Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 202 / Thursday, October 20, 2005 / Proposed Rules 61111 

Based on the information provided by 

DOE, we conclude that the Compliance 

Recertification Application is now complete. 

Again, this is the initial, administrative step 

that indicates DOE has provided information 

relevant to each applicable provision of the 

WIPP Compliance Criteria and in sufficient 

detail for us to proceed with a full technical 

evaluation of the adequacy of the application. 

In accordance with section 8(f)(2) of the 

amended Land Withdrawal Act, EPA will 

make its recertification decision within six 

months of this letter. 

To the extent possible, the Agency began 

conducting a preliminary technical review of 

the application upon its submittal by DOE, 

and has provided the Department with 

relevant technical comments on an ongoing 

basis. EPA will continue to conduct its 

technical review of the Compliance 

Recertification Application as needed, and 

will convey further requests for additional 

information and analyses. The Agency will 

issue its compliance recertification decision, 

in accordance with 40 CFR part 194 and part 

191, subparts B and C, after it has thoroughly 

evaluated the complete CRA and considered 

relevant public comments. The public 

comment period on our completeness 

determination will remain open for 45 days 

following the publication of this letter in the 

Federal Register. 

Thank you for your cooperation during our 

review process. Should your staff have any 

questions regarding this request, they may 

contact Bonnie Gitlin at (202) 343–9290 or by 

e-mail at gitlin.bonnie@epa.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Elizabeth A. Cotsworth. 

Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. 

Dated: October 13, 2005. 

William L. Wehrum, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and 

Radiation. 

[FR Doc. 05–20987 Filed 10–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 387 

[Docket No. FHWA–1997–2923] 

RIN 2126–AA82 (Formerly RIN 2126–AA28) 

Qualifications of Motor Carriers To 

Self-Insure Their Operations and Fees 

To Support the Approval and 

Compliance Process 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM); withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: This notice is a withdrawal of 

a proposed rule under RIN 2126–AA28, 

which was inadvertently deleted from a 

prior agenda. The 1999 NPRM requested 

comments on the financial security and 

collateral requirements of self-insured 

motor carriers and fees associated with 

self-insurance. Section 103 of the 

Interstate Commerce Commission 

Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) 

directed the Secretary to create a single, 

on-line Federal system to replace four 

existing DOT and former ICC systems—

one of those being the financial 

responsibility information system. 

Because self-insurance is an aspect of 

carrier financial responsibility, the 

agency has decided to withdraw the 

1999 NPRM and has proposed 

amendments to the self-insurance 

regulations within the context of the 

financial reporting requirements being 

proposed under a new Unified 

Registration System and announced in a 

separate NPRM. 

DATES: The NPRM published on May 5, 

1999, at 64 FR 24123 is withdrawn as 

of October 20, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert F. Schultz, Jr., Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division, (202) 366–4001, 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, Department of 

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office 

hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., 

ET, Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 104(h) of the Interstate 

Commerce Commission Termination 

Act of 1995 [Pub. L. 104–88, December 

29, 1995, 109 Stat. 888] (ICCTA) 

directed the Secretary to continue to 

enforce the rules and regulations of the 

former ICC, which were in effect on July 

1, 1995, governing qualifications for 

approval of a motor carrier as a selfinsurer, until the Secretary deemed it in 

the public interest to revise those rules. 

Section 104(h) also specified that any 

revised rulemakings regarding selfinsurance must provide for the 

continuing ability of motor carriers to 

obtain self-insurance authorizations, 

and the continued qualification of all 

carriers conducting self-insured 

operations pursuant to grants issued by 

the ICC or the Secretary. On September 

23, 1997, the predecessor agency to the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA)—the Federal 

Highway Administration, Office of 

Motor Carriers—announced its intention 

to revise the self-insurance regulations 

in an advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM) (62 FR 49654). 

(The Federal Highway Administration, 

Office of Motor Carriers, became 

FMCSA on January 1, 2000, pursuant to 

the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement 

Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106–159, 113 Stat. 

1748 (December 9, 1999).) The public 

was invited to comment on a proposal 

to examine the sufficiency of the 

existing requirements for self-insurance 

authorizations, as well as the need for 

additional fees for functions performed 

in addition to the processing of the 

initial application. More specifically, 

the agency announced that it was 

considering the need for fees to cover 

costs associated with processing multicarrier applications and alterations to 

self-insurance authorizations, and for a 

monitoring fee to cover costs related to 

compliance responsibilities. The 

ANPRM solicited comments on the 

merits of continuing the self-insurance 

program and whether congressional 

action should be proposed to terminate 

the authorizations. 

On May 5, 1999, the agency proposed 

procedural changes to the self-insurance 

process for for-hire motor carriers (66 

FR 24123). Specifically, the agency 

would reevaluate the security and 

collateral requirements of any selfinsured carrier that fails to generate 

from operations, after payment of all 

expenses except annual self-insurance 

claims expenses, twice the level of cash 

needed to pay the self-insurance claims. 

An additional application fee would be 

assessed to cover carrier requests for 

modifications and alternations to selfinsurance authorizations that require a 

reevaluation of the carrier’s financial 

condition. Because the agency was able 

to process the basic first-time selfinsurance applications for less than it 

was currently charging, the fee for 

processing the initial application would 

be reduced from $4,200 to $3,000 for an 

economic cost savings. Finally, the 

NPRM proposed implementing 

additional procedures necessary for 

motor carriers to establish billing 

accounts to pay all insurance-related 

fees required by the agency. The 

proposal included a schedule of filing 

fees and general instructions regarding 

payment. 

Section 103 of ICCTA amended 

Section IV of title 49, United States 

Code by adding a new sec. 13908. 

Section 13908 directs the Secretary to 

issue regulations to replace four systems 

with a ‘‘single, on-line, Federal system.’’

The financial responsibility information 

system under 49 U.S.C. 13906 is one of 

the four systems to be merged under the 

unified system. Because the issue of 

self-insurance falls under the umbrella 

of financial responsibility, the agency 

has decided to withdraw the 1999 

NPRM and discuss its proposals within 

the context of the Unified Registration 

System (URS) NPRM (published in the 

61112 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 202 / Thursday, October 20, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

May 19, 2005, Federal Register at 70 FR 

28989.). Comments to the 1999 NPRM 

also are addressed in the URS NPRM. 

The 1999 self-insurance NPRM 

published at 66 FR 24123 on May 5, 

1999 is withdrawn, and DOT docket 

FMCSA–1997–2923 is closed. Members 

of the public who are interested in the 

issues associated with motor carrier selfinsurance are directed to the discussion 

and proposals relating to self-insurance 

published in the URS NPRM and DOT 

Docket Number FMCSA–1997–2349. 

Issued on: October 11, 2005. 

Annette M. Sandberg, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 05–20718 Filed 10–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P