[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3673-3675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1862]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

49 CFR Part 176

[Docket No. RSPA-2002-11270; Notice No. 02-3]


Regulatory Flexibility Act Section 610 and Plain Language Reviews

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

ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: RSPA requests comments on the economic impact of its 
regulations on small entities. As required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and as published in DOT's Semi-Annual Regulatory 
Agenda, we are analyzing the rules on Carriage by Vessel to identify 
rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. We also request comments on ways to make 
these regulations easier to read and understand.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 25, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Address written comments to the Dockets Management System, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Identify the docket number RSPA-2002-
11270 at the beginning of your comments and submit two copies. If you 
want to receive confirmation of receipt of your comments, include a 
self-addressed, stamped postcard. You can also submit comments by e-
mail by accessing the Dockets Management System on the Internet at 
``http://dms.dot.gov'' or by fax to (202) 366-3753.
    The Dockets Management System is located on the Plaza Level of the 
Nassif Building at the Department of Transportation at the above 
address. You can review public dockets there between the hours of 9:00 
a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. In 
addition, you can review comments by accessing the Dockets Management 
System at ``http://dms.dot.gov.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Gorsky, Office of Hazardous 
Materials Standards, Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, telephone (202) 366-8553; or Donna 
O'Berry, Office of Chief Counsel, Research and Special Programs 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, telephone (202) 366-
4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act

A. Background and Purpose

    Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-
354), as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), requires agencies to conduct periodic 
reviews of rules that have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small business entities. The purpose of the 
review is to determine whether such rules should be continued without 
change, amended, or rescinded, consistent with the objectives of 
applicable statutes, to minimize any significant economic impact of the 
rules on a substantial number of such small entities.

B. Review Schedule

    The Department of Transportation (DOT) published its Semiannual 
Regulatory Agenda on December 3, 2001, listing in Appendix D (66 FR 
61900) those regulations that each operating administration will review 
under section 610 during the next 12 months. Appendix D also contains 
DOT's 10-year review plan for all of its existing regulations.
    The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA, we) has 
divided its Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180) 
into 10 groups by subject area. Each group will be reviewed once every 
10 years, undergoing a two-stage process--an Analysis Year and Section 
610 Review Year. For purposes of these reviews, a year will coincide 
with the fall-to-fall publication schedule of the Semiannual Regulatory 
Agenda. Thus, Year 1 began in the fall of 1998 and ended in the fall of 
1999; Year 2 began in the fall of 1999 and ended in the fall of 2000; 
and so on.
    During the Analysis Year, we will analyze each of the rules in a 
given year's group to determine whether any rule has a significant 
impact on a substantial number of small entities and, thus, requires 
review in accordance with section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act. In each fall's Regulatory Agenda, we will publish the results of 
the analyses we completed during the previous year. For rules that have 
a negative finding, we will provide a short explanation. For parts, 
subparts, or other discrete sections of rules that do have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities, we will 
announce that we will be conducting a formal section 610 review during 
the following 12 months.
    The section 610 review will determine whether a specific rule 
should be revised or revoked to lessen its impact on small entities. We 
will consider: (1) The continued need for the rule; (2) the nature of 
complaints or comments received from the public; (3) the complexity of 
the rule; (4) the extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or 
conflicts with other federal rules or with state or local government 
rules; and (5) the length of time since the rule has been evaluated or 
the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors 
have changed in the area affected by the rule. At the end of the Review 
Year, we will publish the results of our review.
    The following table shows the 10-year analysis and review schedule:

                 RSPA Section 610 Review Plan 1999-2009
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                                                  Analysis
            Title                 Regulation        year     Review year
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Incident reports.............  Secs.  171.15           1998          N/A
                                and 171.16.
Hazmat safety procedures.....  Parts 106 and           1999          N/A
General Information,            107.
 Regulations, and Definitions. Part 171.......
Carriage by Rail and Highway.  Parts 174 and           2000         2001
                                177.

