent of 

each program’s Head Start center-based 

slots to operate for 1,020 annual hours, 

to go into effect without resulting in a 

substantial reduction in funded 

enrollment. 

Prior to publication of the HSPPS 

final rule, Congress appropriated $294 

million in fiscal year (FY) 2016 to 

support an increase in hours of program 

operations across Head Start and Early 

Head Start. At the time of the FY 2016 

funding to support and increased 

duration, the regulatory requirements 

were not in effect. Programs that wished 

to voluntarily increase hours of program 

operations to 1,020 annual hours for up 

to 40 percent of their Head Start centerbased slots or to 1,380 annual hours for 

their Early Head Start center-based slots 

were eligible to submit an application 

by June 2016 to receive additional 

funds. Some eligible programs chose not 

to apply for additional funding. There 

are programs that currently operate 

none of their Head Start center-based 

funded enrollment for 1,020 annual 

hours. There are also programs that 

currently operate all of their Head Start 

center-based funded enrollment for 

1,020 hours or longer. These 

requirements are minimums, and 

programs could choose to operate some 

slots longer each day and/or for more 

days per year. 

In the HSPPS final rule, we estimated 

the cost for programs to implement the 

50 percent service duration requirement 

to be $535 million. Since the 

publication of the final rule in 

September 2016, when Head Start 

programs were notified of the future 

requirements to increase center-based 

service duration to 1,020 annual hours, 

no additional funds have been 

appropriated to support increases in 

service duration. While we requested 

funds to support additional increases in 

service duration in FY 2017, Congress 

did not further increase Head Start 

appropriations for this purpose. 

HHS has conducted an assessment of 

available funding and the current 

percentages of slots individual programs 

currently operate at 1,020 annual hours. 

Based on this assessment, we estimate 

that without additional funding, 

implementation of the requirement at 

§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii) for each program to 

operate 50 percent of its Head Start 

center-based slots for 1,020 annual 

hours would result in a loss of 

approximately 41,000 Head Start slots, 

which represents roughly five percent of 

existing Head Start slots. The FY 2018 

President’s Budget did not request an 

increase in appropriations to support 

increases in service duration. We do not 

expect sufficient funding to become 

available in time for grantees to meet the 

current HSPPS standard. 

Conclusion 

Under § 1302.21(c)(3)(i), the Secretary 

has made a determination that there is 

not sufficient funding available to 

mitigate a substantial reduction in 

funded enrollment resulting from the 

requirement described in 

§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), and hereby waives 

the requirement that 50 percent of a 

program’s Head Start center-based 

program’s funded enrollment that must 

operate for 1,020 annual hours of 

planned class operations by August 1, 

2019, effectively lowering the 

percentage to 0. This determination is 

effective immediately. Because the 

HSPPS final rule governs the Secretary’s 

discretion in this matter, the public 

comment process is not required. 

The service duration requirements for 

Head Start center-based programs 

described in § 1302.21(c)(2)(i) and (ii) 

remain in effect. Under these 

requirements, a Head Start center-based 

program must provide, at a minimum, at 

least 160 days per year of planned class 

operations if it operates for five days per 

week, or at least 128 days per year if it 

operates four days per week. Classes 

must operate for a minimum of 3.5 

hours per day. These requirements are 

minimums, and programs could choose 

to operate some slots longer each day 

and/or for more days per year. The Head 

Start Act allows programs to request to 

convert part-day slots to full-day or fullworking-day slots. This determination 

by the Secretary provides local Head 

Start programs maximum flexibility to 

determine program schedules that best 

meet the demonstrated needs in their 

communities, and ensures low-income 

children will not lose access to Head 

Start’s comprehensive services and a 

preschool experience before entering 

Kindergarten because of a federal 

requirement. Additionally, the 

requirement under § 1302.21(c)(1)(i) that 

Early Head Start programs provide 1,380 

annual hours of planned class 

operations for all center-based 

enrollment by August 1, 2018 also 

remains in effect. 

