Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 207 / Friday, October 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 49771 

III. Request for Exemption 

WEDA filed this application for 

exemption on behalf of its own 

organization and the following: 

Northeast Equipment Dealers 

Association; North Dakota Implement 

Dealers Association; Midwest-South 

Eastern Equipment Dealers Association; 

Far West Equipment Dealers 

Association; Deep South Equipment 

Dealers Association; Equipment Dealers 

Association and the United Equipment 

Dealers Association. 

These groups represent approximately 

6,000 farm, industrial and outdoor 

power equipment dealers in North 

America. WEDA states that in the 

agriculture sector, equipment dealers 

play a key role in selling and servicing 

equipment for farmers and ranchers, as 

they transport machinery to and from 

farms and between dealerships. They 

partner with agricultural producers to 

increase productivity through the 

training and use of new equipment 

technologies. Complying with the ELD 

requirement will be unduly burdensome 

for equipment dealers and their 

customers—farmers and ranchers, 

without providing the sought-after 

safety advancements contemplated by 

the rule. 

Many of the vehicles owned by 

equipment dealers require a commercial 

driver’s license to operate. When 

transporting equipment to and from the 

farm, on behalf of the farmer, they are 

either delivering new equipment or 

transporting equipment to a dealership 

to be serviced. Equipment dealers also 

employ service trucks that drive to 

farms and ranches to work on 

customer’s equipment and deliver parts 

to the customer’s location. In either 

instance, these vehicles usually operate 

within a confined distance from the 

dealership of less than 150 miles, and 

are primarily in rural regions of their 

respective states. 

WEDA states that due to the seasonal, 

unpredictable and rural nature of 

agriculture production, Congress has 

granted agriculture businesses 

numerous exemptions from 

transportation requirements. The clear 

intent was to accommodate agricultural 

operations by broadening the scope of 

existing agribusiness exemptions in 

terms of distance and types of entities 

covered by the exemption because the 

reality of farming and ranching 

operations required it. 

WEDA explains that the agribusiness 

exemption to the HOS rules is separate 

and distinct from the short-haul 

exemption. Under 49 CFR (k)(1–3), 

equipment dealers are exempt from 

HOS and log book requirements during 

State-defined harvest and planting 

seasons when: (1) Transporting farm 

supplies for an agricultural purpose; (2) 

from the dealership to a farm; and (3) 

within a 150 air-mile radius of the 

distribution point. This exemption, 

however, does not cover transportation 

of equipment from the farm to a 

dealership. 

The ELD rule, according to WEDA, 

creates confusing and overlapping 

scenarios due to the conflicting rules 

placed on equipment dealers. 

Depending on the State definition of 

harvest and planting season, an 

equipment dealer may be required to 

install an ELD for only the couple of 

months of the year when the 

agribusiness exemption is not in effect. 

The agribusiness exemption is limited 

in scope; therefore, an equipment dealer 

could be exempt from using an ELD in 

certain cases, while still required to 

utilize an ELD in others. 

The ELD requirements threaten to 

limit the exemptions and weave a 

complex regulatory framework that 

would be difficult for equipment dealers 

to comply with, advises WEDA. The 

short-haul and agribusiness exceptions 

apply in different scenarios at different 

times, and it is unclear in the first 

instance whether both can be combined 

to cover a single driving operation. For 

example, the agribusiness exemption 

would not currently apply to an 

equipment dealer hauling a broken 

tractor from a farm to the dealership for 

repair. The short-haul exemption would 

apply, though, so long as the farm is 

within 100 miles and the HOS 

requirements are met. However, 

suppose a service truck hauling a trailer 

visits a farm 120 miles from the 

dealership to repair a tractor. After 

attempting repairs for several hours and 

working beyond 12 hours in the day, the 

technician must return with the tractor 

or another piece of equipment to 

perform services at the dealership. The 

short haul exemption would not apply 

because it is beyond the 100-mile radius 

and the HOS requirements have been 

exceeded, nor would the agribusiness 

exemption apply because a driver is not 

covered while transporting equipment 

from a farm to the dealership. The 

driver would then be required to record 

the entirety of the day’s driving on an 

ELD because no exemption applies. This 

is but one scenario of many where three 

complex rules overlap at different 

intervals to create confusion about the 

regulations that should be followed, and 

do not contribute to increased safety for 

the driver or the driving public. 

As a practical matter, WEDA states 

that equipment dealers are required to 

install ELDs in all of their commercial 

vehicles despite never or very rarely 

utilizing them. Because of the complex 

and confusing overlap, many dealers 

will install and utilize ELDs when 

unnecessary to avoid harsh penalties 

including thousands of dollars in fines 

and potential shutdown orders. 

Equipment dealers will not claim the 

exemptions intended for them by 

Congress because the confusion and 

complexity spawned by the ELD rule 

creates the risk of penalties being 

imposed which outweigh the benefits. 

