1222 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

to complete a RODS and usually most 

of the drivers lack the required class of 

license to substitute for these select few 

drivers, meaning the workload that 

requires operation outside of the local 

exemption cannot be equalized or 

shared among the entire driver pool at 

any one company as could be done at 

a traditional motor carrier. Thus, one or 

two drivers will often be designated to 

conduct these longer, interstate trips 

that require RODS. 

TRAA asserts that the addition of the 

ELD rule creates confusing and 

burdensome scenarios by overlapping 

and conflicting regulations placed on 

towing industry operators. The nature of 

the towing industry has drivers 

switching between intrastate and 

interstate regulations multiple times 

throughout the day, sometimes as often 

as between each call. Additionally, 

drivers employed in the towing industry 

often switch between commercial and 

non-commercial motor vehicles 

throughout their shift. TRAA believes 

that to mandate an electronic means of 

documenting HOS for only a small part 

of each towers daily operations creates 

an undue burden. 

Moreover, an exemption from the ELD 

mandate helps promote the same safety 

goals inherent in the already existing 

exemption in 49 CFR Section 

390.23(a)(3). This provision exempts 

towers who are responding to calls from 

law enforcement from the requirement 

to keep RODS. The same need to 

respond quickly to a highway 

emergency that requires the exemption 

in Section 390.23(a)(3) exists when a 

service call comes from a stranded 

motorist rather than law enforcement. 

The drivers of these vehicles sitting 

roadside are at the same risk as those 

addressed by law enforcement. The 

current ELD proposal will impact the 

ability of tow companies to respond to 

these owners’ requests and still be 

compliant with the regulatory 

requirements. 

TRAA states that, as a practical 

matter, towers will be required to install 

and maintain ELDs in all of their 

equipment, even seldom used spare 

equipment. It is common practice in the 

towing industry to maintain spare 

equipment in a state of readiness, as do 

other first responder agencies to insure 

complete readiness for any incident. 

Due to the complex nature of this and 

the overlapping scenarios where an ELD 

may be required, most towers will 

install, pay service for and utilize costly 

ELDs even when not required to do so 

by the regulations to avoid harsh 

penalties such as out of service orders 

and expensive fines. TRAA firmly 

believes it is appropriate to exempt 

towers from the ELD regulation, and 

without an exemption from the ELD 

regulation towers’ responsiveness to 

their customers and the motoring public 

would be severely reduced, and costs 

for towing services would increase 

commeasurably. This will place an 

unfair burden on the motoring public at 

large that has not been accounted for in 

the cost benefit analysis for this 

regulation. 

According to TRAA, towing industry 

operations represent a unique and vital 

segment of the overall transportation 

industry in America that warrants 

exemption from the ELD regulation. The 

failure to grant this exemption will 

cause confusion and create an overly 

complex regulatory framework which 

will pose an undue burden on towers 

and their customers without any 

measurable benefit to public safety. 

IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or 

Greater Level of Safety 

According to TRAA, granting this 

exemption will have no negative impact 

on public safety or compliance with the 

HOS regulations by the towing industry 

companies given that most operate 

under the short haul or local provisions 

found in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) for drivers 

of vehicles requiring a commercial 

driver’s license (CDL), and 49 CFR 

395.1(e)(2) for drivers of CMVs not 

requiring a CDL. Instead, the exception 

will apply only to the small percentage 

of tow drivers who operate outside these 

exceptions on longer, interstate trips. 

The towing industry will maintain a 

level of safety equal to, or greater than 

would be achieved while using ELDs by 

fully complying with the current HOS 

regulations and not having undue 

interruption to their current scheduling 

and staffing methods that have served 

the industry well in the past. 

A copy of TRAA’s application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

Issued on: December 29, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00247 Filed 1–9–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 395 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0373] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: 

Application for Exemption; STC, Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the 

STC, Inc (STC) has requested an 

exemption from the requirement that 

motor carriers and their drivers of 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) use 

an electronic logging device (ELD) to 

record driver hours-of-service (HOS). 

