Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 1996 / Proposed Rules 2991

(42 U.S.C. 6912, 6921–7, 6930, and

6973–4).

II. Today’s Action

In response to Section 107 of the

Federal Facility Compliance Act (FFCA)

of l992 which added a new subsection

3004(y) to the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C.

section 6924(y)), EPA proposed a rule

(60 FR 56468, November 8, 1995) that

identifies when conventional and

chemical military munitions become a

hazardous waste under RCRA, and that

provides for the safe storage and

transport of such waste. The proposal

would also amend existing regulations

regarding emergency responses

involving military munitions and other

explosives, by non-military or private

personnel, as well as by the military.

The proposal would also revise the

definition of ‘‘on-site,’’ which applies to

all generators of hazardous waste.

Because of the partial shutdown of the

Federal government, EPA is today

extending the end of the public

comment period from January 8 to

February 2, 1996.

Dated: January 18, 1996.

Elaine Cotsworth,

Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.

[FR Doc. 96–1711 Filed 1–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 571

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety

Standards

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Denial of petition for

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document denies a

petition for rulemaking submitted by

Herzlich Consulting, Inc. Herzlich asked

that the tire standards be amended to

require that tires be designed to provide

a visual indication when the tread depth

reaches 3⁄32 inch. Herzlich also asked

that the agency define legal tire wear out

as having 3⁄32 inch tread depth with no

bald areas. The petitioner asserted that

this change would improve wet traction,

improve antilock brake system (ABS)

performance, result in fewer landfill

scrap tires, provide a better supply of

undamaged tire casings for retreading,

and improve tire safety enforcement.

NHTSA has decided to deny the

Herzlich petition. The agency believes

that there is no safety need to remove

tires at 3⁄32 inch, that more rather than

fewer scrap tires would be generated if

tires were removed sooner, that

passenger car tires are not retreaded in

sufficient numbers to compensate for

the greater number of scrap tire casings

that would result from earlier tire

removal, and that enforcement efforts

would not be greatly enhanced if tires

were removed when tread depth reaches

3⁄32 inches instead of when it reaches 2⁄32 inches.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

technical issues: Robert M. Clarke,

Office of Vehicle Safety Standards,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Room 5307, Washington, DC 20590;

telephone (202) 366–5278, facsimile

(202) 366–4329.

For legal issues: Walter Myers, Office

of the Chief Counsel, National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Room 5219,

Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202)

366–2992, facsimile (202) 366–3820.

Background Information

Current Regulatory Requirements

Federal motor vehicle safety

standards (Standards) 109, New

pneumatic tires (49 CFR 571.109), and

119, New pneumatic tires for motor

vehicles other than passenger cars (49

CFR 571.119) both require treadwear

indicators that provide visual indication

when the tire has been worn to a tread

depth of 1⁄16 inch. For motorcycle tires,

Standard No. 119 requires tread depth

indicators at 1⁄32 inch.

Specifically, paragraph S4.2(d),

Standard No. 109 provides that:

If manufactured on or after August 1, 1968,

[each tire] shall incorporate a tread wear

indicator that will provide a visual indication

that the tire has worn to a tread depth of 1⁄16

inch.

With respect to new pneumatic tires

for motor vehicles other than passenger

cars, paragraph S6.4 of Standard No.

119 provides that:

Except as specified below, each tire shall

have at least six treadwear indicators spaced

approximately equally around the

circumference of the tire that enable a person

inspecting the tire to determine visually

whether the tire has worn to a tread depth

of one sixteenth of an inch. Tires with 12-

inch or smaller rim diameter shall have at

least three such treadwear indicators.

Motorcycle tires shall have at least three such

indicators which permit visual determination

that the tire has worn to a tread depth of onethirty-second of an inch.

