42718 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2017 / Notices 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 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. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the Department’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for the 

Department to enhance the quality, 

utility and clarity of the information 

collection; and (d) ways that the burden 

could be minimized without reducing 

the quality of the collected information. 

The agency will summarize and/or 

include your comments in the request 

for OMB’s clearance of this information 

collection. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Danielle Bennett (202) 366–5469, Office 

of Maritime Workforce Development, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Request for Waiver of Service 

Obligation, Request for Deferment of 

Service Obligation, Application for 

Review. 

OMB Control Number: 2133–0510. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

Previously Approved Information 

Collection. 

Abstract: The Information collection 

is essential for determining if a student 

or graduate of the USMMA or a SMA 

that participated in the Student 

Incentive Payment (SIP) Program has a 

valid circumstance preventing them 

from fulfilling the requirements of the 

service obligation contract signed at the 

time of their enrollment in USMMA or 

the SIP program. It also permits the 

Maritime Administration (MARAD) to 

determine if a graduate, who wishes to 

defer their service obligation to attend 

graduate school, is eligible to receive a 

deferment. Student or graduates who 

submit a waiver or deferral request have 

an opportunity to appeal MARAD’s 

decision. This collection is essential for 

determining if the original decision for 

a waiver or deferral request should be 

overturned. Their service obligation is 

required by law. 

Respondents: U.S. Merchant Marine 

Academy students and graduates, and 

subsidized students and graduates. 

Affected Public: U.S. Merchant 

Marine Academy students and 

graduates, and subsidized students and 

graduates. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

11. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 11. 

Estimated Hours per Response: 30 

minutes. 

Annual Estimated Total Annual 

Burden Hours: 5.30. 

Frequency of Response: Annually. 

(Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 

49 CFR 1.93.) 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Dated: September 6, 2017. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19133 Filed 9–8–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2016–0124; Notice 2] 

General Motors LLC, Receipt of 

Second Petition for Inconsequentiality 

and Notice of Consolidation 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: On January 3, 2017, TK 

Holdings Inc. (Takata) filed a defect 

information report (DIR), in which it 

determined that a defect existed in 

certain passenger-side air bag inflators 

that it manufactured, including 

passenger inflators that it supplied to 

General Motors, LLC (GM) for use in 

certain GMT900 vehicles. GM has 

petitioned the Agency for a decision 

that, because of differences in inflator 

design and vehicle integration, the 

equipment defect determined to exist by 

Takata is inconsequential as it relates to 

motor vehicle safety in the GMT900 

vehicles, and that GM should therefore 

be relieved of its notification and 

remedy obligations. 

DATES: The closing date for comments is 

September 14, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written data, views, 

and arguments regarding this petition 

for inconsequentiality. Comments must 

refer to the docket and notice number 

cited in the title of this notice and be 

submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

• Internet: Go to http://

www.regulations.gov and follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12– 

140, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, 

Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

• Facsimile: (202) 493–2251. 

You may call the Docket at (202) 366– 

9324. 

Note that all comments received will 

be posted without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Thus, 

submitting such information makes it 

public. You may wish to read the 

Privacy Act notice, which can be 

viewed by clicking on the ‘‘Privacy and 

Security Notice’’ link in the footer of 

http://www.regulations.gov. DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement is 

available for review in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477–78). 

The petition, supporting materials, 

and all comments received before the 

close of business on the closing date 

indicated above will be filed in the 

docket and will be considered. 

Comments and supporting materials 

received after the closing date will also 

be filed and will be considered to the 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For legal issues: Stephen Hench, 

Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC–100, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 

(telephone: (202) 366–5263). 

For general information regarding 

NHTSA’s investigation into Takata air 

bag inflator ruptures and the related 

recalls: http://www.safercar.gov/rs/ 

takata/index.html. 

