[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 88 (Friday, May 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21732-21734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10684]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2009-0019 (Notice No. 09-2)]


Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review; 2009 Renewals

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICR) 
abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comments. The ICRs describe the nature of 
the information collections and their expected burden. A Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on 
these collections of information was published in the Federal Register 
on February 5, 2009 [74 FR 6215] under Docket No. PHMS-2009-0019 
(Notice No. 09-1).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 8, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for PHMSA, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Comments are invited on: whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. A comment to OMB is most 
effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Boothe or Steven Andrews, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 
(PHH-11), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue, SE., East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC. 
20590-0001, Telephone (202) 366-8553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1320.8 (d), Title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations requires Federal agencies to provide interested members of 
the public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on 
information collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice 
identifies information collection requests that PHMSA will be 
submitting to OMB for renewal and extension. These information 
collections are contained in 49 CFR Parts 105, 106, 107 and the 
Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). PHMSA has 
revised burden estimates, where appropriate, to reflect current 
reporting levels or adjustments based on changes in proposed or final 
rules published since the information collections were last approved. 
The following information is provided for each information collection: 
(1) Title of the information collection, including former title if a 
change is being made; (2) OMB control number; (3) abstract of the 
information collection activity; (4) description of affected persons; 
(5) estimate of total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden; and 
(6) frequency of collection. PHMSA will request a three-year term of 
approval for each information collection activity and, when approved by 
OMB, publish notice of the approval in the Federal Register.
    PHMSA requests comments on the following information collections:
    Title: Rulemaking, Special Permits, and Preemption Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0051.
    Summary: This collection of information applies to the agency's 
procedures for developing rulemaking, granting special permits, and 
addressing preemption. Specific areas covered in this information 
collection include Part 105, Subpart A and Subpart B,

[[Page 21733]]

