[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33664-33666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14274]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0027]


Hours of Service of Drivers: RockTenn, Application for Exemption

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from 
RockTenn requesting an exemption from the driver hours-of-service (HOS) 
provisions in Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. 
The exemption request is for RockTenn's shipping department employees 
and occasional substitute commercial driver's license (CDL) holders who 
transport paper mill products between their shipping and receiving 
locations on a public road. RockTenn requests this exemption to allow 
these individuals to work up to 16 hours per day and be allowed to 
return to work with less than the mandatory 10 consecutive hours off-
duty. FMCSA requests public comment on the RockTenn application for 
exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 14, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2010-0027 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     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. 
E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the exemption process, see the Public 
Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://

[[Page 33665]]

www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for accessing 
the dockets, or go to the street address listed above.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit http://DocketInfo.dot.gov.
    Public participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and 
Operations, Telephone: 202-366-4325. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 
and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from motor 
carrier safety regulations. Under its regulations, 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 the safety analyses and the public comments, 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 reason for denying or, in the alternative, the 
specific person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the 
regulatory provision or provisions from which the exemption is granted. 
The notice must also specify the effective period of the exemption (up 
to 2 years), and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The 
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).

Request for Exemption

    Under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2), a property-carrying commercial motor 
vehicle (CMV) driver is prohibited from operating a CMV on a public 
road after having been on duty for 14 consecutive hours following 10 or 
more consecutive hours off duty. Once an individual has reached the end 
of this 14 consecutive-hour period, he or she cannot drive a CMV again 
without taking a minimum of 10 consecutive hours off duty.
    RockTenn operates a paper mill located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 
their principal place of business. Their shipping and receiving 
departments are on opposite sides of the paper mill, requiring their 
employees/drivers to travel on a public road to shuttle trailers as 
needed. These individuals utilize this public road (Compress Street) an 
average of forty times per day to go from their shipping to receiving 
department and to load their trailers in the shipping department. 
RockTenn notes that its drivers do not transport any material farther 
than its paper mill lots and/or Compress Street. The distance traveled 
on Compress Street is approximately 275 feet in one direction, and one 
tractor is used to perform this work. Included in RockTenn's 
application are pictures and a line drawing that specifically 
illustrates this distance traveled by these drivers.
    RockTenn currently requires all shipping department employees to 
have the required 10 hours off duty prior to returning to work and only 
allows them to work a maximum of 14 consecutive hours on any given day. 
They have three 8-hour shifts up to 7 days a week, and there are two 
shipping employees on each shift. One employee drives a fork-lift truck 
loading trailers with finished goods, and the other operates the 
tractor shuttling trailers. RockTenn states that these employees do not 
drive the CMV continuously during their shift(s).
    According to RockTenn, the problem arises on a Monday, for example. 
If an individual worked the weekend, two of his or her shifts would 
normally have to ``hurry back'' within 8 hours. As a result of the 
mandatory 10 hours off-duty requirement, RockTenn schedules these 
drivers' shifts to start later than other employees. This creates at 
least 2 hours when the company cannot load or transport trailers with 
finished goods due to the absence of the drivers. Furthermore, as a 
result of the maximum 14 consecutive-hour duty period rule (49 CFR 
395.3(a)(2)), they may ``work short,'' creating on-time delivery issues 
for other employees in the department, as they are not allowed to work 
an entire ``double shift'' (16 hours).
    RockTenn requests an exemption from 49 CFR part 395 for their 
shipping department employees, as well as others with a valid CDL who 
on occasion must substitute, allowing all such drivers to work up to 16 
hours in a day and return to work with a minimum of at least 8 hours of 
rest. By waiving the normal hours of service requirement, these 
employees can follow the same work schedule as other RockTenn employees 
on their shift, and will be able to take advantage of the full 16 hours 
of a ``double shift.'' RockTenn can therefore minimize the chances of 
delayed shipments that can occur when their employees are allowed to 
work a normal schedule. In its application, RockTenn provided a list of 
around 11 ``approved'' CDL drivers working in the shipping department 
who would be covered by the exemption.
    RockTenn acknowledges in its application that these drivers would 
still be subject to all of the other Federal rules and regulations, 
including possessing a CDL, random drug testing, medical certification, 
and other driver-qualification requirements. RockTenn, however, does 
not specifically advise how they would ensure that the exemption would 
provide a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the 
level of safety obtained by complying with the Federal hours-of-service 
regulations.
    A copy of the RockTenn exemption application is available for 
review in the docket identified earlier in this notice.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 
requests public comment on the RockTenn application for an exemption 
from the provisions of 49 CFR part 395. The Agency will consider all 
comments received in the public docket by close of business on July 14, 
2010, and those after the closing date of the comment period to the 
extent practicable. Comments will be available for examination in the 
docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.


[[Page 33666]]


    Issued on: June 4, 2010.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-14274 Filed 6-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P