20708 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2001 / Notices

requirements of the Jones Act, and other

statutes, for small commercial passenger

vessels (no more than 12 passengers).

This authority has been delegated to the

Maritime Administration per 49 CFR

section 1.66, Delegations to the

Maritime Administrator, as amended.

By this notice, MARAD is publishing

information on a vessel for which a

request for a U.S.-build waiver has been

received, and for which MARAD

requests comments from interested

parties. Comments should refer to the

docket number of this notice and the

vessel name in order for MARAD to

properly consider the comments.

Comments should also state the

commenter’s interest in the waiver

application, and address the waiver

criteria given in section 388.4 of

MARAD’S regulations at 46 CFR part

388.

Vessel Proposed for Waiver of the U.S.-

build Requirement

(1) Name of vessel and owner for

which waiver is requested. Name of

vessel: MYSTIC DREAM. Owner:

Thomas and Anne Foley.

(2) Size, capacity and tonnage of

vessel. According to the applicant: ‘‘Net

Weight is 24,000 lbs., length is 44 feet,

width is 13.5 feet, draft is 4 feet,

capacity is 6 passengers.’’

(3) Intended use for vessel, including

geographic region of intended operation

and trade. According to the applicant:

We are starting a private Bed & Breakfast

on the water.’’ ‘‘The Keys from

Homestead, FL to Key West, FL

including Dry Tortugas.’’

(4) Date and Place of construction and

(if applicable) rebuilding. Date of

construction: 1989. Place of

construction: Taiwan.

(5) A statement on the impact this

waiver will have on other commercial

passenger vessel operators. According to

the applicant: ‘‘This is a fairly unique

concept, as there does not seem to be

any competition. There are many fishing

snorkel and diving charter boats but

none for a Bed & Breakfast.’’

(6) A statement on the impact this

waiver will have on U.S. shipyards.

According to the applicant: ‘‘There

should be no effect on U.S. shipyards or

marinas other than to give them income

for maintenance.’’

Dated: April 18, 2001.

By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

Joel C. Richard,

Secretary, Maritime Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–10112 Filed 4–23–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA–2000–7139; Notice 2]

Decision that Nonconforming 1999–

2000 Mercedes Benz Gelaendewagen

Multi-Purpose Passenger Vehicles are

Eligible for Importation

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of decision by NHTSA

that nonconforming 1999–2000

Mercedes Benz Gelaendewagen multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs) are

eligible for importation.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

decision by NHTSA that 1999–2000

Mercedes Benz Gelaendewagen MPVs

not originally manufactured to comply

with all applicable Federal motor

vehicle safety standards are eligible for

importation into the United States

because they have safety features that

comply with, or are capable of being

altered to comply with, all such

standards.

DATES: This decision is effective as of

the date of its publication in the Federal

Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Entwistle, Office of Vehicle

Safety Compliance, NHTSA (202–366–

5306).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under 49 U.S.C. section

30141(a)(1)(A), a motor vehicle that was

not originally manufactured to conform

to all applicable Federal motor vehicle

safety standards shall be refused

admission into the United States unless

NHTSA has decided that the motor

vehicle is substantially similar to a

motor vehicle originally manufactured

for importation into and sale in the

United States, certified under 49 U.S.C.

section 30115, and of the same model

year as the model of the motor vehicle

to be compared, and is capable of being

readily altered to conform to all

applicable Federal motor vehicle safety

standards. Where there is no

substantially similar U.S.-certified

motor vehicle, 49 U.S.C. section

30141(a)(1)(B) permits a nonconforming

motor vehicle to be admitted into the

United States if its safety features

comply with, or are capable of being

altered to comply with, all applicable

Federal motor vehicle safety standards

based on destructive test data or such

other evidence as NHTSA decides to be

adequate.

Petitions for eligibility decisions may

be submitted by either manufacturers or

importers who have registered with

NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR Part 592. As

specified in 49 CFR 593.7, NHTSA

publishes notice in the Federal Register

of each petition that it receives, and

affords interested persons an

opportunity to comment on the petition.

