Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Notices 31569 

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 14, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Number 

MARAD–2021–0006 by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Search 

MARAD–2021–0006 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–2021–0006, 

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, 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 

SHEARWATER is: 

—Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

‘‘Passenger max 6 guests San 

Francisco Bay private sailing 

charters.’’ 

—Geographic Region Including Base of 

Operations: ‘‘California.’’ (Base of 

Operations: San Francisco, CA). 

—Vessel Length and Type: 36′ Sailing 

vessel. 

The complete application is available 

for review identified in the DOT docket 

as MARAD 2021–0006 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–2021–0006 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 three copies of your 

complete submission, including the 

information you claim to be confidential 

business information, to the Department 

of Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, Office of Legislation 

and Regulations, MAR–225, W24–220, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. Include a cover 

letter setting forth with specificity the 

basis for any such claim and, if possible, 

a summary of your submission that can 

be made available to the public. 

Privacy Act 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 

DOT solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its rulemaking process. 

DOT posts these comments, without 

edit, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice, DOT/ALL–14 FDMS, accessible 

through www.dot.gov/privacy. To 

facilitate comment tracking and 

response, we encourage commenters to 

provide their name, or the name of their 

organization; however, submission of 

names is completely optional. Whether 

or not commenters identify themselves, 

all timely comments will be fully 

considered. If you wish to provide 

comments containing proprietary or 

confidential information, please contact 

the agency for alternate submission 

instructions. 

(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. 2021–12400 Filed 6–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2021–0026; Notice 1] 

Spartan Motors USA, Inc., Receipt of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: Spartan Motors USA, Inc. 

(Spartan), has determined that certain 

model year (MY) 2005 2012;2020 

Spartan Diamond, Gladiator, and 

MetroStar emergency response vehicles 

do not fully comply with Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 

121, Air Brake Systems. Spartan filed an 

original noncompliance report dated 

November 4, 2019, and later amended it 

on November 11, 2019. Subsequently, 

Spartan petitioned NHTSA on 

December 2, 2019, for a decision that 

the subject noncompliance is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. This notice announces 

receipt of Spartan’s petition. 


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31570 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Notices 

DATES: Send comments on or before July 

14, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written data, views, 

and arguments on this petition. 

Comments must refer to the docket and 

notice number cited in the title of this 

notice and submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Mail: Send comments by mail 

addressed to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver comments 

by hand to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. The Docket 

Section is open on weekdays from 10 

a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Federal 

holidays. 

• Electronically: Submit comments 

electronically by logging onto the 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) website at https://

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Comments may also be faxed to 

(202) 493–2251. 

Comments must be written in the 

English language and be no greater than 

15 pages in length, although there is no 

limit to the length of necessary 

attachments to the comments. If 

comments are submitted in hard copy 

form, please ensure that two copies are 

provided. If you wish to receive 

confirmation that comments you have 

submitted by mail were received, please 

enclose a stamped, self-addressed 

postcard with the comments. Note that 

all comments received will be posted 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

All comments and supporting 

materials received before the close of 

business on the closing date indicated 

above will be filed in the docket and 

will be considered. All comments and 

supporting materials received after the 

closing date will also be filed and will 

be considered to the fullest extent 

possible. 

When the petition is granted or 

denied, notice of the decision will also 

be published in the Federal Register 

pursuant to the authority indicated at 

the end of this notice. 

All comments, background 

documentation, and supporting 

materials submitted to the docket may 

be viewed by anyone at the address and 

times given above. The documents may 

also be viewed on the internet at https:// 

www.regulations.gov by following the 

online instructions for accessing the 

docket. The docket ID number for this 

petition is shown in the heading of this 

notice. 

DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement is available for review in a 

Federal Register notice published on 

April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477 2012;78). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ahmad Barnes, Safety Compliance 

Engineer, NHTSA, Office of Vehicle 

Safety Compliance, (202) 366–7236. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview 

Spartan has determined that certain 

MY 2005 2012;2020 Spartan Diamond, 

Gladiator, and MetroStar emergency 

response vehicles do not fully comply 

with the requirements of paragraph 

S5.1.2.1 of FMVSS No. 121, Air Brake 

Systems (49 CFR 571.121). Spartan filed 

an original noncompliance report dated 

November 4, 2019, and later amended it 

on November 11, 2019, pursuant to 49 

CFR part 573, Defect and 

Noncompliance Responsibility and 

Reports. In the November 11, 2019 

noncompliance report, Spartan 

indicated that the vehicles at issue had 

air reservoirs with a capacity of 2,068 

cubic inches without describing how 

this capacity was insufficient to meet 

the requirements of S5.1.2.1 of FMVSS 

No. 121. Spartan subsequently 

petitioned NHTSA on December 2, 

2019, for an exemption from the 

notification and remedy requirements of 

49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that 

this noncompliance is inconsequential 

as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 

Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or 

Noncompliance. 

