Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Transportation of Hazardous Materials; Highway Routing

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

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 its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled, “Transportation of Hazardous Materials, Highway Routing.” The information reported by States and Indian tribes is necessary to identify designated/restricted routes and restrictions or limitations affecting how motor carriers may transport certain hazardous materials on highways, including dates that such routes were established and information on subsequent changes or new hazardous materials routing designations.

DATES:

Comments on this notice must be received on or before November 7, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2022-0136 using 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: 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: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy heading below.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for accessing the docket, or go to the street address listed above.

Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its decision making 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 .

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 “FAQ” section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. 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:

Ms. Melissa Williams, Office of Safety, Hazardous Materials Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-4163; melissa.williams@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background: The data for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials; Highway Routing ICR is collected under authority of 49 U.S.C. 5112 and 5125. Specifically, 49 U.S.C. 5112(c) requires that the Secretary, in coordination with the States, “shall update and publish periodically a list of currently effective hazardous material highway route designations.” This authority is delegated to FMCSA in 49 CFR 1.87(d)(2).

In 49 CFR 397.73, FMCSA requires that each State and Indian tribe, through its routing agency, provide information identifying new, or changes to existing, hazardous materials routing designations within its jurisdiction within 60 days after their establishment (or 60 days of the change). That information is collected and consolidated by FMCSA and published annually, in whole or as updates, in the Federal Register and on its website at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry .

Title: Transportation of Hazardous Materials, Highway Routing.

OMB Control Number: 2126-0014.

Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents: The reporting burden is shared by 50 States, the District of Columbia, Indian tribes with designated routes, and U.S. Territories including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 57 [36 States + the District of Columbia, with designated hazardous materials highway routes + 19 States/U.S. Territories without designated hazardous materials highway routes + 1 Indian tribe with a designated route = 57].

Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.

Expiration Date: April 30, 2023.

Frequency of Response: Once every two years.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 7 hours [57 annual respondents × 1 response per 2 years × 15 minutes per response/60 minutes per response = 7.125 hours rounded to 7 hours].

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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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 ICR.