At the close of the comment period,

NHTSA decides, on the basis of the

petition and any comments that it has

received, whether the vehicle is eligible

for importation. The agency then

publishes this decision in the Federal

Register.

J.K. Technologies (formerly J.K.

Motors) of Baltimore, Maryland (‘‘J.K.’’)

(Registered Importer 90–006) petitioned

NHTSA to decide whether 1999–2000

Mercedes Benz Gelaendewagen MPVs

are eligible for importation into the

United States. NHTSA published notice

of the petition on July 19, 2000 (65 FR

44848) to afford an opportunity for

public comment. The reader is referred

to that notice for a thorough description

of the petition.

J.K. petitioned the agency to decide

that the 1999–2000 Mercedes Benz

Gelaendewagen is eligible for

importation under 49 U.S.C. section

30141(a)(1)(A) on the basis that those

vehicles are substantially similar to

motor vehicles of the same model year

that were originally manufactured for

importation into and sale in the United

States and certified under 49 U.S.C.

section 30115. The substantially similar

motor vehicles identified in the petition

were 1999–2000 Mercedes Benz

Gelaendewagens that were

manufactured for importation into, and

sale in, the United States, and certified

by Europa International, Inc.

(‘‘Europa’’), as conforming to all

applicable Federal motor vehicle safety

standards prior to their importation into

the United States.

The notice of petition explained that

in March 1998, Daimler Benz, A.G., as

the company was then known, provided

a letter of understanding to Europa

under which Gelaendewagens

manufactured in Graz, Austria, would

be produced to Europa’s specifications,

and then shipped to a Mercedes facility

in Germany for installation of additional

electronic equipment (OBD II) needed to

effect compliance with Federal

emissions control requirements.

DaimlerChrysler A.G. modified the

letter of understanding in December

1999 to state that incomplete vehicles,

for which it would make no

representation of compliance, would be

sent to the German facility for

completion. At the end of either

process, Europa certifies compliance

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2001 / Notices 20709

with all applicable Federal requirements

of the Department of Transportation and

the Environmental Protection Agency.

The notice of petition stated that

under these factual circumstances,

Europa could be regarded as the

‘‘manufacturer’’ of the Gelaendewagens

that it has certified to U.S. standards,

permitting J.K. to petition for an

eligibility determination on the basis

that the Gelaendewagens it wishes to

import are substantially similar to

vehicles certified by their original

manufacturer for sale in the United

States.

One comment was received in

response to the notice of petition, from

Europa, which described itself as the

‘‘final stage manufacturer’’ of 1999 and

subsequent model year Gelaendewagens

that it has imported into the United

States. In this comment, Europa

contended that J.K. did not establish in

its petition that nonconforming 1999–

2000 Gelaendewagens are eligible for

importation. Europa expressed

disagreement with the petition’s

assertion that 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens are identical to their

U.S. certified counterparts with respect

to all of the Federal motor vehicle safety

standards identified in the notice of

petition. Additionally, Europa stated

that it performs a significant amount of

work to conform Gelaendewagens to

Standard Nos. 108, Lamps, Reflective

Devices, and Associated Equipment,

and 208, Occupant Crash Protection. In

apparent reference to the fact that J.K.

had requested, and been granted

confidentiality with respect the

engineering modifications it planned to

make to conform the vehicles to those

standards, Europa observed that in the

absence of information on those

modifications, it could reach no

decision on whether they would achieve

the intended result.

After receiving this comment, NHTSA

requested Europa to state its objections

with greater specificity. With this

request, NHTSA informed Europa that

the modifications that J.K. was

proposing to conform 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens to Standard Nos. 108

and 208 were identical to ones Europa

had described in import eligibility

petitions it had submitted on earlier

models of the vehicle.

