Regulatory Update – Aug. 20, 2021

August 20, 2021

Update on Relevant U.S. Regulations

NHTSA Publishes Update to Civil Penalty Amounts
On Aug. 20, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a notice and request for comments on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to gather input on making additional changes to the annual inflation increase of civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of NHTSA regulations. Comments are due by Sept. 20.

FMCSA Publishes ICR Waiver and Exemption Requirements
On Aug. 16, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a notice and request for comments on an information collection request (ICR) to evaluate the burden of the reporting requirements for applicants requesting a waiver or exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Comments are due by Oct. 15.

PHMSA Publishes Updates on Special Permits
On Aug. 12, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published updates on special permit applications:

PHMSA Publishes ICR on Rulemaking, Special Permits and Preemption Requirements
On Aug. 10, PHMSA published a notice and request for comments on an ICR related to petitions for rulemaking, applications for special permits and applications for preemption determination. The ICR is necessary to collect the information that applicants submit for each of these processes. Comments are due by Sept. 9.

PHMSA Publishes NPRM on Harmonization with International Standards
Also on Aug. 10, PHMSA published a notice and request for comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend various Hazardous Materials Regulations to align with international standards. The changes include updates to the requirements for shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations and vessel stowage. Comments are due by Oct. 12.

FMCSA Publishes NPRM to Update Household Goods Regulations
On Aug. 10, FMCSA published a notice and request for comments on an NPRM to amend the household goods regulations based on recommendations from the Household Goods Consumer Protection Working Group. The notice states that the changes would reduce costs for household goods motor carriers and provide clarity for individual shippers. Comments are due by Oct. 12.

FMCSA Requests that Medical Examiners Upload Physical Exam Results from National Registry Outage
On Aug. 9, FMCSA published a request that medical examiners submit results from physical qualification examinations that were conducted during an outage of the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners from Dec. 1, 2017-Aug. 13, 2018. During the outage FMCSA encouraged medical examiners to continue conducting physical qualification examinations and asked that the results be uploaded once the outage was resolved. Many of the results have still not been uploaded. Medical examiners should submit the results by Sept. 30.

Update on Exemptions

FMCSA Requests Comments on Werner CDL Exemption Request
On Aug. 18, FMCSA published a notice and request for comments on an application from Werner Enterprises to allow commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have passed the commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test to operate a commercial motor vehicle with a CDL holder somewhere in the vehicle. Currently, the CDL holder is required to be present in the passenger seat. Comments are due by Sept. 17.

FMCSA Requests Comments on ZF Group Windshield Mounting Exemption Application
On Aug. 12, FMCSA published a notice and request for comments on an application from the ZF Group’s Commercial Vehicle Control Systems Division for exemption from the windshield mounting requirements. The ZF Group requests that its advanced driver-assistance system be permitted to be mounted lower in the windshield than is currently allowed. Comments are due by Sept. 13.

CVSA Active Exemption Tracker
CVSA maintains a list of active exemptions issued by FMCSA. The exemption tracker can be found at www.cvsa.org under the “Inspections” tab at the top of the page.