This notice of receipt of Spartan’s 

petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and 30120 and does not represent 

any Agency decision or other exercise of 

judgment concerning the merits of the 

petition. 

II. Vehicles Involved 

Approximately 3,583 MY 2005–2020 

Spartan Diamond, Gladiator, and 

MetroStar emergency response vehicles, 

manufactured between October 18, 

2004, and October 1, 2019, are 

potentially involved. 

III. Noncompliance 

Spartan described the noncompliance 

as combined volume of air in the service 

and supply reservoirs in the air brake 

system does not meet the required 

minimum of twelve times the combined 

volume of air from all service brake 

chambers as in paragraph S5.1.2.1 of 

FMVSS No. 121. 

IV. Rule Requirements 

Paragraph S5.1.2.1 of FMVSS No. 121 

includes the requirements relevant to 

this petition. The combined volume of 

all service reservoirs and supply 

reservoirs shall be at least 12 times the 

combined volume of all service brake 

chambers. 

V. Summary of Spartan’s Petition 

The following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

of Spartan’s Petition,’’ are the views and 

arguments provided by Spartan. They 

have not been evaluated by the Agency 

and do not reflect the views of the 

Agency. Spartan describes the subject 

noncompliance and contends that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety. 

In support of its petition, Spartan 

submitted the following reasoning: 

1. There are 3,227 chassis cabs 

affected by this condition, which are 

equipped with T–30 brake chambers on 

the steer axle and T–30 brake chambers 

on the drive axle. In using the values in 

Table V of FMVSS No. 121, the 

cumulative air capacity of these brake 

chambers would be 356 cu. in. 

Multiplying by 12, the needed air 

reservoir capacity would be 4,272 cu. in. 

The actual air reservoir capacity on 

these vehicles is 4,152 cu. in. 

There are 356 chassis cabs affected by 

this condition, which are equipped with 

T–30 brake chambers on the steer axle, 

T–30 brake chambers on the drive axle, 

and T–30 brake chambers on the tandem 

axle. In using the values in Table V of 

FMVSS No. 121, the cumulative air 

capacity of these brake chambers would 

be 534 cu. in. Multiplying by 12, the 

needed air reservoir capacity would be 

6,408 cu. in. The actual air reservoir 

capacity on these vehicles is 6,236 cu. 

in. 

2. Air Compressor Cut-In Pressure: In 

paragraph S5.1.1 of FMVSS No. 121, the 

vehicle is to be equipped with an air 

compressor of sufficient capacity to 

increase air pressure in the supply and 

service reservoirs from 85 psi to 100 psi 

when the engine is operating at the 

vehicle manufacturer’s maximum 

recommend rpm within a time, in 

seconds, determined by the quotient 

((Actual reservoir capacity × 25)/ 

Required reservoir capacity). In using 

this equation, in vehicles subject to the 

noncompliance, the air pressure would 

be required to go from 85 psi to 100 psi 

within 24.14 seconds ((4152*25)/4272). 

Using the same equation and the 

required air reservoir capacity of 4,272 

cu. in., the air pressure would need to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Notices 31571 

increase from 85 psi to 100 psi within 

25 seconds. Vehicles subject to the 

condition that has resulted in the 

noncompliance to paragraph S5.1.2.1 

could increase air pressure from 85 psi 

to 100 psi in less than 6 seconds, well 

within the requirement of 24.14 

seconds. Further, vehicles subject to this 

condition have a cut in pressure set at, 

or greater than, the minimum 

requirement of 100 psi. 

The impact of having 2.7% to 2.8% 

less air reservoir capacity than required, 

the difference in the cut in pressure 

requirement of only 1 second, would 

appear to have an adverse consequence 

of a slight increase in air compressor 

cycling. However, this would be 

dependent on application of the service 

brakes. 