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On May 4, 2016, NHTSA issued, and 

Takata agreed to, an Amendment to the 

November 3, 2015 Consent Order (the 

‘‘Amendment’’), under which Takata is 

bound to declare a defect in all frontal 

driver and passenger air bag inflators 

that contain a phase-stabilized 

ammonium nitrate (PSAN)-based 

propellant and do not contain a 

moisture-absorbing desiccant. Such 

defect declarations will be made on a 

rolling basis, with the first declaration 

due on May 16, 2016 and the second 

declaration due on December 31, 2016. 

See Amendment at ¶ 14. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2017 / Notices 42719 

1When a manufacturer files a petition for 

inconsequentiality, the affected DIR will not be 

made public unless and until the Agency denies the 

petition. 

2 GM’s Second Petition has been publicly 

available on NHTSA’s Web site since January. 

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recall-spotlight/takata-airbags. 

GM’s May 27, 2016 DIRs 

Takata timely submitted the first 

scheduled equipment DIRs on May 16, 

2016. See Recall Nos. 16E–042, 16E– 

043, and 16E–044. Those DIRs included 

non-desiccated passenger inflators, 

designated as types SPI YP and PSPI–L 

YD, that were installed as original 

equipment on certain motor vehicles 

manufactured by GM (the ‘‘covered 

passenger inflators’’), as well as other 

non-desiccated passenger inflators 

installed as original equipment on 

motor vehicles manufactured by a 

number of other automakers, which are 

not at issue here. 

The Takata filing triggered GM’s 

obligation to file a DIR for the affected 

GM vehicles. See 49 CFR part 573; 

Amendment at ¶ 16; November 3, 2015 

Coordinated Remedy Order at ¶ 46. GM 

ultimately submitted two DIRs on May 

27, 2016. See Recall Nos. 16V–381 (for 

vehicles in Zone A) and 16V–383 (for 

vehicles in Zone B). 

On November 15, 2016, GM 

petitioned the Agency, under 49 U.S.C. 

30118(d), 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 

for a decision that the equipment defect 

determined to exist by Takata is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety in the GMT900 vehicles. 

See GM’s Petition for Inconsequentiality 

and Request for Deferral of 

Determination Regarding Certain 

GMT900 Vehicles Equipped with Takata 

‘‘SPI YP’’ and ‘‘PSPI–L YD’’ Passenger 

Inflators (the ‘‘First Petition for 

Inconsequentiality’’ or ‘‘First Petition’’). 

GM’s First Petition concluded that 

because the putative defect is 

inconsequential to safety in the GMT900 

vehicles, the company should be 

relieved of notification and remedy 

obligations for Takata inflators in those 

GM vehicles. See First Petition at p. 18. 

GM further requested that NHTSA defer 

its decision on the petition until GM is 

able to complete its testing and 

engineering analysis in August 2017. 

See id. 

In a Notice published in the Federal 

Register on November 28, 2016, the 

Agency published notice of the First 

Petition and granted two administrative 

requests. See 81 FR 85681. First, as a 

matter of its enforcement discretion, 

NHTSA accepted the First Petition even 

though it was filed outside the 

regulatory 30-day filing deadline. 

Second, NHTSA found that GM had 

produced probative evidence to support 

its inconsequentiality claim that—while 

not yet sufficient—tended to support 

GM’s Petition, at least with respect to 

the short-term safety of the covered 

passenger inflators. Therefore, NHTSA 

elected to grant GM until August 31, 

2017 to develop and present further 

evidence, data, and information, and 

defer the Agency’s decision on the First 

Petition for Inconsequentiality, unless 

additional evidence warrants an earlier 

decision. NHTSA further required that 

GM submit monthly testing updates, 

which would be made publicly 

available. Since then, GM has submitted 

updates for December 2016 and January 

through August 2017, which have been 

posted to the public docket. See Docket 

No. NHTSA–2016–0124. 

GM’s January 10, 2017 DIRs 

Takata timely submitted the second 

scheduled equipment DIRs on January 

3, 2017. See Recall Nos. 17E–001, 17E– 

002, and 17E–003. Those DIRs included 

additional covered passenger inflators. 

Again, the Takata filing triggered GM’s 

obligation to file a DIR for the affected 

GM vehicles. See 49 CFR part 573; 

Amendment at ¶ 16; Third Amendment 

to Coordinated Remedy Order at ¶ 32. 

GM ultimately submitted its DIRs on 

January 10, 2017. See Recall Nos. 17V– 

010, 17V–019, and 17V–021.1 Therein, 

in accordance with 49 CFR 

573.6(c)(8)(iii), GM notified NHTSA of 

its intention to file a petition for an 

exemption from its recall requirements 

(i.e., a petition for inconsequentiality). 

Contemporaneous with its DIRs, GM 

submitted to the Agency a Petition for 

Inconsequentiality and Request for 

Deferral of Determination Regarding 

Certain GMT900 Vehicles Equipped 

with Takata ‘‘SPI YP’’ and ‘‘PSPI–L YD’’ 

Passenger Inflators Subject to January 

2017 Takata Equipment DIR Filings (the 

‘‘Second Petition for 

Inconsequentiality’’ or ‘‘Second 

Petition’’).2

II. Class of Motor Vehicles Involved 

GM’s Second Petition involves certain 

‘‘GMT900’’ vehicles that contain the 

covered passenger inflators (designated 

as inflator types ‘‘SPI YP’’ and ‘‘PSPI– 

L YD’’). GMT900 is a GM-specific 

vehicle platform that forms the 

structural foundation for a variety of GM 

trucks and sport utility vehicles, 

including: Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 

GMC Sierra 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 

2500/3500, GMC Sierra 2500/3500, 

Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, 

Chevrolet Avalanche, GMC Yukon, 

GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade, 

Cadillac Escalade ESV, and Cadillac 

Escalade EXT. The Second Petition 

involves the following GMT900 

vehicles: 

• In Zone A, model year 2012 

GMT900 vehicles. Zone A comprises the 

following states and U.S. territories: 

Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, 

Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South 

Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American 

Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana 

Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. See Amendment at ¶ 7.a. 

• In Zone B, certain model year 2009 

GMT900 vehicles. Zone B comprises the 

following states: Arizona, Arkansas, 

Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, 

Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, 

Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New 

Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, 

Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, 

Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

See Amendment at ¶ 7.b. 

• In Zone C, certain model year 2007– 

2008 GMT900 vehicles. Zone C 

comprises the following states: Alaska, 

Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, 

Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, 

New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode 

Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, 

Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

See Amendment at ¶ 7.c. 

III. Summary of GM’s Second Petition 

for Inconsequentiality 

GM’s Second Petition raises the same 

issues and arguments as its First 

Petition. See Second Petition at p. 4. 

According to the Second Petition, GM’s 

engineering analysis supports the 

conclusion that the covered passenger 

inflators in the subject GMT900 vehicles 

are currently performing as designed, 

and will likely continue to perform as 

designed for a number of years—i.e., 

that the covered passenger inflators, as 

integrated into the GMT900 vehicles, do 

not present an unreasonable risk to 

safety. See Second Petition at p. 10. 

According to the Petition, GM’s 

position is based upon the following: an 

estimated 55,000 Takata passenger 

inflator deployments in GMT900 

vehicles without a rupture; ballistic 

tests of 1,624 covered passenger 

inflators without a rupture or sign of 

abnormal deployment; test deployment 

of 12 inflators artificially exposed to 

additional humidity and temperature 

cycling without a rupture or sign of 

abnormal deployment; and analysis, 

through stress-strength interference, 

indicating that the propellant in older 

covered passenger inflators has not 

degraded to a sufficient extent to create 

rupture risk. See Second Petition at pp. 

13–16. 

GM further states that the covered 

passenger inflators are not used by any 


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42720 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2017 / Notices 

other original equipment manufacturer 

and that those inflators have a number 

of unique design features that influence 

burn rates and internal ballistic 

dynamics, including greater vent-areato-propellant-mass ratios, steel end 

caps, and thinner propellant wafers. See 

Second Petition at p. 11–12. In addition, 

GM states that the physical environment 

of the GMT900 vehicles better protects 

the covered passenger inflators from 

temperature cycling that can cause 

rupture. Id. 

Finally, to supplement its internal 

analysis, GM has retained a third-party 

expert, Orbital ATK, to conduct a longterm aging study that will estimate the 

service life expectancy of the covered 

passenger inflators in the GMT900 

vehicles. See Second Petition at pp. 17– 

18. GM anticipates that this study will 

be complete in August 2017. Id. 

IV. Consolidation 

GM’s Second Petition for 

Inconsequentiality is virtually identical 

to the Petition for Inconsequentiality 

submitted on November 15, 2016. First, 

both petitions involve the same covered 

passenger inflators (i.e., frontal 

passenger inflator types ‘‘SPI YP’’ and 

‘‘PSPI–L YD’’). Second, both petitions 

involve the same vehicle platform (i.e., 

the GMT900). Third, both petitions rely 

upon the same purported evidence to 

support the safety of the inflators (i.e., 

estimated field deployments, ballistic 

testing, and stress-strength interference 

analysis). Fourth, both petitions will 

rely upon the same forthcoming report 

by Orbital ATK. According, it is 

appropriate to evaluate and dispose of 

the two petitions simultaneously. In the 

interest of clarity, consistency, and 

efficiency, the Agency is consolidating 

the Second Petition with the First 

Petition under Docket No. NHTSA– 

2016–0124. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq., 30118, 

30120(h), 30162, 30166(b)(1), 30166(g)(1); 

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95(a); 49 

CFR parts 556, 573, 577. 

Issued: August 31, 2017. 

Stephen P. Wood, 

Acting Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19139 Filed 9–8–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2017–0018] 

Volkswagen Group of America; 

Receipt of Petition for Temporary 

Exemption From FMVSS No. 108 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a petition for 

a temporary exemption from certain 

headlamp requirements of Federal 

Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 

No. 108, Lamps, Reflective devices, and 

Associated Equipment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

procedures, Volkswagen Group of 

America (Volkswagen, or Petitioner) has 

petitioned the agency for a temporary 

exemption from certain headlamp 

requirements of FMVSS No. 108 to 

allow the use of adaptive driving beam 

headlights. Volkswagen requests the 

exemption on the basis that it would 

facilitate the development or field 

evaluation of a new motor vehicle safety 

feature providing a safety level at least 

equal to that of the standard. NHTSA 

has made no judgment on the merits of 

the application. This notice of receipt of 

an application for a temporary 

exemption is published in accordance 

with statutory and administrative 

provisions. 

DATES: You should submit your 

comments not later than October 11, 

2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Piazza, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

NCC–112, National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Telephone: (202) 366–2992; Fax: (202) 

366–3820. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on the application described 

above. You may submit comments 

identified by docket number in the 

heading of this notice by any of the 

following methods: 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Please see the Privacy Act discussion 

below. We will consider all comments 

received before the close of business on 

the comment closing date indicated 

above. To the extent possible, we will 

also consider comments filed after the 

closing date. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov at any time or to 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. Telephone: 

(202) 366–9826. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to 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.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78) or you 

may visit http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy.html. 

Confidential Business Information: If 

you wish to submit any information 

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 Chief 

Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. In addition, you should 

submit two copies, from which you 

have deleted the claimed confidential 

business information, to Docket 

Management at the address given above. 

When you send a comment containing 

information claimed to be confidential 

business information, you should 

include a cover letter setting forth the 

information specified in our 

confidential business information 

regulation (49 CFR part 512). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory Authority for Temporary 

Exemptions 

The National Traffic and Motor 

Vehicle Safety Act (‘‘Safety Act’’), 

codified at 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, 

provides the Secretary of Transportation 

authority to exempt, on a temporary 

basis and under specified 


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