The result will be severely diminished 

hours of operation for equipment 

dealers, and, consequently, reduced 

responsiveness to their customers. Costs 

and downtime for farmers and ranchers 

will undoubtedly increase making their 

agriculture producers less competitive 

in a global market. 

IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or 

Greater Level of Safety 

WEDA states that its request falls 

within the FMCSA’s discretion to grant 

because the law currently provides 

overlapping exemptions and exceptions 

that, taken together with the ELD 

mandate, create confusing and 

contradicting requirements for 

equipment dealers. In addition, 

equipment dealers’ operations 

constitute unique aspects that should 

warrant an exemption from the ELD 

rules. WEDA therefore seeks a five-year, 

renewable exemption from the ELD 

requirements in the Federal regulations. 

WEDA believes the request should be 

granted because the exemption will 

achieve a level of safety equivalent to, 

or greater than, the level that would be 

achieved absent the proposed 

exemption. 

A copy of WEDA’s application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

Issued on: October 23, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23403 Filed 10–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 395 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0298] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: 

Application for Exemption; Motion 

Picture Association of America 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS
49772 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 207 / Friday, October 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

ACTION: Application for exemption; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the 

Motion Picture Association of America 

(MPAA) has requested an exemption 

from the electronic logging device (ELD) 

requirements for all commercial motor 

vehicle (CMV) drivers providing 

transportation to or from a theatrical or 

television motion picture production 

site. MPAA request this exemption to 

allow these drivers to complete paper 

records of duty status (RODS) instead of 

using an ELD device. MPAA believes 

that the exemption would not have any 

adverse impacts on operational safety 

because drivers would remain subject to 

the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations 

as well as the requirements to maintain 

paper RODS. FMCSA requests public 

comment on MPAA’s application for 

exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 27, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Number 

FMCSA–2017–0298 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. See the Public 

Participation and Request for Comments 

section below for further information. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building, Ground Floor, Room W12– 

140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to www.regulations.gov at 

any time or visit Room W12–140 on the 

ground level of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 

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, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information concerning this notice, 

contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA 

Driver and Carrier Operations Division; 

Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 

Safety Standards; Telephone: 614–942– 

6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you 

have questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (FMCSA–2017–0298), indicate 

the specific section of this document to 

which the comment applies, and 

provide a reason for suggestions or 

recommendations. You may submit 

your comments and material online or 

by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 

please use only one of these means. 

FMCSA recommends that you include 

your name and a mailing address, an 

email address, or a phone number in the 

body of your document so the Agency 

can contact you if it has questions 

regarding your submission. 

To submit your comments online, go 

to www.regulations.gov and put the 

docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2017–0298’’ 

in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box, and click 

‘‘Search.’’ When the new screen 

appears, click on ‘‘Comment Now!’’ 

button and type your comment into the 

text box in the following screen. Choose 

whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual or on behalf 

of a third party and then submit. If you 

submit your comments by mail or hand 

delivery, submit them in an unbound 

format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, 

suitable for copying and electronic 

filing. If you submit comments by mail 

and would like to know that they 

reached the facility, please enclose a 

stamped, self-addressed postcard or 

envelope. FMCSA will consider all 

comments and material received during 

the comment period and may grant or 

not grant this application based on your 

comments. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 

FMCSA must publish a notice of each 

exemption request in the Federal 

Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The 

Agency must provide the public an 

opportunity to inspect the information 

relevant to the application, including 

any safety analyses that have been 

conducted. The Agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The Agency reviews safety analyses 

and public comments submitted, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period and explain the terms 

and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.300(b)). 

III. Request for Exemption 

MPAA is requesting an exemption 

from the ELD requirements in 49 CFR 

part 395 published in the Federal 

Register on December 16, 2015 (80 FR 

78292). If granted, the exemption would 

allow all drivers of CMVs providing 

transportation of property to and from a 

theatrical or television motion picture 

production site to complete paper RODS 

instead of using an ELD device on or 

after the December 18, 2017 compliance 

date. The term of the requested 

exemption is for five years, subject to 

renewal. 

MPAA reports that approximately 

6,500 CMV drivers operate CMVs on a 

full or part-time basis for the motion 

picture industry. According to HOS data 

developed by third party compliance 

services, these drivers spend on average 

less than four hours each day driving 

and drive about 40 miles per day. Their 

resulting RODs are often very complex, 

as are the driver HOS records that 

employing motor carriers must keep. 

Through close cooperation, the industry 

has been able to manage the extensive 

interchange of paper RODs that this 

work pattern requires. MPAA asserts 

that industry’s success in HOS 

management is based on a system that 

is driver-based rather than vehiclebased. 