The Secretary’s determination under 

§ 1302.21(c)(3)(i) does not affect the 

Secretary’s authority to make a separate 

determination under § 1302.21(c)(3)(ii) 

on or before February 1, 2020, to 

maintain or lower the service duration 

requirement described in 

§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iv) based on an 

assessment of the availability of 

sufficient funding to mitigate a 

substantial reduction in funded 

enrollment resulting from that 

requirement. 

In addition, the Secretary’s 

determination under § 1302.21(c)(3)(i) 

does not change or affect current 

processes that allow grantees to request 

to serve children for longer service 

duration within existing funding levels 

as part of the grantee’s annual service 

and enrollment negotiations with the 

Office of Head Start. 

Dated: January 16, 2018. 

Eric D. Hargan, 

Acting Secretary, Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00897 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4184–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 395 

Hours of Service of Drivers; Electronic 

Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day 

Waiver for Old Dominion and Other 

Motor Carriers Experiencing Problems 

Integrating PeopleNet ELD System 

Updates Into Their Fleet Management 

Systems 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Grant of waiver. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 2745 

SUMMARY: FMCSA grants a limited 90- 

day waiver from the Federal hours-ofservice (HOS) regulations pertaining to 

electronic logging devices (ELDs) for 

Old Dominion Freight Lines, Inc. (Old 

Dominion) and other motor carriers in 

similar situations due to issues 

concerning the integration of 

PeopleNet’s ELD software into fleet 

management systems. The Agency has 

initiated this action in response to a 

waiver request from Old Dominion. 

DATES: This waiver is effective 

December 18, 2017, and expires on 

March 18, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division, Office of 

Bus and Truck Standards and 

Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email: 

MCPSD@dot.gov. Phone: (614) 942– 

6477. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Old 

Dominion has asked for relief from the 

grandfather provision of the ELD 

regulations, allowing them to add 

vehicles to their fleet using software that 

is not fully compliant with the ELD rule, 

provided the conditions specified in the 

waiver are met. FMCSA has determined 

that granting this waiver to Old 

Dominion, as well as other similarly 

situated carriers, is in the public interest 

and will likely achieve a level of safety 

that is equivalent to the level that would 

be achieved absent the waiver, based on 

the terms and conditions imposed in 

this document. 

Legal Basis 

The Transportation Equity Act for the 

21st Century (TEA–21) (Pub. L. 105– 

178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) 

provides the Secretary of Transportation 

(the Secretary) the authority to grant 

waivers from any of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations issued under 

Chapter 313 of Title 49 of the United 

States Code or 49 U.S.C. 31136, to a 

person(s) seeking regulatory relief. (49 

U.S.C. 31136(e), 31315(a)). The 

Secretary must make a determination 

that the waiver is in the public interest 

and that it is likely to achieve a level of 

safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety that would be 

obtained in the absence of the waiver. 

Individual waivers may be granted only 

for a specific unique, non-emergency 

event, for a period up to three months. 

TEA–21 authorizes the Secretary to 

grant waivers without requesting public 

comment, and without providing public 

notice. 

The Administrator of FMCSA has 

been delegated authority under 49 CFR 

1.87(e) to carry out the functions vested 

in the Secretary by 49 U.S.C. chapter 

311, subchapter I and III, relating to 

commercial motor vehicle programs and 

safety regulations. 

Background 

Old Dominion began equipping its 

commercial motor vehicles with 

PeopleNet AOBRDs in 2010, and by 

2011 its entire fleet was equipped with 

devices which meet the requirements of 

49 CFR 395.15. Data from the AOBRDs 

is transferred directly into the 

company’s fleet management and safety 

systems, enabling its dispatchers to 

know precisely where every driver is at 

any given time and how many hours he/ 

she has available under the Federal 

hours-of-service rules. This 

functionality is not required by the 

AOBRD rules under 49 CFR 395.15 or 

the ELD requirements under Subpart B 

of 49 CFR part 395. 

