[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 237 (Friday, December 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77070-77071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31250]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration


Hazardous Materials Transportation: Status of Applications for 
Preemption Determination

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice Regarding Preemption Determinations Delayed Beyond 180 
Days.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises interested parties that RSPA's Office of 
the Chief Counsel maintains (on its internet website and in paper form) 
a chart showing the current status of each administrative proceeding on 
applications for a determination that Federal hazardous material 
transportation law preempts requirements of States, political 
subdivisions of States, or Indian tribes. When a decision has not been 
issued within 180 days after publication of a notice of the application 
in the Federal Register, this chart includes the reasons why the 
decision is delayed and an estimate of the additional time necessary 
before the decision will be

[[Page 77071]]

issued. This chart is intended to provide more up-to-date information 
on the status of preemption applications than a single notice in the 
Federal Register whenever a decision has not been issued within 180 
days after publication of the notice of the application.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward H. Bonekemper, III, Assistant 
Chief Counsel for Hazardous Materials Safety and Research and 
Technology Law, Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20590-0001 (Tel. No. 202-366-4400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal hazardous material transportation 
law, 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. (the law), provides an administrative 
procedure in Sec. 5125(d)(1) for DOT to issue determinations whether a 
State, local, or Indian tribe requirement on the transportation of 
hazardous materials is preempted under the criteria set forth in 
Sec. 5125(a), (b)(1), and (c). RSPA's Office of the Chief Counsel 
tracks the status of each preemption determination proceeding (both 
already decided and still pending) on a chart that is kept current on 
its internet website (http://rspa-atty.dot.gov) and in paper form.
    Interested parties may access the current chart at any time by 
going to the website and clicking on ``Preemption.'' A printed version 
of the current chart may also be obtained at any time by contacting Mr. 
Bonekemper at the address and telephone number set forth in ``For 
Further Information Contact'' above.
    RSPA also uses this chart to meet the statutory requirement in 49 
U.S.C. 5125(d)(1) to advise the public of the reasons for delay, and an 
estimate of the time when a decision will be made, whenever a decision 
is not issued within 180 days after the date of publication in the 
Federal Register of a notice of having received an application for a 
preemption determination. Because this chart will be kept current, RSPA 
does not intend to publish a new notice in the Federal Register each 
time the 180-day period is exceeded in a preemption proceeding. By 
keeping this chart up-to-date, RSPA will be providing interested 
parties with more current and complete information than they would have 
if RSPA published only a single notice in each proceeding advising that 
a decision would not be issued within 180 days.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 1, 2000.
Elaine E. Joost,
Acting Chief Counsel, Research and Special Programs Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-31250 Filed 12-7-00; 8:45 am]
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