Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 4, 1995 / Proposed Rules 17049

Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The

complete text of this decision may also

be purchased from the Commission’s

copy contractor, International

Transcription Service, Inc., (202) 857–

3800, 2100 M Street, NW, Suite 140,

Washington, D.C. 20037.

Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to

this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that from the time a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making is issued until the matter

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contacts.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 95–8134 Filed 4–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–F

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

49 CFR Chapter I

[Docket No. HM–222; Notice No. 95–5]

Improving the Hazardous Materials

Safety Program; Public Meetings and

Request for Comments Related to

Regulatory Review and Customer

Service

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Public meetings and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

nationwide series of seven public

meetings during April and May to seek

information from the public on

regulatory reform and improved

customer service for RSPA’s hazardous

materials safety program.

DATES: Meetings: Public meetings will

be held as follows:

(1) April 19, 1995, in San Francisco,

California.

(2) April 20, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois.

(3) April 26, 1995 in Clearwater Beach,

Florida.

(4) April 27, 1995 in Tampa, Florida.

(5) April 28, 1995 in Tampa, Florida.

(6) May 16, 1995 in Houston, Texas.

(7) May 18, 1995 in Minneapolis,

Minnesota.

Comments: This notice invites

comments on both regulatory reform

and improved customer service.

Participation in the meeting is not a

prerequisite for the submission of

written comments. Please submit

comments before May 31, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Meetings: See

Supplementary Information for specific

times, locations and agendas.

Comments: Please address written

comments to the Dockets Unit (DHM–

30), Research and Special Programs

Administration, U.S. Department of

Transportation, Washington, DC 20590–

0001. Comments may also be faxed to

(202)366–3753. Comments should

identify the docket (Docket No. HM–

222). The Dockets Unit is located in

room 8421 of the Nassif Building, 400

Seventh Street S.W., Washington, DC

20590–0001. Office hours are 8:30 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except on public holidays when the

office is closed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edmund J. Richards, Interagency

Hazardous Materials Program

Coordinator, (202) 366–0656; or Suezett

Edwards, Training and Information

Specialist, (202) 366–4900; Hazardous

Materials Safety, RSPA, Department of

Transportation, Washington, DC 20590–

0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March

4, 1995, President Clinton issued a

memorandum to heads of departments

and agencies calling for a review of all

agency regulations and elimination or

revision of those that are outdated or in

need of reform. The President also

directed that front line regulators

‘‘ * * * get out of Washington and

create grassroots partnerships’’ with

people affected by agency regulations.

RSPA is reviewing the Hazardous

Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR

Parts 171–180), and associated

procedural rules (49 CFR Parts 106 and

107), in response to the President’s

directive.

On September 11, 1993, the President

signed an Executive Order on setting

customer service standards. The

Executive Order requires continual

reform of the executive branch’s

management practices and operations to

provide service to the public that

matches or exceeds the best service

available in the private sector. RSPA is

seeking information from customers of

its hazardous materials safety program

to determine the kind and quality of

services they want and their level of

satisfaction with existing services.

Conduct of Meetings

Meetings will be informal, intended to

produce a dialogue between agency

personnel and those persons directly

affected by the hazardous materials

safety programs, regulations and

customer services. The meeting officer

reserves the right to limit time allocated

to speakers, if necessary, to ensure that

all have an opportunity to speak.

Conversely, meetings may conclude

before the scheduled time if all persons

wishing to participate have been heard.

Meeting Schedule and Agendas

The public meetings will be held as

follows:

(1) April 19, 1995, from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m., in San Francisco, California,

EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San

Francisco, California 94105, 1st floor

conference rooms. This meeting will

have an open agenda.

(2) April 20, 1995, from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m., in Chicago, Illinois, Banker’s

Building (Health and Human Services

Facility), 105 West Adams Street,

Chicago, Illinois 60603, Floor/Room:

10th/1015. This meeting will have an

open agenda.

(3) April 26, 1995, from 1:00 p.m. to

4:00 p.m., in Clearwater Beach, Florida,

Sheraton Sand Key Resort Hotel, 1160

Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater Beach,

Florida 34630. This meeting, held

immediately after a previously

scheduled Compressed Gas Association

meeting, will focus primarily on the

manufacture, maintenance and testing

of compressed gas cylinders.

(4) April 27, 1995, from 1:00 p.m. to

4:00 p.m., in Tampa, Florida, Crowne

Plaza, Sabal Park, 10221 Princess Palm

Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33610. This

meeting will have an open agenda.

(5) April 28, 1995, from 9:00 a.m. to

12:00 p.m., in Tampa, Florida, Crowne

Plaza, Sabal Park, 10221 Princess Palm

Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33610. This

meeting will focus primarily on

pyrotechnics (fireworks) transportation

issues.