3. Emergency Vehicle Duty Cycle: The 

vocational duty cycle of a fire apparatus 

requires the emergency vehicle to 

respond to emergency situations that are 

predominantly short distances away, 

notwithstanding trips to a dealer or 

service provider. The number of times 

will vary between fire departments; 

however, the duty cycle for a fire 

apparatus is intermittent when 

compared to an over-the-road vehicle. 

While the braking applications in these 

short distances may be frequent, the air 

compressor would be able to maintain 

adequate air pressure in the air reservoir 

system. With the minimal lowered 

capacity, with the slightly less than a 1 

second difference in filling the air 

reservoir system, the slightly lower than 

required capacity would likely not be 

noticeable to the driver. 

4. Vocational Requirements: The 

National Fire Protection Association 

(NFPA) promulgates a vocational 

standard that defines requirements 

specific to the vocational aspect of the 

emergency vehicle. Within NFPA 1901 

Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus 

(NFPA 1901), emergency vehicles 

subject to the requirements of the 

standard are required to be equipped 

with a quick build up section in the air 

reservoir system so that if the vehicle 

has a completely discharged air system, 

the apparatus would be able to be 

moved within 60 seconds. For those 

emergency vehicles that cannot be 

equipped with the quick build up 

section, they are required to be 

equipped with an on-board automatic 

electric compressor or shoreline hook 

up. 

Additionally, NFPA 1901 requires all 

vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight 

rating (GVWR) greater than 36,000 

pounds be equipped with an auxiliary 

braking system. This may be, depending 

on the option of the purchaser, a 

transmission retarder, an inline retarder, 

or exhaust restriction device. All but 16 

vehicles subject to this noncompliance 

have a GVWR of more than 36,000 

pounds. 

5. Air System Warning: The 

completed emergency vehicles subject 

to this condition are equipped with two 

air gauges that monitor the air system 

pressure in both System 1 and System 

2. In addition to the air gauges, there are 

both a warning light and audible alarm 

to alert the driver of a low air condition. 

6. Conclusion: The actual air reservoir 

capacity in the affected emergency 

response chassis cabs and emergency 

vehicles may be between 2.7% and 

2.8% less than the calculated required 

amount. However, due to the duty cycle 

of an emergency vehicle, the vocational 

requirements, and the air compressor 

cycling that is well within the required 

time using the equation from FMVSS 

No. 121, Spartan believes the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. The less-thanrequired capacity does not appear to 

impact vehicle braking performance 

(e.g., stopping distance, brake 

application, and release timing). The 

completed vehicles are equipped with 

dual air gauges and a visual and audible 

warning system to alert the driver to a 

loss of air in the air brake system. 

Spartan concludes that the subject 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety and that 

its petition to be exempted from 

providing notification of the 

noncompliance, as required by 49 

U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 

noncompliance, as required by 49 

U.S.C. 30120, should be granted. 

NHTSA notes that the statutory 

provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to 

file petitions for a determination of 

inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to 

exempt manufacturers only from the 

duties found in sections 30118 and 

30120, respectively, to notify owners, 

purchasers, and dealers of a defect or 

noncompliance and to remedy the 

defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any 

decision on this petition only applies to 

the subject vehicles that Spartan no 

longer controlled at the time it 

determined that the noncompliance 

existed. However, any decision on this 

petition does not relieve vehicle 

distributors and dealers of the 

prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, 

or introduction or delivery for 

introduction into interstate commerce of 

the noncompliant vehicles under their 

control after Spartan notified them that 

the subject noncompliance existed. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: 

delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 

501.8. 

Otto G. Matheke III, 

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12339 Filed 6–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2021–0019] 

Pipeline Safety: Request for Special 

Permit; Tennessee Gas Pipeline 

Company, LLC 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA is publishing this 

notice to solicit public comments on a 

request for special permit received from 

the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, 

LLC (TGP). The special permit request 

is seeking relief from compliance with 

certain requirements in the Federal 

pipeline safety regulations. At the 

conclusion of the 30-day comment 

period, PHMSA will review the 

comments received from this notice as 

part of its evaluation to grant or deny 

the special permit request. 

DATES: Submit any comments regarding 

this special permit request by July 14, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference 

the docket number for this special 

permit request and may be submitted in 

the following ways: 

• E-Gov Website: http://

www.Regulations.gov. This site allows 

the public to enter comments on any 

Federal Register notice issued by any 

agency. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management System: 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Docket Operations, M–30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Docket Management 

System: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9:00 

a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: You should identify the 

docket number for the special permit 

request you are commenting on at the 

beginning of your comments. If you 


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