Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 164 / Friday, August 27, 2021 / Notices 48291 

wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/byregion/sw/5139901218/reports.aspx. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions as of the issuance date 

of this notice and all laws under which 

such actions were taken, including but 

not limited to: 

1. National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321–4351]; FederalAid Highway Act [23 U.S.C. 109 and 23 

U.S.C. 128]. 

2. Section 7 of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA) [16 U.S.C. 

1531–1544 and Section 1536]. 

3. National Historic Preservation Act 

of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470(f) et 

seq.) 

4. Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401–7671 

(q)]. 

5. Clean Water Act [Section 404, 

Section 401, Section 319]. 

6. Section 4(f) of the Department of 

Transportation Act of 1966 [49 U.S.C. 

303]. 

7. Uniform Relocation Assistance and 

Real Property Acquisition Act of 1970, 

as amended. 

8. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) 

of 1918, as amended. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 

Issued on: August 24, 2021. 

Glenn Fulkerson, 

Division Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration, Madison, Wisconsin. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18522 Filed 8–26–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2021–0143] 

Agency Information Collection 

Request Concerning Certain Motor 

Carrier Activities When Responding to 

Emergency Declarations Under OMB 

Review 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of request for emergency 

OMB approval. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, this notice announces that the 

new Information Collection Request 

(ICR) discussed below has been 

forwarded to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review and an 

emergency approval of a new 

information collection. FMCSA would 

collect this information from motor 

carriers engaged in providing direct 

assistance in response to certain 

emergency declarations issued by the 

Agency to provide regulatory relief for 

such carriers in continued support of 

the Nation’s coronavirus disease 2019 

(COVID–19) recovery efforts. The ICR 

describes the nature of the information 

collection and their expected paperwork 

burdens. FMCSA requests that OMB 

approve this collection within 7 days. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before August 30, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent by 

August 30, 2021, to www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. All comments 

received are part of the public record. 

Comments will generally be posted 

without change. Upon receiving the 

requested 6-month emergency approval 

by OMB, FMCSA will follow the normal 

PRA procedures to obtain extended 

approval for this proposed information 

collection. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry W. Minor, Associate 

Administrator, Office of Policy, 

Department of Transportation, Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 

6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590–0001; 202–366–4012; 

larry.minor@dot.gov. Office hours are 

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal Holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Acknowledgement of use of 

COVID–19 Emergency Declaration 

Relief. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–TBD. 

Type of Request: Request for 

emergency approval of an information 

collection. 

Respondents: Motor carriers that 

operate under the terms of the extended 

COVID–19 Emergency Declaration No. 

2020–002. 

Estimated Total Respondents: 

203,894. 

Estimated Total Responses: 1,223,364 

for 6 months. 

Estimated Burden Hours: 305,841 for 

6 months. 

Estimated Burden per Response: 15 

minutes per response. 

Frequency: Monthly for 6 months. 

Background 

FMCSA issued Emergency 

Declaration No. 2020–002 in response to 

the March 13, 2020, declaration of a 

national emergency under 42 U.S.C. 

5191(b) related to COVID–19, and the 

immediate risk COVID–19 presents to 

public health and welfare. FMCSA 

modified Emergency Declaration 2020– 

002 to expand and remove categories of 

supplies, equipment, and persons 

covered by the Emergency Declaration 

to respond to changing needs for 

emergency relief. On May 26, 2021, 

FMCSA extended the modified 

Emergency Declaration No. 2020–002 

and associated regulatory relief through 

August 31, 2021, in accordance with 49 

CFR 390.25. FMCSA continued the 

exemption and associated regulatory 

relief in accordance with 49 CFR 390.25, 

because the presidentially declared 

emergency remained in place and 

because a continued exemption was 

needed to support direct emergency 

assistance for some supply chains. This 

extension of the expanded modified 

Emergency Declaration addresses 

conditions that create a need for 

immediate transportation of essential 

supplies and provides necessary relief 

from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs) for motor carriers 

and drivers. 

In accordance with the expanded 

modified Emergency Declaration No. 

2020–002, motor carriers and drivers 

providing direct assistance in support of 

relief efforts related to the COVID–19 

public health emergency are granted 

emergency relief from certain portions 

of 49 CFR parts 390 through 399 of the 

FMCSRs, except as restricted in the 

Emergency Declaration. Direct 

assistance means transportation and 

other relief services provided by a motor 

carrier or its driver(s) incident to the 

immediate restoration of essential 

services (such as medical care) or 

essential supplies related to COVID–19 

during the emergency. The notice 

extending the declaration provides a list 

of relief services and essential supplies. 

