Notice2024-18781
Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Requirements; Driver Qualification Requirements: Waste Management Holdings, Inc. Application for Exemption
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
August 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68024-68025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. See the
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further
information.
<bullet> Mail: Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> as described in the system of records
notice DOT/ALL-14 FDMS, which can be reviewed at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>. 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#41312420332d28246f332e23282f322e2f01252e356f262e37"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8c8ddd9cad4d1dd96cad7dad1d6cbd7d6f8dcd7cc96dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89ebfbe0e8e7a7eea7ede8e1e5e0e7c9ede6fda7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e684948f8788c881c882878e8a8f88a6828992c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>. 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
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 22, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.