33298 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 1, 2022 / Notices 

identifying information, will be made 

publicly available. 

May I submit comments confidentially? 

If you wish to submit comments 

under a claim of confidentiality, you 

should submit the information you 

claim to be confidential commercial 

information by email to SmallVessels@

dot.gov. Include in the email subject 

heading ‘‘Contains Confidential 

Commercial Information’’ or ‘‘Contains 

CCI’’ and state in your submission, with 

specificity, the basis for any such 

confidential claim highlighting or 

denoting the CCI portions. If possible, 

please provide a summary of your 

submission that can be made available 

to the public. 

In the event MARAD receives a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

request for the information, procedures 

described in the Department’s FOIA 

regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be 

followed. Only information that is 

ultimately determined to be confidential 

under those procedures will be exempt 

from disclosure under FOIA. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of all comments received into any 

of our dockets by the name of the 

individual submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). For information on DOT’s 

compliance with the Privacy Act, please 

visit https://www.transportation.gov/ 

privacy. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 U.S.C. 55103, 

46 U.S.C. 12121) 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11647 Filed 5–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2022–0109] 

Coastwise Endorsement Eligibility 

Determination for a Foreign-Built 

Vessel: LE REVE (Sail); Invitation for 

Public Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of 

Transportation, as represented by the 

Maritime Administration (MARAD), is 

authorized to issue coastwise 

endorsement eligibility determinations 

for foreign-built vessels which will carry 

no more than twelve passengers for hire. 

A request for such a determination has 

been received by MARAD. By this 

notice, MARAD seeks comments from 

interested parties as to any effect this 

action may have on U.S. vessel builders 

or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.- 

flag vessels. Information about the 

requestor’s vessel, including a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

July 1, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Number 

MARAD–2022–0109 by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Search 

MARAD–2022–0109 and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility is in the West 

Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The 

Docket Management Facility location 

address is: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, MARAD–2022–0109, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 

Building, Room W12–140, Washington, 

DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except on 

Federal holidays. 

Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your 

comments, we recommend that you 

include your name and a mailing 

address, an email address, or a 

telephone number in the body of your 

document so that we can contact you if 

we have questions regarding your 

submission. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

specific docket number. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to the docket at www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments, or to submit 

comments that are confidential in 

nature, see the section entitled Public 

Participation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Mead, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W23–459, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202– 

366–5723, Email James.Mead@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

described in the application, the 

intended service of the vessel LE REVE 

is: 

—Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

‘‘Sailing charters.’’ 

—Geographic Region Including Base of 

Operations: ‘‘North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, 

Delaware’’ (Base of Operations: St. 

Thomas, US Virgin Islands) 

—Vessel Length and Type: 62′ Sail 

The complete application is available 

for review identified in the DOT docket 

as MARAD 2022–0109 at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Interested parties 

may comment on the effect this action 

may have on U.S. vessel builders or 

businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag 

vessels. If MARAD determines, in 

accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and 

MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 

388, that the employment of the vessel 

in the coastwise trade to carry no more 

than 12 passengers will have an unduly 

adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or 

a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in 

that business, MARAD will not issue an 

approval of the vessel’s coastwise 

endorsement eligibility. Comments 

should refer to the vessel name, state the 

commenter’s interest in the application, 

and address the eligibility criteria given 

in section 388.4 of MARAD’s 

regulations at 46 CFR part 388. 

Public Participation 

How do I submit comments? 

Please submit your comments, 

including the attachments, following the 

instructions provided under the above 

heading entitled ADDRESSES. Be advised 

that it may take a few hours or even 

days for your comment to be reflected 

on the docket. In addition, your 

comments must be written in English. 

We encourage you to provide concise 

comments and you may attach 

additional documents as necessary. 

There is no limit on the length of the 

attachments. 

Where do I go to read public comments, 

and find supporting information? 

Go to the docket online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, keyword search 

MARAD–2022–0109 or visit the Docket 

Management Facility (see ADDRESSES for 

hours of operation). We recommend that 

you periodically check the Docket for 

new submissions and supporting 

material. 

Will my comments be made available to 

the public? 

Yes. Be aware that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, will be made 

publicly available. 

May I submit comments confidentially? 

If you wish to submit comments 

under a claim of confidentiality, you 

should submit the information you 

claim to be confidential commercial 

information by 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 1, 2022 / Notices 33299 

1 49 CFR 555.5(b)(5) and 555.5(b)(7). 

2 49 CFR 555.8(b) and (e). 

3 78 FR 70416 (November 25, 2013); response to 

petitions for reconsideration, 81 FR 19902 (April 6, 

2016). The final rule became effective November 28, 

2016 for buses manufactured in a single stage, and 

a year later for buses manufactured in more than 

one stage. 

4 75 FR 50971. 

5 75 FR 50971–50972. 

6http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/automotive/ 

projects/safety_consid_long_stg.pdf. 

7MAP–21 states at § 32702(6) that ‘‘the term 

‘motorcoach’ has the meaning given the term ‘overthe-road bus’ in section 3038(a)(3) of the 

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (49 

U.S.C. 5310 note), but does not include a bus used 

in public transportation provided by, or on behalf 

of, a public transportation agency; or a school bus, 

including a multifunction school activity bus.’’ 

