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PUBLIC NOTICE – ALL INTERESTED PARTIES

Electronic On-Board Recorders and Hours-of-Service Supporting Documents

RIN-2126-AB20

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

 

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

 

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Washington, DC

 

November 2010

 

Contact: Michael M. Johnsen

Environmental Protection Specialist

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE

Washington, DC 20590-0001

202-366-4111

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The agency proposing the EOBR rule (FMCSAFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule)) proposes to amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to require motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in operations requiring the use of a record of duty status (49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.8) but whose operations do not permit them the option of using timecards, vehicles designed or used to transport nine or more passengers including the driver, and CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) used to transport hazardous materials in bulk, to use electronic on-board recorders that meet or exceed the requirements of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.16.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) also proposes a requirement for motor carriers to systematically and effectively monitor each driver’s compliance with hours-of-service requirements through the use of electronic on-board recorders records and supporting documents. FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) prepared this Draft Environmental Assessment to analyze potential impacts of this rulemaking and seeks comments on the analysis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ……………………………………….……..  3

1.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………  3

1.2 Background …………………………………………………………….……….  4

1.3 Scope Of Analysis ………………………………………………………..……  6

 

2. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES …………………………………………….….…  8

2.1 Overview of Alternatives ………………………………………………………. 8

2.2 Option 1: No-Action Alternative……………………………………………….. 8

2.3 Option 2: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) Population…………………………8

2.4 Option 3: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in Broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Population ………………….. 9

2.5 Option 4: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Population ………………………….. 9

 

3. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ……………………………………….… 10

3.1 Affected Environment …………………………………………………………. 10

3.1.1 Physical Environment Affected ……………………………………….………. 10

3.1.2 Air Quality and Clean Air Act Requirements…..…………………………. 12

3.1.3 Socioeconomics ………………………………………………………….. 16

3.1.4 Public Health and Safety ………………………………………………… 17

3.1.5 Solid Wastes ………………………………………………………………19

3.1.6 Hazardous Materials …………………………………………………………… 19

3.2 Environmental Consequences ………………………………………….………  21

3.2.1 Air Emissions …………………………………………………………….  21

3.2.2 Clean Air Act …………………………………………………………….. 27

3.2.3 Socioeconomics ………………………………………………………….  27

3.2.4 Public Health and Safety ………………………………………………… 31

3.2.5 Solid Waste ………………………………………………………………. 32

3.2.6 Hazardous Materials …………………………………………………..… 34

3.2.7 Unaffected Areas ………………………………………………………… 35

3.3 Cumulative Impacts ………………………………………………..……….….. 37

3.3.1 Proposed HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Rulemaking…………………………………….………… 37

3.3.2 EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Remedial Directive ……………………………………….….…… 39

3.4 Conclusions …………………………………………………………….……… 40

 

4. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ……………………………….…….……… 41

4.1 List of Agencies and Persons Consulted ………………………………………..41

4.2 List of Preparers and Reviewers…………………………………………….….. 41

 

5. REFERENCES ………………………………………….………………………………….. 42

 

6. SIGNATURES PAGE ……………………………………………………………..….…… 44

 

7. APPENDIX A: EPA MOVES MODELING METHODOLOGY………….…….……… 45
1. PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION

 

1.1 INTRODUCTION

 

In accordance with procedures of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as amended, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSAFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule)) NEPA Order 5610.1 (NEPA Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental Impacts), and other applicable requirements, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to review the potential impacts of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMNotice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule) for Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRsElectronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road)) and Hours of Service (HOSHours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive)) Supporting Documents. Based on the findings of this EA, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) has initially determined that an Environment Impact Statement (EIS) is not required and may issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

 

This EA provides an analysis of potential environmental consequences of revisions concerning the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) to document compliance with hours-of-service (HOSHours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive)) regulations (49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations part 395) and associated regulations to comply with maintaining HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) supporting documents to demonstrate compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations.

 

FMCSA proposes mandatory installation and use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by the following categories of CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) and motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees operations:

 

• All property-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) except those using only accurate and true time records to record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1) and (e)(2).
• All CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) designed or used to transport nine or more passengers, including the driver.  These include CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by motor carriers that would otherwise record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1).
• All CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) used in transporting bulk quantities of material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.  These include CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by motor carriers that would otherwise record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1).

 

In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 1501.7) for identifying the significant issues related to an action and FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) Order 5610.1, Chapter 2.D.10, “Reducing Paperwork in Preparation of Environmental Documents,” this EA focuses on the significant issues and deemphasizes insignificant issues.  Through the rulemaking process, as well as in accordance with CEQ, the Department of Transportation (DOTDepartment of Transportation) , and FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) environmental guidelines, and other environmental statutes, laws, and Executive Orders for NEPA review and analyses, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) determined the scope of the environmental issues to be analyzed in detail (significant issues) and the issues that will be briefly reviewed.  In accordance with Appendix 18 of FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) Order 5610.1, “Special Areas of Consideration When Implementing NEPA,” FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) considered whether the action would impact air quality, noise, hazardous materials (HM), endangered species, cultural resources protected under the National Historic Preservation Act, wetlands, and resources protected under Section 4(f), as well as other impact areas including public safety.  Because the implementation of this action would only alter equipment on CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) that monitor operating time (but influence driver safety issues and increase compliance with HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations), FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) found that noise, endangered species, cultural resources protected under the National Historic Preservation Act, wetlands, and resources protected under Section 4(f) of the DOT Department of Transportation Act would not be impacted.