STC is a motor carrier that uses up to 

75 CMVs to transport propane fuel and 

anhydrous ammonia. It states that 

because STC’s CMV operations are 

seasonal and dependent on the weather, 

the ELD requirement creates an undue 

financial burden on its business. STC 

states that its operations under the 

exemption would achieve a level of 

safety equivalent to, or greater than, the 

level that would be achieved absent the 

proposed exemption. FMCSA requests 

public comment on STC’s application 

for exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 9, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Number 

FMCSA–2017–0373 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. See the Public 

Participation and Request for Comments 

section below for further information. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building, Ground Floor, Room W12– 

140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2018 / Proposed Rules 1223 

comments, go to www.regulations.gov at 

any time or visit Room W12–140 on the 

ground level of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information concerning this notice, 

contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA 

Driver and Carrier Operations Division; 

Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 

Safety Standards; Telephone: 614–942– 

6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you 

have questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. If you submit a comment, 

please include the docket number for 

this notice (FMCSA–2017–0373), 

indicate the specific section of this 

document to which the comment 

applies, and provide a reason for 

suggestions or recommendations. You 

may submit your comments and 

material online or by fax, mail, or hand 

delivery, but please use only one of 

these means. FMCSA recommends that 

you include your name and a mailing 

address, an email address, or a phone 

number in the body of your document 

so the Agency can contact you if it has 

questions regarding your submission. 

To submit your comments online, go 

to www.regulations.gov and put the 

docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2017–0373’’ 

in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box, and click 

‘‘Search.’’ When the new screen 

appears, click on ‘‘Comment Now!’’ 

button and type your comment into the 

text box in the following screen. Choose 

whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual or on behalf 

of a third party and then submit. If you 

submit your comments by mail or hand 

delivery, submit them in an unbound 

format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, 

suitable for copying and electronic 

filing. If you submit comments by mail 

and would like to know that they 

reached the facility, please enclose a 

stamped, self-addressed postcard or 

envelope. FMCSA will consider all 

comments and material received during 

the comment period. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 

FMCSA must publish a notice of each 

exemption request in the Federal 

Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The 

Agency must provide the public 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 safety analyses 

and public comments submitted, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

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)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period and explain the terms 

and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.300(b)). 

III. Request for Exemption 

The hours of service (HOS) rules (49 

CFR part 395) prescribe the duty-time 

limits and rest requirements for 

interstate drivers of commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs). The rules also require 

most drivers of CMVs in interstate 

commerce to use electronic logging 

devices (ELDs)—not handwritten 

logbooks—to document their HOS duty 

status (49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i)). 

STC is a motor carrier that uses up to 

75 CMVs to transport propane fuel and 

anhydrous ammonia. It has applied for 

exemption because purchasing ELDs 

after two years of reduced revenue 

places an undue financial burden on the 

company. It further states that installing 

ELDs in all its CMVs is burdensome 

because it does not operate year-round, 

and because its operations are 

dependent on the weather. It states that 

it cannot afford to outfit CMVs with 

ELDs if they are only going to sit idle. 

STC asserts that its drivers will 

continue to employ paper logs if the 

exemption is granted, and that this 

would achieve a level of safety 

equivalent to the level of safety that 

would be achieved if an ELD was used 

for recording the duty status of its 

drivers. A copy of STC’s application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

Issued on: December 29, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00248 Filed 1–9–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2017–0082; 

FXES11130900000C2–178–FF09E42000] 

RIN 1018–BB76 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Removal of the Monito 

Gecko (Sphaerodactylus 

micropithecus) From the Federal List 

of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; availability of 

draft post-delisting monitoring plan. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), propose to 

remove the Monito gecko 

(Sphaerodactylus micropithecus) from 

the Federal List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. 

This determination is based on a 

thorough review of the best available 

scientific and commercial information, 

which indicates that this species has 

recovered, and the threats to this species 

have been eliminated or reduced to the 

point that the species no longer meets 

the definition of an endangered species 

or a threatened species under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended. We seek information, data, 

and comments from the public 

regarding this proposal to delist the 

Monito gecko, and on the draft postdelisting monitoring plan. 

DATES: To allow us adequate time to 

consider your comments on this 

proposed rule, we must receive your 

comments on or before March 12, 2018. 

We must receive requests for public 

hearings in writing, at the address 

shown in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT, by February 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule and draft postdelisting monitoring plan by one of the 

following methods: 

• Electronically: Go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS