[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 130 (Monday, July 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31796-31798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14263]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0175]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemption; Pipe Line 
Contractors Association (PLCA)

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 the Pipe Line Contractors Association 
(PLCA) has requested an exemption from the requirement that a motor 
carrier install and require each of its drivers to use an electronic 
logging device (ELD) to record the driver's hours-of-service (HOS) no 
later than December 18, 2017. PLCA requests the exemption for all 
pipeline contractor vehicle drivers. These drivers typically utilize 
the short-haul exception to the logging requirement, which also exempts 
them from using ELDs. Sometimes, however, they may exceed the 
conditions of the short-haul exception more than 8 days in a 30-day 
period, which would subject them to the ELD rule. PLCA's exemption 
request is addressed to that situation. These drivers would remain 
subject to the standard HOS limits and maintain a paper record of duty 
status (RODS) for HOS compliance. PLCA believes that the exemption, if 
granted, will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or 
greater than, the level that would be achieved absent the exemption. 
The term of the requested exemption is 5 years. FMCSA requests public 
comment on PLCA's application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2017-0175 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the 
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further 
information.
     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., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments 
received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140 
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards; Telephone: 614-942-6477. Email: [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact 
Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and 
related materials.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2017-0175), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for 
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and 
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only 
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a 
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of 
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions 
regarding your submission.
    To submit your comments online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2017-0175'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen

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appears, click on ``Comment Now!'' button and type your comment into 
the text box in the following screen. Choose whether you are submitting 
your comment as an individual or on behalf of a third party and then 
submit. If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit 
them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable 
for copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and 
would like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. FMCSA will consider all 
comments and material received during the comment period and may grant 
or not grant this application based on your comments.

II. Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs). 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 safety analyses and public comments submitted, 
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 reasons for denying or granting the application 
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving 
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period and explain 
the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed 
(49 CFR 381.300(b)).

III. Request for Exemption

    The PLCA is an industry trade association that negotiates labor 
agreements, encourages safe practices in pipeline construction, and 
seeks the resolution of problems common to those in the pipeline 
construction industry. PLCA has been in existence since 1948 and 
currently has 77 members who employ approximately 30,000 to 40,000 
workers depending upon the level of pipeline work in any year.
    Pipeline jobs range from construction of major interstate and 
intrastate pipelines to maintenance and repair work for utilities. In 
2016, their contractors worked on over 750 pipeline projects across the 
U.S. PLCA contractors hire workers on a project-by-project basis, with 
workers often employed on multiple jobs each year in different states. 
Pipeline projects are often short-duration projects lasting for only 4-
6 weeks. Pipeline contractors hire dozens of different short-term 
personnel to support any given project.
    PLCA contractors own different types of commercial motor vehicles 
(CMVs), including flatbed trucks that haul heavy equipment, dump 
trucks, skid trucks, water trucks, pilot cars, and buses that transport 
workers from the daily assembly points to the pipeline right-of-way. A 
significant number of the vehicles owned by pipeline contractors 
require a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate. The standard 
practice is for workers to begin each workday at a designated assembly 
point, which typically is 10-50 miles away from a pipeline right-of-
way. The workers who operate heavy equipment typically are transported 
by bus to the pipeline right-of-way. The drivers of the flatbed trucks 
move the heavy equipment along the pipeline right-of-way as they 
complete work on segments of the pipeline. As pipeline contractor 
drivers work off-road along the length of the pipelines, they typically 
do not spend much of their work days operating on public roads.
    The employees who work on pipelines and drive the subject vehicles 
typically stay in hotels or campers at locations along the pipeline 
right-of-way. They relocate as they advance in their work along the 
right-of-way. As they complete work on a segment of the pipeline, they 
sometimes do not return to the assembly point. Instead, they may end 
the work day where they finish work and spend the night at a new 
location farther down the right-of-way. The following day they would 
meet at a new assembly point.
    The drivers who would be covered under the exemption operate 
flatbed trucks that haul heavy equipment, dump trucks, skid trucks, 
water trucks, pilot cars and buses that transport workers from the 
daily assembly point to the pipeline right-of-way. These drivers 
possess CDLs and almost always operate within 100 miles of their 
assembly point, and meet the other requirements of the short-haul 
exception in Section 395.1(e)(1). However, the drivers may not return 
within the 12 hours required for use of the short-haul exemption.
    While pipeline contractor drivers typically do not exceed the 
requirements of the short-haul exception more than 8 days in a 30-day 
period, there may be occasions when they do so. Because pipeline 
contractors typically hire temporary employees to work on short-term 
jobs, it would be onerous for contractors to have to purchase ELDs, 
provide them to temporary employees, train the employees in their 
usage, and monitor and ensure compliance with the ELD requirement. 
Pipeline contractors would have to monitor the number of days their 
drivers exceed the requirements of the short-haul exception, including 
if a driver exceeded the short haul exception on any days in a rolling 
30-day period immediately before the employer hired the driver. PLCA 
states that ELDs do not offer a safety benefit for pipeline drivers 
since the drivers spend very little time on public roads and would have 
to use paper logs to record their duty status in any event. This is in 
stark contrast to long-haul truck drivers who spend most of their on-
duty hours driving their vehicles on public roads.
    According to PLCA, exempting pipeline contractors from the ELD 
requirement would have no impact on safety for several reasons. First, 
drivers would continue to maintain written RODS on any day that they 
exceed the requirements of the short-haul exemption. Second, pipeline 
contractor drivers typically spend very little time operating on public 
roads. Third, pipeline contractors are required to maintain time 
records for their drivers. Finally, pipeline contractors and drivers 
otherwise must comply with all the HOS regulations.

IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or Greater Level of Safety

    PLCA states that granting this exemption will result in a level of 
safety that is equal to or greater than the level of safety achieved by 
complying with the ELD rule. The exemption is requested for pipeline 
contractor drivers of CMVs. Drivers of pipeline contractor CMVs that 
require HOS compliance represent a small percentage of trucks on the 
road; however, the requirements of the ELD rule would impose 
significant burden on the industry and its customers. By allowing 
pipeline contractor drivers to continue to operate with paper RODS, 
PLCA's members and their customers would be able to comply with all 
Federal and State HOS regulations while continuing to operate 
efficiently and safely.

[[Page 31798]]

    A copy of PLCA's application for exemption is available for review 
in the docket for this notice.

    Issued on: June 30, 2017.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-14263 Filed 7-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P