Old Dominion explained that 

PeopleNet’s AOBRD and ELD hardware 

currently installed in its vehicles, and 

the systems that will be installed in the 

near future, will satisfy the ELD 

mandate after the company implements 

the transition to PeopleNet’s December 

15, 2017, software release. However, the 

new PeopleNet release does not include 

the necessary means to integrate into 

Old Dominion’s fleet management and 

safety software. 

Currently, the PeopleNet AOBRD 

software allows carriers to configure 

certain sessions. If the settings were not 

adjustable, the PeopleNet AOBRD 

would be similar to, but not identical to 

the FMCSA’s ELD technical 

specifications. Although Old Dominion 

has configured its settings in the 

PeopleNet AOBRDs it uses, certain 

AOBRD software changes must be made 

by PeopleNet, including: 

• Eliminating the ‘‘skip’’ feature; 

• Limiting the auto-duty driving 

status change threshold to 5 miles; and 

• Limiting geo-fencing of yards to a 

0.5-mile radius. 

When these changes are fully 

implemented, and the operational 

controls are in place, the PeopleNet 

system used by Old Dominion will 

provide an equivalent level of safety 

while the integration of the ELD 

software is completed. 

Old Dominion’s Request 

Old Dominion requested a 90-day 

waiver to permit the company to install 

and use ELD hours-of-service recording 

devices (i.e., hardware) running 

PeopleNet’s automatic on-board 

recording device (AOBRD) software that 

meets the requirements of 49 CFR 

395.15, rather than ELD software that 

meets the requirements of subpart B to 

part 395, for any truck added to its fleet 

on or after December 18, 2017, until the 

company’s fleet management software 

can be fully integrated with PeopleNet’s 

ELD software. The integration of the 

hours-of-service data with the fleet 

management and safety systems will 

enable the company to achieve a high 

level of safety oversight of its drivers. 

FMCSA Determination 

Based on the information presented in 

Old Dominion’s request, FMCSA 

believes it is appropriate to grant a 

limited 90-day waiver from 49 CFR 

395.8(a)(1)(i) and subpart B of 49 CFR 

part 395, Electronic Logging Devices. 

The Agency has determined, as required 

by 49 U.S.C. 31315(a) and the 

implementing regulations under 49 CFR 

part 381, that the waiver is in the public 

interest and that the waiver is likely to 

achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

of safety that would be obtained in the 

absence of the waiver. 

Public Interest 

FMCSA believes the granting of the 

waiver is in the public interest, given 

the scope of Old Dominion’s and other 

companies’ operations and their role in 

delivering cargo that ultimately benefit 

consumers. In the case of Old 

Dominion, the company has 228 service 

centers located throughout the Nation 

and operates a fleet of more than 8,500 

power units. The company employs 

more than 10,000 company drivers. It is 

in the public interest to avoid 

disruptions to Old Dominion and other 

carriers’ operations and, subsequently, a 

disruption to the movement of a 

significant amount of freight. 

Safety Equivalency 

FMCSA has determined that the 

electronic system that Old Dominion 

will use to monitor its drivers’ hours of 

service during the period of the waiver 

will achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

of safety that would be obtained in the 

absence of the waiver. The company 

will not only electronically capture the 

duty status information for all its 

drivers, it will also monitor the realtime status of its drivers’ compliance 

with the hours-of-service regulations so 

that supervisors and dispatchers may 

intervene immediately if a driver is 

about to run out of driving or on-duty 

time. 

