[Federal Register: September 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 183)]
[Notices]
[Page 54096-54098]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21se07-160]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-28230]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved
Information Collection: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review
and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA requests approval to
revise and renew an ICR entitled, ``Motor Carrier Safety Assistance
Program'' (MCSAP). The information required consists of grant
application preparation, quarterly reports and electronic data
documenting the results of driver/vehicle inspections performed by the
States.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by any of the following
methods. Please identify your comments by the FMCSA Docket Number
FMCSA-2007-28230.
Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow instructions for
submitting comments to the Docket.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Docket: For access to the Docket Management System (DMS) to read
background documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at
any time or to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The DMS is
available electronically 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. If you
want notification of receipt of your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope, or postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting comments online.
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 on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John E. Kostelnik, Office of Safety
Programs, State Programs Division, Department of Transportation,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West Building 6th Floor,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-
5721; e-mail: Jack.kostelnik@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Sections 401 through 404 of the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA) (Pub. L. 97-424) established a program of
financial assistance to the States to implement programs to enforce:
(a) Federal rules, regulations, standards, and orders applicable to
commercial motor vehicle safety; and (b) compatible State rules,
regulations, standards and orders. This grant-in-aid program is known
as the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Section 402(c)
of the STAA requires that the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary),
on the basis of reports submitted by the States and the Secretary's own
inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner in which each
State is carrying out its approved safety enforcement plan.
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) further
revised the MCSAP to broaden its purpose beyond enforcement activities
and programs by requiring participating States to assume greater
responsibility for improving motor carrier safety. TEA-21 required
States to develop performance-based plans reflecting national
priorities and performance goals, revised the MCSAP funding
distribution formula, and created a new incentive funding program. As a
result, States are given greater flexibility in designing programs to
address national and State goals of reducing the number and severity of
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) accidents.
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) amended 49 U.S.C.
31102(b)(1) to modify and augment the conditions a State must meet to
qualify for basic program funds under the MCSAP. The statute requires a
State to document in the State Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP)
its commitment to meet the following additional conditions:
Deploy technology to enhance the efficiency and
effectiveness of CMV safety programs;
Include, in both the training manual for the licensing
examination to drive a non-CMV and the training manual for the
licensing examination to drive a CMV, information on best practices for
driving safely in the vicinity of noncommercial and commercial motor
vehicles;
Conduct comprehensive and highly visible traffic
enforcement and CMV safety inspection programs in high-risk locations
and corridors; and
Except in the case of an imminent or obvious safety
hazard, ensure that an inspection of a vehicle transporting passengers
for a motor carrier of passengers is conducted at a station, terminal,
border crossing, maintenance facility, destination, or other location
where a motor carrier may make a planned stop.
Additionally, SAFETEA-LU provided that States may use a portion of
MCSAP basic grant funds to conduct documented enforcement of State
traffic laws--both laws and regulations designed to promote the safe
operation of CMVs and laws and regulations
[[Page 54097]]
relating to non-CMVs, when necessary to promote the safe operation of
CMVs. Section 4106 amended 49 U.S.C. 31102(c) to provide that a State
may use a portion of MCSAP grant funds to conduct documented
enforcement of State traffic laws--both laws and regulations designed
to promote the safe operation of CMVs and laws and regulations relating
to non-CMVs, when necessary to promote the safe operation of CMVs.
In order for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) to evaluate program effectiveness, it is necessary for the
State to provide and maintain information concerning past, present and
future program activity. The Final Rule that revised Part 350 (MCSAP)
to comply with the congressionally-mandated provisions of TEA-21 was
published in the Federal Register (65 FR 15092) on March 21, 2000. Part
350 is currently being revised to implement the changes to the MCSAP
made by SAFETEA-LU. The State's grant application, known as the
Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP) must contain the information
required by 49 CFR 350.201, 350.211 and 350.213. This information is
necessary to enable the FMCSA to determine whether a State meets the
statutory and administrative criteria to be eligible for a grant. It is
necessary that a State's work activities and accomplishments be
reported so that the FMCSA can monitor and evaluate a State's progress
under its approved plan and make the determinations and decisions
required of 49 CFR 350.205 and 350.207. The FMCSA is required to
determine whether each State's efforts meet the intended objectives of
its plan. In the event of nonconformity with any approved plan and
failure on the part of a State to remedy deficiencies, the FMCSA is
required to take action to cease Federal participation in that State's
plan.
This information collection supports the DOT Strategic Goal of
Safety (i.e., reducing commercial truck-related fatalities by providing
financial and technical support to State CMV enforcement efforts).
The FMCSA uses the information in the CVSP to determine whether a
State has the necessary resources and authority to undertake the
program intended by Congress. After a grant has been awarded to a
State, a continuing and final evaluation of the State's activities is
performed to determine whether continued funding is appropriate and if
revisions in the State's CVSP should be made. A quarterly report in
narrative form is submitted by the States to provide the minimum
necessary information to assist in appropriate monitoring of a State's
performance, compared to its CVSP, and to permit the FMCSA to determine
whether the effort of a State is cost efficient and whether Federal
assistance should be continued. In addition, inspection data and
reports are submitted electronically by the inspecting officer from the
field to the FMCSA at the time of completion of the inspection.
