[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68024-68025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18781]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2024-0200]


Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Requirements; Driver Qualification 
Requirements: Waste Management Holdings, Inc. Application for Exemption

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

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

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

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from Waste 
Management Holdings, Inc. (WMH), for an exemption from certain driver 
qualification requirements and drug and alcohol clearinghouse 
regulations when its drivers are transferred among two or more WMH 
carriers with different USDOT numbers. The requested exemption would 
remove the administrative burden of requalifying already-qualified 
drivers every time they are reassigned among related WMH motor carrier 
affiliates. FMCSA requests public comments on WMH's application for an 
exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 23, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2024-0200 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: Dockets Operations, 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, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number 
(FMCSA-2024-0200 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: If you do not have access to the internet, you may view the 
docket by visiting Docket Operations on the ground floor of the DOT 
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. 
To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or 
(202) 366-9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its exemption process. DOT 
posts these comments, 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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. The comments are posted without edit 
and are searchable by the name of the submitter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 
Safety Standards, FMCSA; (202) 366-4225; or [email protected]. 
If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
contact Dockets Operations at (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-2024-0200), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for your 
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.

[[Page 68025]]

    To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number ``FMCSA-2024-0200'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and click 
``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment'' 
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.

Confidential Business Information (CBI)

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. 
If your comments responsive to the notice contain commercial or 
financial information that is customarily treated as private, that you 
actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to the 
notice, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission that 
constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains proprietary 
information. FMCSA will treat such marked submissions as confidential 
under the Freedom of Information Act, and they will not be placed in 
the public docket of the notice. Submissions containing CBI should be 
sent to Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Evaluation Division, Office of 
Policy, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001 or 
via email at [email protected]. At this time, you need not send a 
duplicate hardcopy of your electronic CBI submissions to FMCSA 
headquarters. Any comments FMCSA receives not specifically designated 
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this notice.

II. Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b) to grant 
exemptions from 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 the applicant's safety analyses. The Agency must 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 maintain a 
level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305(a)). The Agency must 
publish its decision in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)). If 
granted, the notice will identify the regulatory provision(s) from 
which the applicant will be exempt, the effective period, and all terms 
and conditions of the exemption (49 CFR 381.315(c)(1)). If the 
exemption is denied, the notice will explain the reasons for the denial 
(49 CFR 381.315(c)(2)).

III. Applicant's Request

    WMH is seeking an exemption from certain driver qualification 
requirements in 49 CFR part 391 and from the query requirements of the 
drug and alcohol clearinghouse rules in 49 CFR part 382. The exemption 
would apply to drivers transferred among two or more of WMH's 
affiliated carriers with different USDOT numbers.
    WMH reports that it has been providing residential and commercial 
trash and recycling collection and waste disposal services to millions 
of customers throughout the country for 50 years. To perform these 
services, WMH employs tens of thousands of commercial motor vehicle 
drivers among its affiliates, which operate under 83 USDOT numbers. It 
has centralized USDOT compliance efforts across all its related 
carriers under its Employment Screening Program (ESP). Critical 
compliance processes and documents are managed through centralized 
information technology systems. WMH states that this system provides 
WMH unmatched compliance-related visibility across all related 
entities.
    WMH asserts that the existing driver qualification and drug and 
alcohol testing rules fail to contemplate the types of intercompany 
driver transfers that WMH's operations necessitate, leading to severe 
administrative inefficiencies, record duplication, and an inability to 
respond timely to surges in demand for waste removal, which often occur 
following natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the 
recent COVID pandemic), mass gatherings or events, infrastructure 
failures, community clean-up efforts, industrial accidents or spills, 
or regional disruptions.
    The time the driver works for the transferee carrier varies by 
circumstance but is rarely less than seven (7) days. Accordingly, WMH 
is unable to take advantage of the driver qualification exemption in 49 
CFR 391.65. WMH must therefore require transferred drivers to complete 
new employment applications, contact previous employers, run new motor 
vehicle records, query the drug and alcohol clearinghouse, analyze 
whether pre-employment drug testing is necessary and perform testing if 
required, and create new qualification files, all of which can take 
several days to complete and may delay or deter the transfer.
    WMH contends that it maintains an equivalent level of visibility 
into the drug/alcohol clearinghouse status of all drivers across its 
entire organization. This is achieved through the centralization of its 
driver qualification and drug/alcohol testing processes, policies, and 
documents under its ESP Department across all its affiliated carriers. 
If granted, the requested exemptions would remove the burden of 
administrative processes required by the regulations and allow WMH the 
ability to move drivers among related motor carrier affiliates without 
having to requalify them.
    A copy of the exemption application is available for review in the 
docket for this notice.

IV. Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), FMCSA requests public 
comment from all interested persons on WMH's application for an 
exemption from the driver qualification requirements in 49 CFR part 391 
and the drug and alcohol clearinghouse query requirements in 49 CFR 
part 382. All comments received before the close of business on the 
comment closing date indicated at the beginning of this notice will be 
considered and will be available for examination in the docket at the 
location listed under the Addresses section of this notice. Comments 
received after the comment closing date will be filed in the public 
docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. In addition to 
late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file, in the public docket, 
relevant information that becomes available after the comment closing 
date. Interested persons should continue to examine the public docket 
for new material.

Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-18781 Filed 8-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P