Also, with the AOBRD settings 

outlined in the waiver request, which 

exceed the minimum required by 49 

CFR 395.15, and the commitment by 

PeopleNet to make associated software 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
2746 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

changes in its ELD software to disable 

the ‘‘skip feature,’’ limit the auto-duty 

driving status change threshold to 5 

miles or less, limit the geofencing of 

yard moves to a 0.5-mile radius or less, 

and maintaining the Auto-Duty Status 

Change functions outlined in its 

petition, we believe the requisite level 

of safety will be provided during the 

waiver period. In addition, Old 

Dominion will continue to compel its 

short haul drivers that are not required 

to maintain records of duty status to use 

the existing AOBRD platform. 

Unique Circumstances 

Consistent with the statutory 

requirements for waivers, this relief is 

for a period not in excess of 3 months 

and is limited in scope and 

circumstances. FMCSA finds that the 

challenges Old Dominion described in 

achieving compliance with the ELD 

requirements while integrating the 

PeopleNet ELD software into existing 

fleet management systems is a unique 

situation for Old Dominion and other 

carriers facing similar challenges 

integrating PeopleNet software into their 

fleet management systems. 

For the reasons cited above, FMCSA 

grants Old Dominion, and other motor 

carriers facing similar challenges 

integrating PeopleNet ELD software into 

fleet management systems, a limited 

three-month waiver from the ELD 

requirements, subject to the terms and 

conditions provided below. 

Terms and Conditions of the Waiver 

This waiver covers Old Dominion Inc. 

and other motor carriers experiencing 

similar challenges resulting from 

PeopleNet’s software for the period 

beginning at 12:01 a.m. (ET) on 

December 18, 2017, continuing through 

11:59 p.m. on March 18, 2018. 

Regulatory Provisions Waived 

This waiver is limited strictly to 49 

CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) and subpart B of 49 

CFR part 395, Electronic Logging 

Devices. Old Dominion and other motor 

carriers with similar situations related 

to PeopleNet’s recent software release, 

must comply with all other applicable 

provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) (49 CFR 

350–399). 

Restrictions 

Each motor carrier operating under 

this waiver must ensure that drivers 

required to maintain a record of duty 

status (ROD) must do so with a device 

that meets the requirements of 49 CFR 

395.15 concerning automatic on-board 

recording devices (AOBRDs): 

1. During the waiver period, vehicles 

may be added to the fleet only if the 

vehicle is equipped with ELD hardware, 

capable of running the PeopleNet ELD 

Software. 

2. The AOBRD must transfer data 

directly into the motor carrier’s fleet 

management and safety systems, 

allowing its dispatchers to know 

precisely where the drivers are at any 

given time and how many hours he/she 

has available under the Federal hoursof-service rules. 

3. The motor carrier will use the 

AOBRD settings similar to those 

outlined in Old Dominion’s waiver 

request. 

4. PeopleNet system must be modified 

to disable or adjust the settings as 

outlined below. 

a. Eliminate the ‘‘skip feature’’; 

b. Limit the auto-duty driving status 

change threshold to 5 miles or less; and 

c. Limit the geo-fencing yard time 

limit to a 0.5-mile radius or less. 

If it is determined that this software 

has not been changed, this waiver does 

not apply. 

Notification to FMCSA of Accidents 

Each motor carrier must notify 

FMCSA within 5 business days of an 

accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), 

involving any commercial motor 

vehicles operating under the terms of 

this waiver. The notification must 

include the following information: 

• Date of the accident, 

• City or town, and State, in which 

the accident occurred, or closest to the 

accident scene, 

• Driver’s name and license number, 

• Vehicle number and State license 

number, 

• Number of individuals suffering 

physical injury, 

• Number of fatalities, 

• The police-reported cause of the 

accident, and 

• Whether the driver was cited for 

violation of any traffic laws, or motor 

carrier safety regulations. 

Notification shall be by email to 

MCPSD@DOT.GOV. 

Preemption of State Requirements 

Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(d), 

this waiver preempts inconsistent State 

or local requirements applicable to 

interstate commerce. 

Issued on: January 11, 2018. 

Cathy F. Gautreaux, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00842 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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