[[Page 3674]]

 
Carriage by Vessel...........  Part 176.......         2001         2002
Radioactive Materials........  Parts 172, 173,         2002         2003
                                174, 175, 176,
                                177, 178.
Explosives...................  Parts 172, 173,         2003         2004
Cylinders....................   174, 176, 178.
                               Parts 172, 173,
                                178, 180.
Shippers--General              Part 173.......         2004         2005
 Requirements for Shipments
 and Packagings.
Specifications for Non-bulk    Part 178.......         2005         2006
 Packagings.
Specifications for Bulk        Parts 178, 179,         2006         2007
 Packagings.                    180.
Hazardous Materials Table,     Part 172.......         2007         2008
 Special Provisions,
 Hazardous Materials
 Communications, Emergency
 Response Information, and
 Training Requirements.
Carriage by Aircraft.........  Part 175.
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C. Regulations Under Analysis

    During Year 4 (2001-2002), the Analysis Year, we will conduct a 
preliminary assessment of the rules in 49 CFR Part 176, Carriage by 
Vessel. It includes the following subparts:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Subpart                               Title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subpart A..............................  General.
Subpart B..............................  General Operating Requirements.
Subpart C..............................  General Handling and Stowage.
Subpart D..............................  General Segregation
                                          Requirements.
Subpart E..............................  Special Requirements for
                                          Transport Vehicles Loaded with
                                          Hazardous Materials and
                                          Transported on Board Ferry
                                          Vessels.
Subpart F..............................  Special Requirements for
                                          Barges.
Subpart G..............................  Detailed Requirements for Class
                                          1 (Explosive) Materials.
Subpart H..............................  Detailed Requirements for Class
                                          2 (Compressed Gas) Materials.
Subpart I..............................  Detailed Requirements for Class
                                          3 (Flammable) and Combustible
                                          Liquid Materials.
Subpart J..............................  Detailed Requirements for Class
                                          4 (Flammable Solid), Class 5
                                          (Oxidizers and Organic
                                          Peroxides), and Division 1.5
                                          (Blasting Agents) Materials.
Subpart L..............................  Detailed Requirements for
                                          Division 2.3 (Poisonous Gas)
                                          and Division 6.1 (Poisonous)
                                          Materials.
Subpart M..............................  Detailed Requirements for
                                          Radioactive Materials.
Subpart N..............................  Detailed Requirements for Class
                                          8 (Corrosive) Materials.
Subpart O..............................  Detailed Requirements for
                                          Cotton and Vegetable Fibers,
                                          Motor Vehicles, and Asbestos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We are seeking comments on whether any requirements in part 176 
have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
``Small entities'' include small businesses, not-for-profit 
organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not 
dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations under 50,000. If your business or organization is a small 
entity and if any of the requirements in part 176 has a significant 
economic impact on your business or organization, please submit a 
comment explaining how and to what degree these rules affect you, the 
extent of the economic impact on your business or organization, and why 
you believe the economic impact is significant.

II. Plain Language

A. Background and Purpose

    Plain language helps readers find requirements quickly and 
understand them easily. Examples of plain language techniques include:
    (1) Undesignated center headings to cluster related sections within 
subparts.
    (2) Short words, sentences, paragraphs, and sections to speed up 
reading and enhance understanding.
    (3) Sections as questions and answers to provide focus.
    (4) Personal pronouns to reduce passive voice and draw readers into 
the writing.
    (5) Tables to display complex information in a simple, easy-to-read 
format.
    For an example of a rule drafted in plain language, you can refer 
to RSPA's notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Revised and 
Clarified Hazardous Materials Safety Rulemaking and Program 
Procedures,'' which was published December 11, 1998 (63 FR 68624). This 
NPRM proposed to rewrite 49 CFR part 106 and subpart A of part 107 in 
plain language and to create a new part 105 that would contain 
definitions and general procedures. We are currently evaluating 
comments received in response to the NPRM.

B. Review Schedule

    In conjunction with our section 610 reviews, we will be performing 
plain language reviews of the HMR over a ten-year period on a schedule 
consistent with the section 610 review schedule. Thus, our review of 
part 176 will also include a plain language review to determine if the 
regulations can be reorganized and/or rewritten to make them easier to 
read, understand, and use. We encourage interested persons to submit 
draft regulatory language that clearly and simply communicates 
regulatory requirements, and other recommendations, such as for putting 
information in tables or consolidating regulatory requirements, that 
may make the regulations easier to use.


[[Page 3675]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 18, 2002 under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR part 106.
Robert A. McGuire,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Research and 
Special Programs Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-1862 Filed 1-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P