Notice2022-19864
Exemption From Renewal of the Hazardous Materials Endorsement Security Threat Assessment for Certain Individuals
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 15, 2022
Effective
September 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentTransportation Security Administration
Abstract
TSA is granting a temporary exemption from requirements regarding the expiration of TSA Security Threat Assessments (STAs) for Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) holders, subject to requirements set forth in this exemption. For the duration of this exemption, states may extend the expiration date of an HME that expires between July 1, 2022 and December 27, 2022, for a period of up to 180 days. TSA has determined it is in the public interest to grant the exemption at this time to ensure that the HME renewal process does not exacerbate the current difficulties with the transfer and movement of cargo nationwide and at the ports. TSA may extend this exemption depending on HME enrollment volumes and supply chain challenges.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 178 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 178 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56692-56693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19864]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
[Docket No. TSA-2003-14610]
Exemption From Renewal of the Hazardous Materials Endorsement
Security Threat Assessment for Certain Individuals
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.
ACTION: Notice, temporary exemption.
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SUMMARY: TSA is granting a temporary exemption from requirements
regarding the expiration of TSA Security Threat Assessments (STAs) for
Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) holders, subject to requirements
set forth in this exemption. For the duration of this exemption, states
may extend the expiration date of an HME that expires between July 1,
2022 and December 27, 2022, for a period of up to 180 days. TSA has
determined it is in the public interest to grant the exemption at this
time to ensure that the HME renewal process does not exacerbate the
current difficulties with the transfer and movement of cargo nationwide
and at the ports. TSA may extend this exemption depending on HME
enrollment volumes and supply chain challenges.
DATES: This exemption becomes effective on September 15, 2022 and
remains in effect through December 27, 2022, unless otherwise modified
by TSA through a notice published in the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Hamilton, 571-227-2851,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#420a0f076c33372731362b2d2c023631236c262a316c252d34"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99d1d4dcb7e8ecfceaedf0f6f7d9edeaf8b7fdf1eab7fef6ef">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Approximately 80 percent of goods are shipped by truck in the
United States today. These shipments include necessities, such as food,
medicine, and protective equipment, as well as discretionary goods.
Consumer purchases of discretionary goods fell dramatically during the
height of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but spiked
following the development of vaccines and as a gradual return to normal
daily life progressed. Meanwhile, the pandemic exacerbated longstanding
challenges in the trucking industry, such that demand for drivers with
a valid state-issued commercial driver's license (CDL) with an HME has
increased significantly. These supply chain issues and increasing
consumer demands have increased pressure on motor carriers who require
qualified, trained, and licensed drivers to transport goods. As a
result, there is a significant need for commercial drivers who are
authorized to transport all goods, including hazardous materials.
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 requires individuals who transport
hazardous materials via commercial motor vehicle to undergo an STA
conducted by TSA.\1\ As described in the implementing regulations at 49
CFR part 1572, no state may issue or renew an HME for an individual's
CDL, unless the state first receives a Determination of No Security
Threat for the individual from TSA following the TSA-conducted STA. See
49 CFR 1572.13(a). The STA for an HME consists of checks of criminal,
immigration, and security threat databases.\2\ The STA and HME remain
valid for up to five years.
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\1\ Public Law 107-56 (Oct. 26, 2001; 115 Stat. 396),
1012(a)(1), codified as amended at 49 U.S.C. 5103a.
\2\ For purposes of this Notice, the term `security threat'
includes terrorism watchlists, and intelligence and law enforcement
databases.
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An individual seeking renewal of an HME must initiate an STA at
least 60 days before expiration of their current HME.\3\ The process of
initiating an STA requires the individual to submit information to
either the state licensing agency or a TSA enrollment center, including
fingerprints and the information required by 49 CFR 1572.9,\4\ at least
60 days before the expiration of the HME.\5\
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\3\ 49 CFR 1572.13(b).
\4\ 49 CFR 1572.15.
\5\ 49 CFR 1572.13(b).
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Supply chain issues, have increased the demand for drivers with a
valid state-issued CDL with an HME. The pandemic exacerbated
longstanding challenges in the trucking industry, including high
turnover rates, an aging workforce, long hours away from home, and time
spent waiting--often unpaid--to load and unload at congested ports,
warehouses, and distribution centers. As a result of the increased
demand, more than 50,000 CDLs and Learners Permits have been issued
each month in 2021, which is 20 percent higher than the 2019 monthly
average and 72 percent higher than the 2020 monthly average.\6\
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\6\ White House (2021, December 16). Biden-Harris Trucking
Action Plan. Available at: <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-trucking-action-plan-to-strengthen-americas-trucking-workforce/">https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-trucking-action-plan-to-strengthen-americas-trucking-workforce/</a>.
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Even though all shipments do not include hazardous materials,
employers want to have commercial drivers with HMEs available as a
matter of efficiency to ensure any driver is authorized to carry any
shipment. Similar to the demand for CDLs, enrollments for HMEs have
increased from approximately 15,000 per month to 20,000 per month in
calendar years 2021 and 2022. Despite a nearly 30 percent decrease in
HME enrollments during the pandemic, new enrollments and renewals are
exceeding historical volumes to meet the demand for qualified drivers.
The increased demand for HMEs, as well as other credentialling
requiring STAs conducted by TSA, has increased processing times for
some individuals with potential disqualifying factors. Some
applications require 60 days for TSA to complete the adjudication of
potential disqualifying factors and make an eligibility determination.