Continued 

email to SmallVessels@dot.gov. Include 

in the email subject heading ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Commercial Information’’ 

or ‘‘Contains CCI’’ and state in your 

submission, with specificity, the basis 

for any such confidential claim 

highlighting or denoting the CCI 

portions. If possible, please provide a 

summary of your submission that can be 

made available to the public. 

In the event MARAD receives a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

request for the information, procedures 

described in the Department’s FOIA 

regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be 

followed. Only information that is 

ultimately determined to be confidential 

under those procedures will be exempt 

from disclosure under FOIA. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of all comments received into any 

of our dockets by the name of the 

individual submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). For information on DOT’s 

compliance with the Privacy Act, please 

visit https://www.transportation.gov/ 

privacy. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 U.S.C. 

55103, 46 U.S.C. 12121) 

By Order of the Acting Maritime 

Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11644 Filed 5–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2020–0075] 

Grant of Petitions for Temporary 

Exemption From Shoulder Belt 

Requirement for Side-Facing Seats on 

Motorcoaches 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of grant of petitions for 

temporary exemption. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

procedures in our regulations, NHTSA 

is granting 13 petitions from various 

final stage manufacturers (the 

petitioners) of motorcoaches for a 

temporary exemption from a shoulder 

belt requirement of Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 

208, ‘‘Occupant crash protection,’’ for 

side-facing seats. This grant permits the 

petitioners to install Type 1 seat belts 

(lap belt only) at side-facing seating 

positions, instead of Type 2 seat belts 

(lap and shoulder belts). After reviewing 

the petitions and the comments 

received, the agency has determined 

that the requested exemption is 

warranted to enable the petitioners to 

sell a vehicle whose overall level of 

safety or impact protection is at least 

equal to that of a nonexempted vehicle. 

DATES: This exemption applies to the 

petitioner’s motorcoaches produced 

from June 1, 2022 until June 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel Koblenz, Office of Chief Counsel, 

NCC–200, National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, West Building, Washington, 

DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366–2992. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

a. Statutory Authority for Temporary 

Exemptions 

The National Traffic and Motor 

Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act), codified 

as 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, provides the 

Secretary of Transportation authority to 

exempt, on a temporary basis, under 

specified circumstances, and on terms 

the Secretary deems appropriate, motor 

vehicles from a motor vehicle safety 

standard or bumper standard. This 

authority and circumstances are set 

forth in 49 U.S.C. 30113. The authority 

for implementing this section has been 

delegated to NHTSA by 49 CFR 1.95. 

NHTSA established 49 CFR part 555, 

Temporary Exemption from Motor 

Vehicle Safety and Bumper Standards, 

to implement the statutory provisions 

concerning temporary exemptions. 

Under part 555, subpart A, a vehicle 

manufacturer seeking an exemption 

must submit a petition for exemption 

containing specified information. 

Among other things, the petition must 

set forth (a) the reasons why granting 

the exemption would be in the public 

interest and consistent with the 

objectives of the Safety Act, and (b) 

required information showing that the 

manufacturer satisfies one of four bases 

for an exemption.1 The petitioners 

submitted individual petitions and 

applied on the basis that they are 

otherwise unable to sell a motor vehicle 

with an overall safety level at least equal 

to that of nonexempt vehicles (see 49 

CFR 555.6(d)). A manufacturer is 

eligible for an exemption under this 

basis only if NHTSA determines the 

exemption is for not more than 2,500 

vehicles to be sold in the U.S. in any 12- 

month period. An exemption under this 

basis may be granted for not more than 

2 years but may be renewed upon 

reapplication.2

b. FMVSS No. 208 

On November 25, 2013, NHTSA 

published a final rule amending FMVSS 

No. 208 to require seat belts for each 

passenger seating position in all new 

over-the-road buses (OTRBs) (regardless 

of gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)), 

and all other buses with GVWRs greater 

than 11,793 kilograms (kg) (26,000 

pounds (lb)) (with certain exclusions).3

In the notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM) preceding the final rule (75 FR 

50958, August 18, 2010) NHTSA 

proposed to permit manufacturers the 

option of installing either a Type 1 (lap 

belt) or a Type 2 (lap and shoulder belt) 

on side-facing seats.4 The proposed 

option was consistent with a provision 

in FMVSS No. 208 that allows lap belts 

for side-facing seats on buses with a 

GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less. 

NHTSA proposed the option because 

the agency was unaware of any 

demonstrable increase in associated risk 

of lap belts compared to lap and 

shoulder belts on side-facing seats. 

NHTSA believed that 5 ‘‘a study 

commissioned by the European 

Commission regarding side-facing seats 

on minibuses and motorcoaches found 

that due to different seat belt designs, 

crash modes and a lack of real world 

data, it cannot be determined whether a 

lap belt or a lap/shoulder belt would be 

the most effective.6’’ 

However, after the NPRM was 

published, the Motorcoach Enhanced 

Safety Act of 2012 was enacted as part 

of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 

21st Century Act (MAP–21), Public Law 

112–141 (July 6, 2012). Section 32703(a) 

of MAP–21 directed the Secretary of 

Transportation (authority delegated to 

NHTSA) to ‘‘prescribe regulations 

requiring safety belts to be installed in 

motorcoaches at each designated seating 

position.’’ 7 As MAP–21 defined ‘‘safety 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1