 

The impact areas that may be affected and are evaluated in this EA include:

 

• Air quality and Clean Air Act requirements
• Hazardous materials transportation
• Solid waste
• Public safety

 

This EA presents the results of FMCSA’s analysis and provides a basis for FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) to determine whether the potential effects of the action and alternatives warrant consideration in an EIS or if a FONSI could be issued or whether the Agency should withdraw its action on the basis of the environmental impacts. FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) requests comments on this analysis.

 

1.2 BACKGROUND

 

The Federal HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations (49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations part 395) limit the number of hours a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles driver may drive and be on duty each day and during each 7- or 8-day period. The rules are needed to prevent commercial vehicle operators from driving for long periods without opportunities to obtain adequate sleep. Sufficient sleep is necessary to ensure that a driver is alert behind the wheel and able to respond appropriately to changes in the driving environment. Under 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.8, all motor carriers and drivers subject to Part 395 of the FMCSRs Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (except private motor carriers of passengers [non-business]) must keep records to track on-duty and off-duty time. FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) and State agencies use these records to carry out safety oversight activities.

 

On December 17, 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSBNational Transportation Safety Board) issued Safety Recommendation H-07-041 to FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) to “require all interstate commercial vehicle carriers to use electronic on‑board recorders that collect and maintain data concerning driver hours of service Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive in a valid, accurate, and secure manner under all circumstances, including accident conditions, to enable the carriers and their regulators to monitor and assess hours‑of‑service compliance.” In October 2008, NTSB National Transportation Safety Board added the safety recommendation to “require Electronic Onboard Data Recorders to Maintain Accurate Carrier Records on Driver Hours of Service” to its “Most Wanted” list.

 

This NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule is the next step to continue the Agency’s commitment to address motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees and highway safety concerns relating to driver fatigue.  As FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) stated in its April 2010 Final Rule, (75 FR 17208),

 

“Finally, because FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) recognizes that the potential safety risks associated with some motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees categories, such as passenger carriers, hazardous materials transporters, and new motor carriers seeking authority to conduct interstate operations in the United States, are such that mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use for such operations might be appropriate, the Agency will initiate a new rulemaking to consider expanding the scope of mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use beyond the “1 x 10” carriers that would be subject to a remedial directive as a result of today’s rule.”

 

 

FMCSA now initiates a new rulemaking action to propose expanding the requirements for mandatory use of EOBRs.  The Agency continues to be concerned about motor carriers’ and drivers’ inclinations to circumvent the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations in an effort to improve their business competitiveness.  In addition, as some commenters to the 2007 NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule docket indicated, a regulation that promotes voluntary use of EOBRs, but that does not require it for the majority of carriers, will not persuade most carriers to adopt the devices even though they may generate improvements to carriers’ operational productivity.  And, as other commenters noted, a more universal approach to EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use may promote a leveling of the playing field in the freight and passenger carrier industries.

 

The Agency considered including carriers, vehicles, and drivers of bulk HM in this NPRM. It did so because a crash involving a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles transporting bulk HM can endanger a large number of people, cause significant damage to infrastructure, and generate greater traffic congestion than a crash involving a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles transporting other cargoes. Although these events are infrequent, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Hazardous Materials Risk Management Program considers the potential risks they pose to persons, property, and the environment to be “low probability, high consequence events”(Comparative Risks of Hazardous Materials and Non-Hazardous Materials Truck Shipment Accidents/Incidents, Final Report.  Prepared for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, March 2001).  The Agency seeks additional data and information concerning the safety of bulk HM carriers in that are not currently required to use RODS.  This will aid the Agency in determining whether to require this category of motor carriers to use EOBRs.

Similarly, the risk of fatalities or serious injuries when a crash involves a passenger-carrying CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles is such that the Agency considered proposing a requirement for EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use in this industry sector (excluding the 9-15 passenger carriers not for direct compensation segment).   DOT’s Motor Coach Safety Action Plan notes seven priority action items to reduce motorcoach crashes, fatalities, and injuries.  The first priority action item is to initiate rulemaking to require EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) on all motorcoaches.  The provisions of today’s proposal would apply only to those passenger carrier operations where the driver is required to complete a RODS.  The Agency, however, is considered proposing a requirement for SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers motor carriers of passengers to use EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) .  It seeks additional data and information about the safety of this group of carriers, drivers, and vehicles.

FMCSA considered requiring only drivers in LH long-haul; generally >150 mi. from base for property carriers operations (that is, those operating beyond a 150 air-mile radius) to use EOBRs. An “LH only” option would address the segment of the motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees industry with the highest safety and HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance gaps and has the highest estimated net benefit. However, it would not address the safety concerns associated with SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers motor carriers, especially those operations on the days when RODS, rather than timecards, are required.