As noted above, current regulatory requirements prohibit states
from issuing or renewing an HME until TSA makes its final eligibility
determination.\7\ States also may issue an HME to a driver who holds a
valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC[supreg])
which includes completion of the same STA.\8\ There are approximately
250,000 drivers whose HME STA has expired or will expire in calendar
year 2022. Approximately 135,000 of those HME STAs will expire in the
next 180 days or 22,500 per month for the next six months.
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\7\ 49 CFR 1572.13(a).
\8\ Public Law 115-254, 132 Stat. 3186 (Oct. 5, 2018) 1978,
codified at 49 U.S.C. 5103a. In March 2020, TSA published an
exemption as an interim measure to conform regulatory requirements
to the statute. The exemption includes guidance for states to
validate a TWIC card; however, few states have implemented this
process or accept TWIC for HME issuance.
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TSA published a similar temporary exemption for HME renewals on
April 8, 2020, to provide regulatory relief during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic \9\ to ensure there were enough authorized drivers in
the supply chain to deliver needed goods. In that exemption, TSA
permitted states to extend the expiration date for HMEs for up to 180
days. TSA subsequently issued two 90-day extensions, which extended
availability of the exemption to December 31, 2020.\10\
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\9\ 85 FR 19767.
\10\ 85 FR 46152 (July 31, 2020); 85 FR 68357 (Oct. 28, 2020).
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Authority and Determination
TSA may grant an exemption from a regulation if TSA determines that
the exemption is in the public interest.\11\ TSA has determined that it
is in the
[[Page 56693]]
public interest to grant an exemption from certain process requirements
in 49 CFR part 1572 related to STAs for HMEs. TSA based this
determination on the need for commercial drivers with an HME to
continue to work without interruption while supply chain pressures ease
and TSA is able to address increasing HME enrollment volumes, which
have impacted STA processing times. Extending the HME expiration date
through this exemption would not compromise the current level of
transportation security because TSA conducts recurrent security threat
checks on HME holders and takes action to revoke an HME if derogatory
information becomes available, regardless of expiration date. TSA uses
data previously submitted by these individuals to conduct recurrent
security threat vetting to ensure that they do not pose a security
threat.
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\11\ 49 U.S.C. 114(q). The Administrator of TSA delegated this
authority to the Executive Assistant Administrator for Operations
Security, effective March 26, 2020.
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This exemption permits states to extend the expiration date for an
HME for up to 180 days for eligible individuals with an HME that
expires between July 1, 2022 and December 27, 2022, even if the
individual did not initiate or complete submission of required
information for an STA at least 60 days before expiration of the
HME.\12\ Consistent with the requirements in 49 CFR 1572.13(b), if the
state grants an extension to an individual, the State must, if
practicable, notify the individual that the state is extending the
expiration date of the HME, the date that the extension will end, and
the individual's responsibility to initiate the STA renewal process at
least 60 days before the new expiration date. If it is not practicable
for a State to give individualized notice to drivers, the state may
publish general notice, for example, on the appropriate website.
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\12\ This exemption remains in effect through December 27, 2022,
unless otherwise modified by TSA through a notice published in the
Federal Register. TSA believes that the option for further
modification, as noted above, provides clearer notice to and better
certainty for states administering the program.
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The purpose of this exemption is to allow states to provide
commercial drivers with up to six months of relief from action
necessary to meet TSA's STA renewal requirements during a period of
increased demand for commercial drivers. It allows for the 60 days TSA
needs to complete processing of the individual's application for STA
renewal once it is submitted. The exemption permits, but does not
require, states to extend the expiration date for HMEs.
By permitting states to extend the expiration date of HMEs within
the scope of this exemption, TSA better positions states to ensure that
CDL holders with HMEs will be able to continue to provide their
critical services amid supply chain pressures and increased demand for
STAs, licenses, and endorsements. TSA has determined that there is
little risk to transportation security associated with the exemption.
The exemption is subject to the following conditions:
(1) The extension applies only to individuals who currently hold an
HME;
(2) The extension is for a limited time, dependent on the duration
and scope of supply chain pressures and increased HME enrollment
volumes for drivers, and subject to possible modification by TSA before
the closure of the effective period; and
(3) TSA will continue to conduct security threat checks of these
during the period of the extension and retain its full authority to
immediately revoke or suspend an individual's STA (Determination of No
Security Threat) and to order a state to revoke an individual's
HME.\13\
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\13\ See 49 CFR 1572.5(b) and 1572.13.
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Exemption
State Exemption. During the effective period of this exemption,
states are exempt from the requirement in 49 CFR 1572.13(a) prohibiting
renewal of an eligible individual's HME for a CDL, unless the state
receives a new STA (Determination of No Security Threat) from TSA. For
the duration of this exemption, a state may extend the expiration date
of an eligible individual's HME for a period of no more than 180 days
without a new STA. The state must notify each eligible individual that
he or she is subject to an STA for renewal of the HME and that he or
she must initiate the STA at least 60 days before the extended
expiration date of the HME. If it is not practicable for a state to
give individualized notice to drivers, the state may publish general
notice, for example, on the appropriate website. TSA will continue to
recurrently vet these individuals against terrorism and other
governmental watch lists and databases and reserves authority under 49
CFR 1572.5(b) and 1572.13 to direct a state to revoke an individual's
HME immediately and at any time.
For purposes of this exemption, an eligible individual is defined
as an individual who held a valid, unexpired HME with an STA
(Determination of No Security Threat) on or after July 1, 2022, which
HME has expired or would otherwise expire between that date and the
close of the effective period of this exemption.
Limits of Exemption. This exemption does not apply to new HMEs nor
does it affect any other requirements applicable to obtaining a
commercial driver's license under 49 CFR parts 383 and 384.
David P. Pekoske,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2022-19864 Filed 9-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P
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