According to MPAA, few production 

drivers qualify for the short-haul driver 

exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 207 / Friday, October 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 49773 

(e)(2) and will be subject to the ELD 

requirements when compliance 

becomes mandatory. Each time a 

production driver operates a CMV for a 

different studio or production company 

the motor carrier and the driver must 

reconcile the driver’s HOS record for the 

past week. At present, cooperation 

between production companies, various 

Teamsters locals, and drivers can reduce 

the burden of this detailed 

reconciliation. And under the current 

rules, drivers themselves can manage 

the necessary paper RODS, carry them 

to each new CMV, and transfer paper 

copies to each new motor carrier as 

needed. When a roadside inspection 

occurs, a driver can produce paper 

RODS for review by the enforcement 

official. 

MPAA contends that the lack of 

interoperability among ELD platforms 

developed by various manufacturers 

means that motion picture company 

drivers will not be able to transfer HOS 

data from one carrier or vehicle to other 

carriers or vehicles. A driver who is 

required to use an ELD may operate a 

CMV that has one operating system 

installed on the truck. When the driver 

transfers to operating for another studio 

or production company, that company 

may use a different ELD operating 

system for its vehicles. The HOS data 

cannot automatically be transferred 

from the first company’s vehicle to the 

second company’s system unless both 

ELD devices are on the same platform. 

MPAA believes that requiring 

production company drivers to record 

their HOS using incompatible ELD 

platforms would prevent them from 

implementing more efficient or effective 

operations that would maintain a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level achieved without the requested 

exemption. Allowing production 

company drivers to continue using 

paper RODS to record their HOS data 

will not jeopardize operational safety or 

increase fatigue-related crashes. 

MPAA states that Congress and 

FMCSA already recognized the minimal 

safety concerns presented by motion 

picture production drivers due to the 

limited numbers of hours and miles 

they operate CMVs and the availability 

of frequent and extended periods of off 

duty time throughout the workday. As 

a result production drivers are already 

exempted from the typical HOS driving 

and on duty time limits as long as they 

operate within a 100 air-mile radius of 

the location where the driver reports to 

and is released from work. 

Because production drivers operate 

CMVs so few miles and hours per day, 

motion picture production companies 

have driver and vehicle out-of-service 

rates that are substantially below the 

national averages for carriers in general. 

Until such time as all ELD platforms are 

fully interoperable, motion picture 

production drivers should be allowed to 

continue recording their HOS data using 

paper RODS. 

A copy of MPAA’s application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

Issued on: October 23, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23404 Filed 10–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 170901859–7999–01] 

RIN 0648–BH19 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Charter/Headboat Permit Commercial 

Sale Provision 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

make HMS Charter/Headboat permits a 

non-commercial category and create a 

separate regulatory provision for the 

commercial sale of Atlantic highly 

migratory species (HMS) by HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit holders. 

Currently, all vessels issued an HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit could be 

categorized as a commercial fishing 

vessel and subject to United States Coast 

Guard (USCG) commercial fishing 

vessel safety requirements if they also 

possess a state commercial sale permit, 

regardless of whether the permit holder 

engages or intends to engage in 

commercial fishing. Under the proposed 

rule, HMS Charter/Headboat permit 

holders would be prohibited from 

selling Atlantic tunas or swordfish 

unless they obtain a ‘‘commercial sale’’ 

endorsement for their permit. This 

proposed rule would clarify which HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels are 

properly categorized as commercial 

fishing vessels. This action would be 

administrative in nature and would not 

affect fishing practices or result in any 

significant environmental or economic 

impacts. 

This proposed rule has a 15-day 

comment period. The abbreviated 

comment period is necessary to 

implement any management changes 

before January 1, 2018 to ensure all 

HMS charter/headboat vessels are 

appropriately categorized as commercial 

or non-commercial upon initial 

application or renewal of 2018 HMS 

Charter/Headboat permits. We do not 

anticipate the proposal to be 

controversial or to generate significant 

public comment and believe that a 15- 

day comment period will be sufficient 

to attract any substantive public input. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by November 13, 2017. An 

operator-assisted, public conference call 

and webinar will be held on November 

1, 2017, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., 

EST. 

ADDRESSES: The conference call 

information is phone number 1 (888) 

664–9965; participant passcode 

5355311. Participants are strongly 

encouraged to log/dial in fifteen 

minutes prior to the meeting. NMFS 

will show a brief presentation via 

webinar followed by an opportunity for 

public comment. To join the webinar go 

to: https://noaaevents2.webex.com/noaa

events2/onstage/g.php?MTID=efb2b4e

48c0c4b75f50900b90743b7a18, event 

password: noaa. Participants that have 

not used WebEx before will be 

prompted to download and run a plugin program that will enable them to 

view the webinar. 

You may submit comments on this 

document, identified by NOAA–NMFS– 

2017–0124, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0124, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Margo Schulze-Haugen, NMFS/SF1, 

1315 East-West Highway, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, SSMC3, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS