36614 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 141 / Friday, July 24, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Populations’’ (59 FR 7629, Feb. 16, 

1994), FEMA incorporates 

environmental justice into its policies 

and programs. The Executive Order 

requires each Federal agency to conduct 

its programs, policies, and activities that 

substantially affect human health or the 

environment in a manner that ensures 

that those programs, policies, and 

activities do not have the effect of 

excluding persons from participation in 

programs, denying persons the benefits 

of programs, or subjecting persons to 

discrimination because of race, color, or 

national origin. FEMA believes that no 

action under this rule will have a 

disproportionately high or adverse effect 

on human health or the environment, 

and that the rule meets the requirements 

of the Executive Order. 

Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children 

FEMA has analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children from Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not 

an economically significant rule and 

would not create an environmental risk 

to health or safety that might 

disproportionately affect children. 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

FEMA has reviewed this rule under 

Executive Order 13175, ‘‘Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments’’ (65 FR 67249, Nov. 9, 

2000). This rule will not have a 

substantial direct effect on one or more 

Indian Tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and 

Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal Government and Indian Tribes. 

Executive Order 12630, Governmental 

Actions and Interference With 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights 

FEMA has reviewed this rule under 

Executive Order 12630, ‘‘Governmental 

Actions and Interference with 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights’’ (53 FR 8859, Mar. 18, 1988) as 

supplemented by Executive Order 

13406, ‘‘Protecting the Property Rights 

of the American People’’ (71 FR 36973, 

June 28, 2006). This rule will not effect 

a taking of private property or otherwise 

have taking implications under 

Executive Order 12630. 

List of Subjects in 44 CFR Part 62 

Claims, Flood insurance, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 44 CFR part 62 which was 

published at 73 FR 18182, Apr. 3, 2008, 

is adopted as final without change. 

Dated: July 16, 2009. 

W. Craig Fugate, 

Administrator, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. E9–17744 Filed 7–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Parts 356, 365, and 374 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2008–0235] 

RIN 2126–AB16 

Elimination of Route Designation 

Requirement for Motor Carriers 

Transporting Passengers Over Regular 

Routes 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of disposition. 

SUMMARY: On March 17, 2009, FMCSA 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (74 FR 11318) extending the 

effective date of its January 16, 2009 

final rule entitled ‘‘Elimination of Route 

Designation Requirement for Motor 

Carriers Transporting Passengers Over 

Regular Routes’’ until June 15, 2009. 

This allowed for the solicitation of 

additional public comments on the final 

rule and gave the incoming 

Administration sufficient time to 

consider and respond to comments. 

After reviewing the one comment that 

was received, FMCSA decided to allow 

the January 19, 2009 final rule to go into 

effect. This notice addresses the 

comment that was submitted. 

DATES: The effective date for the rule 

amending 49 CFR Parts 356, 365, and 

374 published at 74 FR 2895 on January 

16, 2009, was June 15, 2009. The 

compliance date for this rule was July 

15, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Miller, Regulatory Development 

Division, (202) 366–5370 or by e-mail at: 

FMCSAregs@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

On January 16, 2009, FMCSA 

published a final rule announcing the 

discontinuation of the administrative 

requirement that applicants seeking forhire authority to transport passengers 

over regular routes submit a detailed 

description and a map of the route(s) 

over which they propose to operate (74 

FR 2895). The Agency indicated that it 

will register such carriers as regularroute carriers without requiring the 

designation of specific regular routes 

and fixed end-points. Once motor 

carriers have obtained regular-route, forhire operating authority from FMCSA, 

they will no longer need to seek 

additional FMCSA approval in order to 

change or add routes. The rule amended 

certain provisions of 49 CFR Parts 356, 

365 and 374 to make them consistent 

with the Agency’s discontinuation of 

the route designation requirement. Each 

registered regular-route motor carrier of 

passengers will continue to be subject to 

the full safety oversight and 

enforcement programs of FMCSA and 

its State and local partners. 

The effective date of the rule was 

originally March 17, 2009, with a 

compliance date of July 15, 2009. In 

accordance with the January 20, 2009 

memorandum from the Assistant to the 

President and Chief of Staff (74 FR 

4435), FMCSA published a notice on 

March 3, 2009 seeking comment on a 

proposal to delay the effective date of 

the final rule for 90 days (74 FR 9172). 

Based on comments submitted in 

response to the March 3 notice, FMCSA 

extended the effective date of the final 

rule from March 17, 2009, to June 15, 

2009, for the purpose of allowing the 

new leadership of the Department of 

Transportation to review the proceeding 

and to seek additional public comment 

(74 FR 11318, March 17, 2009). 

Comments to the March Notice 

Greyhound Lines, Inc. (Greyhound) 

submitted the only comment to the 

March 17 notice. Greyhound expressed 

concern that the Agency’s proposal 

would prevent meaningful 

implementation of the Over-The-Road 

Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 

2007, Public Law 110–291, 122 Stat. 

2915, July 30, 2008 because, without 

route designations, FMCSA would be 

unable to assess whether an applicant 

for new operating authority has 

adequate equipment and systems to 

comply with the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA). Moreover, 

eliminating the need for existing carriers 

to seek new authority before expanding 

their operations would eliminate 

FMCSA’s ability to assess ADA 

compliance before allowing route 

expansion. 

Greyhound also took issue with the 

Agency’s statement, in the preamble to 

the final rule, that FMCSA and its 

predecessor agencies have not used 

route designations in determining 

whether an applicant could operate 

safely over a specific route, but 

provided no cases to support its 

position. Greyhound reiterated 

arguments, made previously in this 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 141 / Friday, July 24, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 36615 

rulemaking proceeding, that FMCSA 

adopt a new process that would give 

greater scrutiny to a passenger carrier’s 

willingness and ability to comply with 

safety fitness and ADA requirements at 

the application stage. 

Response to Greyhound’s Comment 

FMCSA has not used the route filings 

for any of its safety enforcement or other 

program purposes. The Department of 

Transportation has signed the 

statutorily-required Memorandum of 

Understanding on ADA enforcement 

with the Department of Justice, which 

has the primary ADA enforcement role, 

and FMCSA will use other existing 

authorities to consider and, where 

appropriate, take enforcement action 

with respect to complaints of ADA noncompliance. These existing authorities 

do not require establishment of a 

separate enforcement process. 

Accordingly, FMCSA allowed the final 

rule to become effective on June 15, 

2009. 

The OP–1(P) application form has 

also been changed to eliminate the 

current route-designation and mapping 

requirements. Because changes to the 

OP–1(P) form had to be approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget, 

FMCSA delayed implementation of the 

new procedures until July 15, 2009. The 

rule is now in effect and compliance is 

required by all regular-route motor 

carriers of passengers. 

Issued on: July 17, 2009. 

Rose A. McMurray, 

Acting Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–17620 Filed 7–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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