No Federal motor vehicle safety

standard requires that tires be removed

from a vehicle at those or any other

tread depths. However, § 570.9(a) of part

570, Vehicle in use inspection

standards, specifies that tread depth of

any tire on a vehicle with a gross

vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000

pounds or less shall be not less than 2⁄32

inches. For vehicles with a higher

GVWR, § 570.62(a) specifies a tread

depth of not less than 4⁄32 inches for

front tires and not less than 2⁄32 inches

for all other tires. However, the agency

has specified tread depth limits for tires

on vehicles-in-use in its vehicle-in-use

standards. Pursuant to a statutory

mandate, the agency issued those

standards for implementation by the

States as part of their highway safety

programs under 23 U.S.C. 402.

The Petition

Pursuant to 49 CFR part 552, Herzlich

Consulting, Inc., of Las Vegas, NV

(Herzlich) petitioned NHTSA to amend

the tire standards to require that tires be

designed to provide a visual indication

when the tread depth reaches 3⁄32 inch.

Herzlich also asked that the agency

define legal tire wearout as having 3⁄32

inch tread depth with no bald areas.

Herzlich stated that it is a ‘‘rule of

thumb’’ that approximately 80 percent

of tire road hazard failures occur in the

final 20 percent of tread life. He asserted

that tire technology must now address

new needs that include tire interaction

with ABS, decreased rolling resistance

and improved retreading. He stated that

when a tread reaches a depth of 2⁄32

inch, it will not have sufficient tread

remaining to meet wet skid resistance

requirements. He further stated that

when a tire reaches a tread depth of 2⁄32

inch, there are already areas that are

below that depth and some spots are

even bald. In addition, petitioner stated

that the suggested amendments would

provide better tire safety enforcement,

provide the retread industry a better

supply of casings, and reduce

environmental concerns about so many

scrap tires in landfills. Finally,

petitioner stated that because individual

tire manufacturers cannot themselves

make such changes if they want to

remain competitive, NHTSA should,

and has a unique opportunity to,

mandate such changes.

Agency Decision

The 2⁄32 inch figure specified in

Standards 109 and 199 for the tires for

most types of vehicles is based on early

studies that showed that tire treads

essentially lose their traction

capabilities at about 1⁄16 inch. In a report

entitled Skidding Accidents on

Runways and Highways Can Be

Reduced, prepared by W. B. Horne of
2992 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 1996 / Proposed Rules

the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration’s Langley Research

Center for publication in the August,

1967 issue of the Journal of Astronautics

and Aeronautics, the author stated:

Research indicates that grooved or treaded

tires behave like bald or smooth tires when

the groove depth is decreased by wear to

about 1⁄16 inch of tread remaining.

The same conclusion was reached in

a study entitled Vehicle-in-Use Limit

Performance and Tire Factors—The Tire

In Use, prepared in March, 1975 for

NHTSA by Paul S. Fancher and James

E. Bernard, report no. DOT HS–801 438.

The report stated in pertinent part:

Our recommendation, based on the results

of this investigation * * *, is that tires

should be replaced when they reach a groove

depth of 2⁄32 of an inch.

Those studies, among others,

confirmed a long-standing practice in

the tire industry that tires should be

replaced when the tread reached a

depth of 1⁄16 inch (the ‘‘rule of thumb’’

was to place a penny in the tire groove

and if you could see the top of Lincoln’s

head, it was time to replace or retread

the tire). NHTSA adopted the industry

practice in specifying the treadwear

indicator height in Standard Nos. 109

and 119 at 1⁄16 inch.

Herzlich cited his own forensic

experience in asserting that a tread

depth of 2⁄32 inch is inadequate to

maintain effective wet skid resistance.

However, he cited no pertinent data in

support of his forensic experience.

Further, NHTSA is unaware of any data

that would suggest that a tread depth of

2⁄32 inch is unsafe or that treadwear

indicators should be raised.