SAFETEA-LU provides that States may now conduct traffic enforcement
activities against non-CMVs to promote the safe operation of CMVs. The
States have been routinely conducting traffic enforcement activities on
CMVs and have been reimbursed, provided an appropriate inspection was
conducted at the time. Previously, non-CMV traffic enforcement was not
an eligible MCSAP activity for reimbursement so the States have not
captured activity levels for this type of enforcement. It is
anticipated that the number of non-CMV enforcement activities conducted
by the States will be minimal since SAFETEA-LU limits the amount of
MCSAP grant funding that can be used for non-CMV traffic enforcement
activities to no more than five percent of the basic amount the State
receives annually.
The quarterly report is created by the State and submitted to the
FMCSA using inspection data and other information. The collection of
uniform data permits analysis and comparison of State programs and
facilitates program administration and reporting; e.g., comparison of
the data from a single State to the national average, equipment
violation and out-of-service trends, etc.
The FMCSA routinely uses quarterly report information to measure
individual and collective State program accomplishment and to assist
with future program development.
Description of MCSAP forms:
a. Form MCSAP-1, Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program: The
MCSAP-1 form is submitted with the CVSP grant application. It specifies
the name of the applicant agency, the amount applied for, and contains
the signatures of the responsible State authorities.
b. Form MCSAP-2, Grant Agreement: The MCSAP-2 form is the grant
agreement that specifies the total amount of the State Program, the
State and Federal participating shares, the period of the grant, and
the signatures of the responsible State official and the FMCSA Division
Administrator. The reverse side of the MCSAP-2 contains the ``General
Provisions For the Agreement.''
c. Form MCSAP-2A, Grant Amendment for Fiscal Year: The MCSAP-2A
form is used to modify the terms of the grant. It is used to increase
or decrease the amount of the grant, or to extend the period of the
grant. It contains the signatures of the responsible State official and
the FMCSA Division Administrator.
In addition, the following documents are provided as part of the
CVSP package:
a. State Training Plan (optional format): This document is a
request for commercial vehicle training courses. It is used by the
FMCSA's National Training Center to more effectively schedule training
courses to meet the needs of State enforcement agencies.
b. State Certification: The CVSP must contain a State Certification
signed by the Governor, the State Attorney General, or other specially
designated State official. The Certification contains requirements of
conditions that must be met by the State to receive MCSAP grant funds.
Virtually all (99%) of the information required by the MCSAP grant
program is submitted electronically. This includes over three million
inspection reports, which are uploaded electronically from laptop
computers at inspection sites in the field to the FMCSA annually. The
near-universal use of laptops for submitting these inspection reports
has resulted in a dramatic cut of the time burden. The annual CVSPs
require signed certifications by State personnel and are not,
therefore, electronically transmitted.
The FMCSA is the only Federal agency given authority to enforce
safety regulations applicable to commercial trucks and buses in
interstate commerce. The type of information to be gathered from the
States through this information collection is unique to the MCSAP. No
duplication was identified through the rulemaking process to implement
relevant sections of SAFETEA-LU.
The legislative requirement is that grants be extended to the
States predicated on annual submission of CVSPs. The FMCSA has
determined that although monthly or bimonthly reports are not needed, a
semiannual report would not be sufficiently frequent to allow for
timely evaluation and changes in State program direction. Therefore,
quarterly reports were determined to be the most appropriate,
considering burden and Federal need. If the reports were submitted less
frequently, the FMCSA would be unable to exercise appropriate oversight
and
[[Page 54098]]
administration of the program as envisioned by the Congress.
Title: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0010.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information
collection.
Respondents: State MCSAP lead agencies and local agencies.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 52 [50 States + Puerto Rico +
District of Columbia = 52].
Estimated Time per Response: 80 hours per grant application
preparation; 8 hours per quarterly report preparation; and 1 minute per
inspection and data upload.
Expiration Date: November 30, 2007.
Frequency of Response: 1 grant application annually; 4 quarterly
reports annually; and approximately 3 million total inspection and data
uploads annually.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12,280 hours.
The methods used to calculate the hours necessary to prepare grant
applications, upload data, and prepare quarterly reports are based on
interviews with the State and Federal personnel charged with those
responsibilities. The information required to prepare the applications
for grants and the subsequent reports is based on general information
ordinarily maintained by the States in the general course of business,
and only simple computations are required to determine burden hours.
The grant applications and reports are submitted by the 50 States, four
Territories, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Each entity
submits one grant request and four quarterly reports per year. In
addition, about three million total inspection reports are uploaded
each year.
This figure reflects only 20 percent of the total estimated annual
hours to perform the activities because MCSAP reimburses 80 percent of
the eligible costs incurred in the administration of an approved plan
as set forth in 49 CFR 350.303, 350.309 and 350.311. Labor hours are
estimated and an average hourly rate for professional personnel is
applied. The four territories of American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin
Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are funded
at 100 percent; therefore they are not included in the computation of
the annual burden.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the FMCSA's performance; (2) the accuracy
of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the quality,
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that
the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the
collected information. The agency will summarize or include your
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information
collection.
Issued on: September 14, 2007.
Terry Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. E7-18637 Filed 9-20-07; 8:45 am]
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