[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 96 (Friday, May 19, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22879-22880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10092]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 96 / Friday, May 19, 2017 / Rules and
Regulations
[[Page 22879]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
23 CFR Part 490
[Docket No. FHWA-2013-0054]
RIN 2125-AF54
National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance
of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate
System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final regulation; delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the indefinite delay of specific
portions of the National Performance Management measures; Assessing
Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the
Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
Improvement Program Final Rule (PM#3) (RIN 2125-AF54) and announces the
initiation of additional regulatory proceedings for those portions.
DATES: Effective May 19, 2017, the effective date of the amendments to
49 CFR 490.105(c)(5) and (d)(1)(v), 490.107(b)(1)(ii)(H),
(b)(2)(ii)(J), (b)(3)(ii)(I), and (c)(4), 490.109(d)(1)(v) and
(f)(1)(v), 490.503(a)(2), 490.505 (Definition of Greenhouse gas (GHG)),
490.507(b), 490.509(f), (g) and (h), 490.511(a)(2), (c), (d), and (f),
and 490.513(d) published on January 18, 2017, at 82 FR 5970 is delayed
indefinitely. FHWA will publish a document in the Federal Register
announcing the new effective date. The remainder of the provisions of
the Final Rule published on January 18, 2017, at 82 FR 5970, and not
otherwise specified in this document, will take effect on May 20, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Richardson, Assistant
Chief Counsel for Legislation, Regulations, and General Law, Office of
Chief Counsel, Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-0761. Office hours are
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access and Filing
A copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), all comments
received, the Final Rule, and all background material may be viewed
online at http://www.regulations.gov using the docket numbers listed
above. A copy of this document will be placed on the docket. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are available on the Web site. It is
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. An electronic copy of
this document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal
Register's Web site at http://www.ofr.gov and the Government Publishing
Office's Web site at http://www.gpo.gov.
Background
On January 20, 2017, the Assistant to the President and Chief of
Staff issued a memorandum entitled, ``Regulatory Freeze Pending
Review.'' This memorandum directed heads of executive departments and
agencies to take certain steps to ensure that the President's
appointees and designees have the opportunity to review new and pending
regulations. It instructed agencies to temporarily postpone the
effective dates of regulations that had been published in the Federal
Register but were not yet effective until 60 days after the date of the
memorandum (January 20, 2017). In accordance with that directive, FHWA
announced on February 13, 2017, at 82 FR 10441 that it would delay the
effective date of the PM#3 Final Rule to March 21, 2017. On March 21,
2017, at 82 FR 14438, FHWA further delayed the effective date to May
20, 2017.
This document confirms that the majority of the PM#3 Final Rule
will become effective on May 20, 2017. After further consideration,
FHWA has also determined that the portions of the PM#3 Final Rule
pertaining to the measure on the percent change in CO2
emissions from the reference year 2017, generated by on-road mobile
sources on the National Highway System (the GHG measure) would benefit
from further notice and comment procedures under the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA). As such, this document delays the effective date
for these provisions and announces that FHWA will be publishing an NPRM
in the Federal Register in the coming weeks pertaining to the GHG
measure. The effective date is delayed until such rulemaking on the GHG
measure is completed.
Specifically, FHWA is delaying the effective date indefinitely for
the following sections of the Final Rule:
1. 23 CFR 490.105(c)(5)
2. 23 CFR 490.105(d)(1)(v)
3. 23 CFR 490.107(b)(1)(ii)(H)
4. 23 CFR 490.107(b)(2)(ii)(J)
5. 23 CFR 490.107(b)(3)(ii)(I)
6. 23 CFR 490.107(c)(4)
7. 23 CFR 490.109(d)(1)(v)
8. 23 CFR 490.109(f)(1)(v)
9. 23 CFR 490.503(a)(2)
10. 23 CFR 490.505 (Definition of Greenhouse gas (GHG))
11. 23 CFR 490.507(b)
12. 23 CFR 490.509(f)
13. 23 CFR 490.509(g)
14. 23 CFR 490.509(h)
15. 23 CFR 490.511(a)(2)
16. 23 CFR 490.511(c)
17. 23 CFR 490.511(d)
18. 23 CFR 490.511(f)
19. 23 CFR 490.513(d).
Waiver of Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date
Under section 5 U.S.C. 553(b) of the APA, FHWA generally offers
interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed regulations.
Under section 553(d) of the APA, FHWA ordinarily publishes rules not
less than 30 days before their effective dates. However, the APA
provides that an agency is not required to conduct notice-and-comment
rulemaking or provide a delay in effective date for the provisions of a
rule when the agency, for good cause, finds that the requirement is
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest (5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3)).
Good cause exists to suspend the effective date of the GHG measure
without notice and comment. Given the imminence of the effective date
of the PM#3 Final Rule, seeking prior public
[[Page 22880]]
comment on this delay of the GHG measure would be impractical, as well
as contrary to the public interest in the orderly promulgation and
implementation of regulations. The President's appointees and designees
need to further delay the effective date of the sections of the PM#3
Final Rule pertaining to the GHG measure to have adequate time to
review them, and neither the notice and comment process nor a 30 day
delay in effective date could be implemented in time to allow for this
review. Additionally, the public will have the opportunity to provide
additional comments on the GHG measure in the near future.
List of Subjects in 23 CFR Part 490
Bridges, Highway safety, Highways and roads, Incorporation by
reference, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Issued on: May 15, 2017.
Walter C. Waidelich, Jr.,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-10092 Filed 5-18-17; 8:45 am]
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