[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76708-76710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30981]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2010-0115]


Extension of the Date by Which Youth All-Terrain Vehicles Must Be 
Tested and Certified

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of extension of date of testing and certification of 
youth all-terrain vehicles.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC'' or 
``Commission'') is announcing that the Commission has extended, by 60 
days, the date by which manufacturers (including importers) of youth 
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) must submit sufficient samples of such 
products to a third party conformity assessment body approved by the 
Commission for testing and, based on such testing, issue a certificate 
that the products manufactured after the deadline comply with certain 
CPSC regulations relating to ATVs. The extension is granted because 
there are an insufficient number of third party conformity assessment 
bodies accredited by the Commission to permit testing and certification 
under the original schedule.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Commission voted 3-1-1 to approve this notice. Chairman 
Inez Tennenbaum, Commissioner Thomas Moore, and Commissioner Robert 
Adler approved the notice. Commissioner Nancy Nord voted to approve 
a different version of the notice. Commissioner Anne Northup 
abstained.

DATES: The date after which youth ATVs must be tested by third party 
conformity assessment bodies accredited by the Commission to assess 
conformity with the CPSC regulations for all-terrain vehicles is 
extended until January 25, 2011.
    Comments in response to this notice should be submitted by December 
30, 2010. Comments on this notice should be captioned ``Third Party 
Testing and Certification of Youth All-Terrain Vehicles: Request for 
Stay of Enforcement and Other Relief.''

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2010-
0115, by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments in the following 
way:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. To ensure timely processing of 
comments, the Commission is no longer accepting comments submitted by 
electronic mail (e-mail) except through: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Written Submissions: Submit written submissions in the following 
way:
    Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM 
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary, 
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West 
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted 
without change to: http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Do not submit confidential business information, 
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information 
(such as a Social Security Number) electronically; if furnished at all, 
such information should be submitted in writing.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard McCallion, Program Area Team 
Leader, Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, U.S. Consumer 
Product Safety Commission,10901 Darnestown Road, Gaithersburg, MD 
20878; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    Section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA, as added by section 102(a)(2) 
of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA''), 
Public Law 110-314, directs the CPSC to establish and publish a notice 
of requirements for accreditation of third party conformity assessment 
bodies to assess children's products for conformity with ``other 
children's product safety rules.'' Section 14(f)(1) of the CPSA defines 
``children's product safety rule'' as ``a consumer product safety rule 
under [the CPSA] or similar rule, regulation, standard, or ban under 
any other Act enforced by the Commission, including a rule declaring a 
consumer product to be a banned hazardous product or substance.'' Under 
section 14(a)(3)(A) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(3)(A), each 
manufacturer (including an importer) or private labeler of products 
subject to those regulations must have products that are manufactured 
more than 90 days after the establishment and Federal Register 
publication of a notice of the requirements for accreditation tested by 
a third party conformity assessment body accredited to do so, and must 
issue a certificate of compliance with the applicable regulations based 
on that

[[Page 76709]]

testing. Pursuant to section 14(a)(3)(F) of the CPSA, the Commission 
may extend the 90-day period by not more than 60 days if the Commission 
determines that an insufficient number of third party conformity 
assessment bodies have been accredited to permit certification for a 
children's product safety rule. Irrespective of certification, the 
product in question must comply with applicable CPSC requirements (see, 
e.g., section 14(h) of the CPSA, as added by section 102(b) of the 
CPSIA).
    In the Federal Register of August 27, 2010 (75 FR 52616) 
(accessible at http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr10/atv.pdf), the 
Commission published a notice of requirements that provided the 
criteria and process for Commission acceptance of accreditation of 
third party conformity assessment bodies for testing of ATVs designed 
or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger pursuant 
to 16 CFR part 1420, the CPSC regulations under the CPSA relating to 
ATVs. The notice of requirements stated that, for youth ATVs 
manufactured after November 26, 2010, the manufacturer ``must issue a 
certificate of compliance with 16 CFR part 1420 based on'' testing 
performed by a third party conformity assessment body (75 FR at 52618). 
The notice also asked for comments on the notice to be received by 
September 27, 2010.
    The notice of requirements also stated that the Commission will 
accept a certificate of compliance with 16 CFR part 1420, Requirements 
for All Terrain Vehicles, based on testing performed by an accredited 
third party conformity assessment body (including a government-owned or 
government-controlled conformity assessment body, or a firewalled 
conformity assessment body) prior to the Commission's acceptance of its 
accreditation, if all the following conditions are met:
     When the product was tested, the testing was done by a 
third party conformity assessment body, which at that time, was ISO/IEC 
17025 accredited by an International Laboratory Accreditation 
Cooperation-Mutual Recognition Arrangement (``ILAC/MRA'') signatory. 
For firewalled conformity assessment bodies, the Commission will not 
accept a certificate of compliance based upon testing performed by the 
third party conformity assessment body, unless the firewalled 
conformity assessment body was accredited, by order, as a firewalled 
conformity assessment body before the product was tested, even though 
the order would not have included the test methods in 16 CFR part 1420.
     The third party conformity assessment body's application 
for testing using the test methods in 16 CFR part 1420 is accepted by 
the CPSC on or before October 26, 2010.
     The product was tested on or after November 4, 2008 (the 
date that 16 CFR part 1420 was published).
     The accreditation scope in effect for the third party 
conformity assessment body at the time of testing expressly included 
testing to 16 CFR part 1420.
     The test results show compliance with the applicable 
current standards and/or regulations.
     The third party conformity assessment body's 
accreditation, including 16 CFR part 1420 in its scope, remains in 
effect through the effective date for mandatory third party testing and 
manufacturer certification for conformity with 16 CFR part 1420.