(6) May 16, 1995, from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m., in Houston, Texas, Sheraton

Crown Hotel & Conference Center,

15700 John F. Kennedy Boulevard,

Houston, Texas 77032. This meeting

will have an open agenda.

(7) May 18, 1995, from 1:00 p.m. to

4:00 p.m., in Minneapolis, Minnesota,

Radisson Hotel South & Plaza Tower,

7800 Normandie Boulevard,

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55539. This

meeting will have an open agenda.

Five of the seven meetings (April 19

in San Francisco, April 20 in Chicago,
17050 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 4, 1995 / Proposed Rules

April 27 in Tampa, May 16 in Houston,

and May 18 in Minneapolis) will have

an open agenda, based on interests of

the participants. Two meetings to be

held in Florida will have focus areas as

follows:

(1) April 26 in Clearwater Beach: This

meeting, held in association with a

Compressed Gas Association meeting,

will focus primarily on the manufacture,

maintenance and testing of compressed

gas cylinders.

(2) April 28 in Tampa: This meeting,

held with the cooperation of the

American Pyrotechnics Association,

will focus primarily on pyrotechnics

(fireworks).

Even though these latter two meetings

will have focus areas, they will be open

to all interested persons and speakers

may address any area pertinent to

RSPA’s hazardous materials safety

program.

Areas of Regulatory Concern

In calling on agencies to cut obsolete

regulations, the President directs each

agency to consider the following issues

in its review of the regulations:

• Is this regulation obsolete?

• Could its intended goal be achieved

in more efficient, less intrusive ways?

• Are there better private sector

alternatives, such as market

mechanisms, that can better achieve the

public good envisioned by the

regulation?

• Could private business, setting its

own standards and being subject to

public accountability, do the job as

well?

• Could the States or local

governments do the job, making Federal

regulation unnecessary?

RSPA suggests that persons

commenting on the hazardous materials

safety program consider these issues.

The President’s call for regulatory

reform provides opportunities for

eliminating or improving hazardous

materials safety regulations. RSPA has

undertaken a page-by-page review of the

HMR and has identified certain sections

of the HMR that are candidates for

elimination, revision, clarification or

relaxation. Although RSPA does not

wish to imply that discussion is limited

to these items, the items listed below are

suggested as candidates for discussion

at the public meetings:

(1) There appear to be jurisdictional

issues that need resolution. For

example, there is a question as to

whether certain rail storage practices are

‘‘storage in transportation’’ and, thus,

subject to the HMR, and whether the

HMR should apply to rail tank car

unloading operations, not involving rail

carriers, which occur on private

facilities. Other issues concern whether

RSPA should continue to exercise

jurisdiction in areas where other Federal

agencies also exercise jurisdiction. For

example, should RSPA remove

regulatory provisions concerning

hazardous waste manifests in deference

to EPA requirements for manifesting?

Should RSPA continue to regulate

hazardous materials, such as fireworks,

that are subject to regulations of the

Consumer Product Safety Commission

or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms? Should RSPA defer to the

requirements of other agencies having

occupational safety responsibilities

which affect transportation, such as the

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA), and OSHA

agreement States? RSPA anticipates

coordinating with other Federal

agencies that regulate hazardous

materials to resolve any multijurisdictional problems identified

through the review.

(2) The modal-specific portions of the

HMR—Part 174 for rail, Part 175 for air,

Part 176 for water and Part 177 for

highway—appear to contain a number

of provisions that should be eliminated

or revised. For example, many of the

special handling requirements and

accident response requirements appear

obsolete.

(3) There may be opportunities for

relaxing certain regulatory provisions

without unduly impacting safety, such

as by increasing the time interval for

recurrent training or providing

additional small quantity exceptions

from incident reporting.

Improvements to Customer Service

RSPA is soliciting comments on the

kind and quality of services its

customers want and their level of

satisfaction with the services currently

provided by the hazardous materials

safety program. RSPA will use the

comments to establish service standards

and measure results against them;

provide customers with choices in both

the sources of service and the means of

delivery; make information, services,

and complaint systems easily accessible;

and provide the means to address

customer complaints. RSPA’s current

customer services include providing

guidance in understanding and

complying with the HMR and

processing exemptions, approvals,

registrations, grant applications, and

enforcement actions. Other customer

services include conduct of multi-modal

hazardous materials seminars, operation

of the Hazardous Materials Information

Exchange (HMIX) electronic bulletin

board, and development and

dissemination of training and

informational materials.

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 30,

1995.

Alan I. Roberts,

Associate Administrator for Hazardous

Materials Safety.

[FR Doc. 95–8165 Filed 4–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P