The petitioner asserted that tire

technology must now service new tire

needs such as ABS, but did not explain

the implications of ABS technology and

performance for tire technology and tire

tread depths. NHTSA has issued

extensive rulemaking in recent years on

ABS technology (see e.g., final rule on

heavy truck ABS, 60 FR 13216, March

10, 1995). Theoretically, by preventing

wheel lockup, ABS should be able to

prevent tires from ‘‘flat spotting’’ or

developing bald areas, thereby

increasing tire life. Further, based on its

experience with ABS, NHTSA does not

believe that increasing the height of the

treadwear indicators would measurably

improve any function associated with

ABS.

Petitioner also stated that tire

technology must help provide decreased

rolling resistance. Again, petitioner did

not elaborate on this, nor provide any

data to suggest that raising the

treadwear indicators would have any

effect on rolling resistance. NHTSA

knows of no such correlation. Thus,

although NHTSA agrees that tire

technology must be responsive to new

needs, the agency does not see how

raising the treadwear indicators would

contribute to the reduction of rolling

resistance.

Petitioner alluded to the potential for

improved recycling because there would

be fewer landfill junk tires and by

providing retreaders a better supply of

usable casings. The January 1995 issue

of Modern Tire Dealer magazine stated

that approximately 228,200,000

passenger car tires are shipped

nationwide per year, while only

5,850,000 retreaded passenger car tires

are shipped. Thus, if tire life were

shortened by removing tires from

vehicles before reaching a tread depth of

2⁄32 inch, there should logically be more

rather than fewer tires in landfills.

NHTSA does not know of any data

suggesting that tire casings are sounder

for retreading purposes with 3⁄32 inch

tread remaining than those with 2⁄32

inch tread remaining, or that more tires

would be retreaded if more tread

remained on the casing prior to

retreading. Even assuming that there

might be a small increase in the number

of tires retreaded if tires had more tread

remaining when they were retired, the

agency has no data, and the petitioner

provided none, on how many additional

tires could be expected to be retreaded

compared to the additional number of

tires that would be removed and

discarded upon reaching a tread depth

of 3⁄32 inch.

In summary, NHTSA knows of no

data suggesting either a safety or an

environmental need to raise the

treadwear indicators to 3⁄32 inch, and the

petitioner has presented none. Neither

has the petitioner submitted any data to

support his assertions that a tread depth

of 3⁄32 inch would improve ABS wet

skid interaction, provide retreaders a

better supply of undamaged tire casings,

result in fewer scrap tires in landfills, or

that tire safety enforcement would be

improved. There is no reasonable

probability that the requested

amendments would be issued at the end

of a rulemaking proceeding.

Accordingly, the petition of Herzlich

Consulting, Inc. is denied.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, and

30162; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

Issued on January 24, 1996.

Barry Felrice,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 96–1654 Filed 1–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 960111003–6008–02; I.D.

122095C]

RIN 0648–AI48

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch

Sharing Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed catch sharing plan;

request for comment.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve

and implement a catch sharing plan

(CSP) in accordance with the Northern

Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut

Act). The CSP would apportion the

catch limit specified by the

International Pacific Halibut

Commission (IPHC) for Regulatory Area

4 among subareas 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and

4E in and off the State of Alaska. The

proposed CSP is based on the

recommendations of the North Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council).

This action is necessary to provide a

basis for allocating the Pacific halibut

resources of the Bering Sea and Aleutian

Islands area among U.S. fishers who

harvest these resources in accordance

with the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ)

Program and Community Development

Quota (CDQ) Program. The action is

intended to carry out the fishery

management objectives of the Council

under the provisions of the Halibut Act

and is consistent with the resource

management objectives of the IPHC.

DATES: Comments on the CSP must be

received before the close of business on

February 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ronald J.

Berg, Chief, Fishery Management

Division, NMFS, Alaska Region, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668,

Attention: Lori Gravel. A copy of the

Environmental Assessment, Regulatory

Impact Review, and Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) may be

obtained from the North Pacific Fishery

Management Council, 605 W. 4th Ave.,

Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501–2252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay

J. C. Ginter, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Secretary of Commerce

(Secretary) is responsible for

implementing the Halibut Convention