75 FR at 52619. Obviously, the date specified in that notice for 
acceptance of such ``retrospective'' testing, October 26, 2010, has 
passed.

II. Requests for Extension

    In response to the notice of requirements, the Specialty Vehicle 
Institute of America (``SVIA'') filed a comment that included a request 
that the Commission extend by 60 days the date by which manufacturers 
must begin testing and certification of youth ATVs. Among the reasons 
given for the extension were the complexity of 16 CFR part 1420 and 
that no third party conformity assessment bodies have been accredited 
by an accrediting body that is a signatory to the ILAC/MRA, a 
prerequisite for such conformity assessment bodies to be accepted by 
the CPSC.
    On November 17, 2010, the SVIA filed a ``Petition for Extension and 
Stay of Enforcement for Third Party Testing for Certain All-Terrain 
Vehicles.'' The petition requested a 60-day extension of the date by 
which manufacturers must begin testing and certification of youth ATVs, 
stating that no third party conformity assessment bodies have been 
accredited by the CPSC to test for conformity with 16 CFR part 1420. 
The SVIA concluded that it is unlikely that a sufficient number of 
accredited third party conformity assessment bodies will exist by the 
end of the requested 60-day extension. As a result, the SVIA also 
requested that the Commission consider additional forms of relief, such 
as a further stay of enforcement of these requirements for one year (to 
November 27, 2011). Hereafter, the comment and the petition will be 
referred to collectively as ``the petition.''

III. Commission Action on the Petition

    As to the request for a 60-day extension of the date by which 
manufacturers must begin testing and certification of youth ATVs, the 
Commission is not aware of any third party conformity assessment bodies 
that have the requisite accreditation by an ILAC-MRA signatory to test 
for conformity to 16 CFR part 1420. Given this situation, the 
Commission is granting the request for a 60-day extension.
    The Commission is not granting or denying the request for a one-
year stay of enforcement, or other relief, at this time. The Commission 
invites comment on this request. Comments should be filed by December 
30, 2010. The Commission particularly is interested in comments on:
    1. What efforts have been made by ATV manufacturers or others to 
obtain tests of youth ATVs by third party conformity assessment bodies 
and to encourage third party conformity assessment bodies to become 
accredited to do so?
    2. What is the status of the efforts of third party conformity 
assessment bodies to become accredited to test youth ATVs, and how long 
will it take to obtain such accreditation?
    3. What barriers currently exist to gaining accreditation that are 
specifically related to youth ATVs?
    4. How are ATV manufacturers currently demonstrating compliance 
with the ANSI/SVIA-2007-1 standard? What ATV manufacturers are 
currently doing in-house testing of their ATVs for conformance to the 
standard? What steps, if any, have these manufacturers taken to have 
their existing in-house testing facilities become accredited third 
party conformity assessment bodies?
    5. What third party testing facilities are capable of testing youth 
ATVs to the ANSI/SVIA-2007-1 standard?

IV. Dates Affected by This Extension

    This extension is effective beginning on November 27, 2010. 
Accordingly, each manufacturer of a youth ATV subject to 16 CFR part 
1420 must have samples of any such product, or samples that are 
identical in all material respects to such product, that is 
manufactured after January 25, 2011, tested by a third party conformity 
assessment body accredited to do so by the Commission. Further, for 
youth ATVs manufactured after January 25, 2011, the manufacturer must 
issue a certificate of compliance with 16 CFR part 1420 based on that 
testing. (Under the CPSA, the term ``manufacturer'' includes anyone who 
manufactures or imports a product. See 16 CFR part 1110.)
    Furthermore, the Commission is changing the dates it had 
established for when it would accept the results of tests

[[Page 76710]]

of youth ATVs conducted by a third party conformity assessment body 
before that body became accredited by the CPSC. Accordingly, the 
Commission will accept a certificate of compliance with 16 CFR part 
1420, Requirements for All Terrain Vehicles, based on testing performed 
by an accredited third party conformity assessment body (including a 
government-owned or government-controlled conformity assessment body, 
or a firewalled conformity assessment body) prior to the Commission's 
acceptance of its accreditation, if all the following conditions are 
met:
     When the product was tested, the testing was done by a 
third party conformity assessment body that at that time was ISO/IEC 
17025 accredited by an ILAC-MRA signatory. For firewalled conformity 
assessment bodies, the Commission will not accept a certificate of 
compliance based on testing performed by the third party conformity 
assessment body unless the firewalled conformity assessment body was 
accredited by a Commission order as a firewalled conformity assessment 
body before the product was tested, even though the order will not have 
included the test methods in 16 CFR part 1420.
     The third party conformity assessment body's application 
for testing using the test methods in the regulations identified in 
this notice is accepted by the CPSC on or before December 27, 2010.
     The product was tested on or after November 4, 2008 (the 
date that 16 CFR part 1420 was published).
     The accreditation scope in effect for the third party 
conformity assessment body at the time of testing expressly included 
testing to 16 CFR part 1420.
     The test results show compliance with the applicable 
current standards and/or regulations.
     The third party conformity assessment body's 
accreditation, including 16 CFR part 1420 in its scope, remains in 
effect through February 7, 2011.
    Except for the dates that are adjusted by 60 days in this notice, 
all provisions of the notice of requirements published on August 27, 
2010, 75 FR 52616, remain in effect.

    Dated: December 3, 2010.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-30981 Filed 12-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P