Update on Relevant U.S. Regulations

U.S. DOT Publishes Update to Regulatory Agenda
On Aug. 16, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published the Regulatory Agenda, which is a semiannual summary of all current and projected rulemakings, reviews of existing regulations, and completed actions of the U.S DOT. The agenda provides the public information about the department’s planned regulatory activity for the next 12 months.

FMCSA Requests Comments on Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery ICR
On Aug. 15, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requested comments on the Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery information collection request (ICR), which allows for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communication between FMCSA and its customers and stakeholders. It also allows feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management. Comments are due by Sept. 16.

FMCSA Invites Input on Guidance Documents Needing Revision or Recission
On Aug. 13, FMCSA requested input on existing guidance documents that are good candidates for revision or rescission as part of its review of guidance documents to evaluate their continued necessity. Comments are due by Sept. 12.

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

• List of Applications for Special Permits – Comments are due by Sept. 11.
• List of Applications for Modification of Special Permits – Comments are due by Aug. 27.
• Notice of Actions on Special Permit Applications – Comments are due by Sept. 11.

NHTSA Grants Ricon’s Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
On Aug. 12, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted Ricon Corp.’s (Ricon) petition for decision of inconsequential noncompliance that determined that certain Mirage, S-Series and K-Series wheelchair lifts do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 403, Platform Lift Systems for Motor Vehicles.

U.S. DOT Announces Upcoming Battery Safety Post-Incident Stakeholder Meeting
On Aug. 9, the U.S. DOT announced a virtual stakeholder meeting as an opportunity to share information with the public on activities regarding lithium-ion battery safety in a post-incident scenario. The meeting will take place on Aug. 27, and advanced registration is required.

Update on Exemptions

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.

Other Items of Interest

Two ELDs Removed from FMCSA’s Registered Devices List
On Aug. 15, FMCSA removed the following electronic logging devices (ELDs) from its list of registered ELDs and placed them on the revoked ELDs list.

• BLUE STAR ELD by Blue Star Inc. (ELD Identifier: BRS153)
• RELIABLE ELD by Reliable ELD Inc. (ELD Identifier: RRS121)

Motor carriers and drivers were instructed to discontinue using the revoked devices listed above and revert to paper logs or other logging software to record required hours-of-service data. The revoked ELDs must be replaced with compliant ELDs from the registered devices list before Oct. 14.