``Hazardous Materials Program Definitions and General Procedures;'' 
Part 106, Subpart B, ``Participating in the Rulemaking Process;'' Part 
107, Subpart B, ``Special Permits;'' and Part 107, Subpart C, 
``Preemption.'' The Federal hazardous materials transportation law 
directs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations for 
the safe transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. We are 
authorized to accept petitions for rulemaking and appeals, as well as 
applications for exemptions, preemption determinations and waivers of 
preemption. The types of information collected include:
    (1) Petitions for Rulemaking: Any person may petition the Office of 
Hazardous Materials Standards to add, amend, or delete a regulation in 
Parts 110, 130, or 171 through 180, or may petition the Office of the 
Chief Counsel to add, amend, or delete a regulation in Parts 105, 106 
or 107.
    (2) Appeals: Except as provided in Sec.  106.40(e), any person may 
submit an appeal to our actions in accordance with the Appeals 
procedures found in Sec. Sec.  106.110 through 106.130.
    (3) Application for Special Permit: Any person applying for a 
special permit must include the citation of the specific regulation 
from which the applicant seeks relief; specification of the proposed 
mode or modes of transportation; detailed description of the proposed 
special permit (e.g., alternative packaging, test, procedure or 
activity), including as appropriate, written descriptions, drawings, 
flow charts, plans and other supporting documents, etc.
    (4) Application for Preemption Determination: With the exception of 
highway routing matters covered under 49 U.S.C. 5125(c), any person 
directly affected by any requirement of a State, political subdivision, 
or Indian tribe may apply to the Chief Counsel for a determination 
whether that requirement is preempted by Sec.  107.202(a), (b) or (c). 
The application must include the text of the State or political 
subdivision or Indian tribe requirement for which the determination is 
sought; specify each requirement of the Federal hazardous materials 
transportation law, regulations issued under the Federal hazardous 
material transportation law, or hazardous material transportation 
security regulations or directives issued by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security with which the applicant seeks the State or political 
subdivision or Indian tribe requirement to be compared; explain why the 
applicant believes the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe 
requirement should or should not be preempted under the standards of 
Sec.  107.202; and state how the applicant is affected by the State or 
political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement.
    (5) Waivers of Preemption: With the exception of requirements 
preempted under 49 U.S.C. 5125(c), any person may apply to the Chief 
Counsel for a waiver of preemption with respect to any requirement 
that: (1) The State or political subdivision thereof or Indian tribe 
acknowledges to be preempted under the Federal hazardous materials 
transportation law, or (2) that has been determined by a court of 
competent jurisdiction to be so preempted. The Chief Counsel may waive 
preemption with respect to such requirement upon a determination that 
such requirement affords an equal or greater level of protection to the 
public than is afforded by the requirements of the Federal hazardous 
materials transportation law or the regulations issued thereunder, and 
does not unreasonably burden commerce.
    The information collected under these application procedures is 
used by PHMSA to determine the merits of the petitions for rulemakings 
and for reconsideration of rulemakings, as well as applications for 
special permits, preemption determinations and waivers of preemption. 
The procedures governing petitions for rulemaking and for 
reconsideration of rulemakings are covered in Subpart B of Part 106. 
Applications for special permits, preemption determinations and waivers 
of preemption are covered under Subparts B and C of Part 107. 
Information collected under rulemaking procedures enables PHMSA to 
determine if a rule change is warranted and consistent with public 
interest. Information collected under special permit procedures is used 
to determine if the requested relief provides for a comparable level of 
safety as provided by the HMR or is consistent with the public 
interest. Preemption procedures provide information for PHMSA to 
determine whether a requirement of a State, political subdivision, or 
Indian tribe is preempted under 49 U.S.C. 5125, or regulations issued 
thereunder, or whether a waiver of preemption should be issued.
    One person submitted comments pertaining to the renewal of the 
Special Permit aspect of this information collection in response to the 
Federal Register Notice published on February 5, 2009. In its comment, 
the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) provided suggestions for 
administrative improvements to the Special Permits and Competent 
Authority Approval programs. These comments are beyond the scope of 
this notice, but PHMSA will evaluate the recommendations and consider 
program changes as necessary and appropriate.
    Affected Public: Shippers, carriers, packaging manufacturers, and 
other affected entities.
    Recordkeeping:
    Number of Respondents: 3,304.
    Total Annual Responses: 4,294.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,219.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Title: Radioactive Materials (RAM) Transportation Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0510.
    Summary: This information collection consolidates and describes the 
information collection provisions in the HMR involving the 
transportation of radioactive materials in commerce. Information 
collection requirements for RAM include: (1) Shipper notification to 
consignees of the dates of shipment of RAM; (2) expected arrival; (3) 
special loading/unloading instructions; (4) verification that shippers 
using foreign-made packages hold a foreign competent authority 
certificate and verification that the terms of the certificate are 
being followed for RAM shipments being made into this country; and (5) 
specific handling instructions from shippers to carriers for fissile 
RAM, bulk shipments of low specific activity RAM and packages of RAM 
which emit high levels of external radiation. These information 
collection requirements help to ensure that proper packages are used 
for the type of radioactive material being transported; external 
radiation levels do not exceed prescribed limits; and packages are 
handled appropriately and delivered in a timely manner, so as to 
protect the safety of the general public, transport workers, and 
emergency responders.
    Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of radioactive materials in 
commerce.
    Recordkeeping:
     Number of Respondents: 3,817.
     Total Annual Responses: 21,519.
     Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,270.
     Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Title: Subsidiary Hazard Class and Number/Type of Packagings.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0613.
    Summary: The HMR require that shipping papers and emergency 
response information accompany each shipment of hazardous materials in 
commerce. In addition to the basic shipping description information, we 
also require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division 
number(s) to be entered in parentheses following the primary hazard 
class or division number on shipping papers. This requirement

[[Page 21734]]

was originally required only for transportation by vessel. However, the 
absence of this information for other transport modes posed problems 
with regard to compliance with segregation, separation, and placarding 
requirements, resulting in a reduced level of safety. For example, if a 
motor vehicle were transporting a material with a subsidiary hazard 
that necessitates special handling procedures or additional regulatory 
requirements, the lack of information on the subsidiary hazard could 
result in improper loading or handling by transport workers or 
inadequate or ineffective emergency response in an accident. Therefore, 
the HMR require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division 
number(s) to be entered on the shipping paper. Shipping papers must 
also include an indication of the number and type of packagings to be 
indicated on the shipping paper.
    Shipping papers serve as a principal means of identifying hazardous 
materials during transportation emergencies. Firefighters, police, and 
other emergency response personnel are trained to refer to the shipping 
papers when responding to hazardous materials transportation 
emergencies. The availability of accurate information concerning the 
hazardous materials being transported significantly improves response 
efforts in these types of emergencies. The additional information on 
subsidiary hazards and the number and types of packagings being 
transported aids emergency responders by more clearly identifying the 
hazard that must be addressed.
    Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of hazardous materials in 
commerce.
    Recordkeeping:
     Number of Respondents: 250,000.
     Total Annual Responses: 6,337,500.
     Total Annual Burden Hours: 17,604.
     Frequency of collection: On occasion.

    Issued in Washington, DC on Monday, May 4, 2009.
Edward T. Mazzullo,
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-10684 Filed 5-7-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P