Neither the Emergency Declaration 

nor the regulations covering Emergency 

Declarations (found in 49 CFR 390.23 

and 390.25) require that motor carriers 

or drivers operating under the 

Emergency Declaration report their 

operation to FMCSA. As a result, 

FMCSA does not know how many 

motor carriers or drivers are relying on 

the Emergency Declaration. Given the 

unprecedented period that the 

expanded modified Emergency 

Declaration No. 2020–0022 has now 

been in place, FMCSA has determined 

that it is necessary to seek information 

on the number of motor carriers and 

drivers relying upon Emergency 

Declaration No. 2020–002, and any 

subsequent extension currently in effect, 

to evaluate the need for future 


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48292 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 164 / Friday, August 27, 2021 / Notices 

1BNSF initially requested expansion of the 

waiver on March 18, 2021. See https://

www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2018-0049- 

0018. Public notice of the request was issued on 

April 5, 2021. See https://www.regulations.gov/ 

document/FRA-2018-0049-0021. By letter dated 

May 5, 2021, BNSF requested an initial 30-day hold 

on processing the petition. See https://

www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2018-0049- 

0022. 

extensions or modifications if that 

Agency determines that additional 

extensions are needed. 

Public Comments Invited 

You are asked to comment on any 

aspect of this information collection, 

including: (1) Whether the proposed 

collection is necessary for FMCSA to 

perform its functions; (2) the accuracy of 

the estimated burden; (3) ways for 

FMCSA to enhance the quality, 

usefulness, and clarity of the collected 

information; and (4) ways that the 

burden could be minimized without 

reducing the quality of the collected 

information. 

Issued under the authority delegated 

in 49 CFR 1.87. 

Thomas P. Keane, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Research 

and Registration. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18442 Filed 8–26–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2018–0100] 

Petition for Extension of Waiver of 

Compliance 

Under part 211 of title 49 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), this 

document provides the public notice 

that on July 27, 2021, Norfolk Southern 

Corporation (NS) petitioned the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) for an 

amendment of a waiver of compliance 

from certain provisions of the Federal 

railroad safety regulations contained at 

49 CFR part 232, Brake System Safety 

Standards for Freight and Other NonPassenger Trains and Equipment; Endof-Train Devices. The relevant FRA 

Docket Number is FRA–2018–0100. 

Specifically, NS requests to amend an 

existing waiver from the requirements of 

49 CFR 232.203, Training requirements, 

to allow electronic air brake test 

refresher training via customized 

simulation software in place of handson training. The current waiver applies 

to conductors and supervisors and is 

limited to an 18-month pilot program 

for freight car repair personnel reporting 

for duty at Birmingham, Alabama; 

Elkhart, Indiana; Enola, Pennsylvania; 

Kansas City, Missouri; Macon, Georgia; 

Norfolk, Virginia; and Portsmouth, 

Ohio. 

As the pilot period has concluded, NS 

requests to amend the waiver to allow 

electronic air brake test training as an 

optional replacement for hands-on 

training for refresher training of freight 

car repair personnel on the entire NS 

system. In support of its request, NS 

states that (1) all personnel intended for 

inclusion have already received 

electronic training; (2) feedback from 

electronically-trained personnel has 

been positive; (3) delivering training 

electronically achieves safety benefits; 

and (4) NS has improved the training 

since the original pilot waiver was 

granted. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, is available for review online at 

www.regulations.gov. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment and a 

public hearing, they should notify FRA, 

in writing, before the end of the 

comment period and specify the basis 

for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Communications received by October 

12, 2021 will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered if practicable. Anyone can 

search the electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the document, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). Under 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

processes. 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 

https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

See also https://www.regulations.gov/ 

privacy-notice for the privacy notice of 

regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

John Karl Alexy, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18509 Filed 8–26–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2018–0049] 

Petition for Extension of Waiver of 

Compliance 

Under part 211 of title 49 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), this 

document provides the public notice 

that on August 18, 2021, BNSF Railway 

(BNSF) petitioned the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) for an expansion 

of a waiver of compliance from certain 

provisions of the Federal railroad safety 

regulations contained at 49 CFR part 

232, Brake System Safety Standards for 

Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains 

and Equipment; End-Of-Train Devices. 

The relevant FRA Docket Number is 

FRA–2018–0049. 

The existing waiver provides BNSF 

certain relief from 49 CFR 232.15, 

Movement of defective equipment; 49 

CFR 232.103(f), General requirements 

for all train brake systems; and 49 CFR 

232.213, Extended haul trains; and a 

statutory exemption from the 

requirements of title 49, United States 

Code section 20303. BNSF renews its 

request to expand the scope of the 

waiver to include coal trains operating 

over the Pikes Peak Subdivision in 

Colorado and across the Sand Hills 

Subdivision in Nebraska.1

On April 12, 2019, FRA granted BNSF 

a test waiver to conduct a pilot program 

on a segment of its system to 

‘‘demonstrate that the use of wheel 

temperature detectors to prove brake 

health effectiveness (BHE) will improve 

safety, reduce risks to employees, and 

provide cost savings to the industry.’’ 

BNSF asserts the expansion would 

improve train braking performance and 

safety by reducing brake pipe air losses 

on all BNSF coal trains (particularly 

important during winter operations), 

and accomplish the following goals: 

• Validation of braking performance 

of BNSF coal trains moving south 

through Colorado and east through 

Alliance, Nebraska; 

• Improvement of the braking 

performance of individual cars 

identified with cold or hot wheels; 

• Increased testing of car brake 

systems with Automatic Single Car Test 

(ASCT) devices; 


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