Europa responded to NHTSA’s

request that it provide more specific

comments on the petition. In this

response, Europa observed that the

petition incorrectly stated that the

1999–2000 Gelaendewagens were

originally manufactured to conform to

Standard Nos. 105, Hydraulic and

Electric Brake Systems, 206, Door Locks

and Door Retention Components, and

301, Fuel System Integrity. Europa

stated that the vehicle was modified to

meet those standards. In addition,

Europa noted that the petition identified

only one modification to conform the

vehicles to Standard No. 111 Rearview

Mirrors (adding warning text to the

passenger side mirror), and contended

that additional modifications, which it

did not specify, were necessary to bring

the vehicles into full compliance with

that standard. Europa concluded its

response by reiterating the belief that

the petition does not establish that

nonconforming 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens are eligible for

importation.

NHTSA accorded J.K. an opportunity

to respond to Europa’s comments. In its

response, J.K. stated that to achieve

compliance with the marking

requirements of Standard No. 105, it

planned to replace the brake fluid

reservoir cap on the nonconforming

1999–2000 Gelaendewagens with a U.S.-

model cap on which the information

required by the standard is embossed.

J.K. further acknowledged that its

petition failed to identify the

modifications that are necessary to

conform the vehicles to the rear door

locking requirements of Standard No.

206. J.K. stated that it intends to

partially disable the rear door lock

mechanisms so that those locks conform

to the standard.

NHTSA furnished Europa with a copy

of J.K.’s response and asked it to

elaborate on its previous comments and

identify any additional modifications

necessary to conform 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens to Standard Nos. 105,

111, 206, and 301. Europa responded by

stating that it had no additional

comments to make with regard to the

petition.

J.K. subsequently informed NHTSA

that it wished to change the basis for its

petition from 49 U.S.C. section

30141(a)(1)(A) to 49 U.S.C. section

30141(a)(1)(B). As such, the petition

would no longer be grounded on the

contention that the 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens that J.K. sought to

import were substantially similar to the

vehicles of the same model and model

years that had been certified by Europa

as conforming to all applicable Federal

motor vehicle safety standards prior to

their importation into the United States.

Instead, J.K. elected to proceed on the

basis that the 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens that it sought to import

have safety features that comply with, or

are capable of being altered to comply

with, all applicable Federal motor

vehicle safety standards. J.K. supplied

NHTSA with documentation

demonstrating that the modifications it

plans to make to 1999–2000

Gelaendewagens are identical to those

identified by Europa in its import

eligibility petition for the 1998 model

year Gelaendewagen, which was granted

by the agency.

In view of these developments,

NHTSA has decided to grant the

petition.

Vehicle Eligibility Number for Subject

Vehicles

The importer of a vehicle admissible

under any final decision must indicate

on the form HS–7 accompanying entry

the appropriate vehicle eligibility

number indicating that the vehicle is

eligible for entry. VCP–18 is the vehicle

eligibility number assigned to vehicles

admissible under this notice of final

decision.

Final Decision

Accordingly, on the basis of the

foregoing, NHTSA hereby decides that

1999–2000 Mercedes Benz

Gelaendewagen MPVs are eligible for

importation into the United States

because they have safety features that

comply with, or are capable of being

altered to comply with, all applicable

Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(B) and

(b)(1); 49 CFR 593.8; delegations of authority

at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

Issued on: April 18, 2001.

Marilynne Jacobs,

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.

[FR Doc. 01–10113 Filed 4–23–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

April 18, 2001.

The Department of Treasury has

submitted the following public

information collection requirement(s) to

OMB for review and clearance under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13. Copies of the

submission(s) may be obtained by

calling the Treasury Bureau Clearance

Officer listed. Comments regarding this

information collection should be

addressed to the OMB reviewer listed

and to the Treasury Department

Clearance Officer, Department of the

Treasury, Room 2110, 1425 New York

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before May 24, 2001 to

be assured of consideration.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

OMB Number: 1545–0056.