 

The Agency also considered requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) for all motor carriers subject to 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Part 395. The estimated compliance costs of this “true universal” approach, which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSBNational Transportation Safety Board) ^[1] and others advocated, exceed the estimated safety benefits for most SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers motor carriers; and the overall net benefits are negative.

 

Therefore, this NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule is intended to improve CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles safety through increasing use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) within the motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees industry to improve their HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance.  The approach has two components: (1) requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) to be used by considerably more motor carriers and drivers and (2) requiring motor carriers to develop and maintain systematic HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) oversight for their drivers and providing additional incentives to promote EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use by simplifying the supporting documents requirements.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) believes this approach strikes an appropriate balance between promoting highway safety and minimizing cost and operational burdens.

 

Motor carrier productivity is highly dependent on efficient and effective use of drivers’ time.  The HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations exist to provide a safety “floor” to prevent excessive hours of driving and driving after long periods of work, as well as to provide drivers the opportunity for restorative rest.  If a motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees directs a driver to exceed these limits by exceeding the regulatory limit on driving-time, driving after exceeding maximum daily or multi-day work periods, taking less time off-duty than the minimum required, or a combination of these, the potential for crashes and other negative safety outcomes increases.  The research literature on HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) and driving safety is discussed extensively in the “History of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Recording Regulations” section of the NPRM, as well as current and historical HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rulemakings.

 

The Agency agrees with the commenters to many rulemakings over the years that there is a strong potential for falsification of paper Record of Duty Status (RODSRecord of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period)) .  However, until relatively recently, the cost estimates for a broadly-applied EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) mandate have far exceeded the potential benefits to society, and the high cost of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) recording devices and systems had placed them out of the reach of many motor carriers.  At the same time, the value of a statistical life saved, used for regulatory analyses, did not provide an estimate of benefits that would have exceeded the cost of a broadly-applied HOS-recorder mandate.

 

1.3 SCOPE OF ANALYSIS

 

This EA will analyze the potential environmental consequences associated with adopting possible options in the NPRM.  Chapter 1 of this EA offers background information regarding the purpose of and need for the rulemaking.  Chapter 2 describes FMCSA’s Federal actions and the no-action alternative.  Chapter 3 describes both the affected environment and the potential environmental consequences to the affected environment resulting from the action and the no-action alternative.  Per FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) Order 5610.1, this EA will focus on those resource categories that are potentially impacts of interest to the public or important to the decision.  These resource categories include public health and safety, HM transportation, socioeconomics, solid waste disposal, and congestion and air quality.  Chapter 3 also offers a summary comparison of each alternative’s environmental consequences.  Chapter 4 lists those agencies and persons with whom FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) consulted during this NEPA compliance process, as well as preparers and reviewers of this document.  Chapter 5 lists references consulted during the development of this document.

 

The potential impacts of this rulemaking on the environment are related mainly to: 1) any increased idling time associated with compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations that the required use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) produces, 2) the expected reduction in crashes and subsequent emissions by increased compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations, and 3) regulatory changes concerning the retention of supporting documents to verify HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance.  The purpose of mandating EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) for CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles drivers is to reduce or prevent HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations and crashes associated with sleep-deprived and fatigued drivers.  This means that some drivers are going to have to take a required sleeper-berth period before making or completing a delivery that, if they were close to violating the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations, they might do without taking a break.  When drivers use a sleeper berth in the cab, they most likely are idling the vehicle’s engine to run auxiliary equipment such as phones, televisions, or other electronics and appliances.  They also may idle their vehicles for climate control purposes, often idling the vehicle during an 8-10 hour period (drivers using sleeper-berth-equipped vehicles may split the minimum 10 hours of off-duty time into two periods, the longer of which must be at least 8 hours and the shorter of which must be at least 2 hours).  Since this rulemaking focuses on compliance rates and assumes that the rulemaking will address the non-compliance of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) assumes that this mainly affects long-haul operators.

 

Section 3.2, “Environmental Consequences,” examines the impact of this rulemaking on current HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations.  However, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) is also in the process of examining new HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules that could affect the environmental impacts of this rulemaking since the environmental impacts of requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) depend greatly on the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule the EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) help to enforce.  In order to provide a complete EA, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) examines the impacts of mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use across a broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles population in relation to FMCSA’s recent EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule and FMCSA’s proposed HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule in Section 3.3, “Cumulative Impacts.”

 

 

 

 

2. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES

 

2.1 OVERVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES

 

This section provides an overview of the alternatives FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) is considering in this rulemaking.  In this case, there are two Options FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) could take:  Option 1 is the baseline No-Action alternative.  Option 2 is FMCSA’s proposed option for widening the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in the industry.  This rule is related to the prior EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking (75 FR 17208, April 5, 2010) and is a follow-up to that rule.  That final rule updated the 22-year-old technical specifications for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) recording devices and applied a remedial directive approach to require only motor carries with severe HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) noncompliance to obtain, install, and use EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in their CMVs.  Although broader usage was discussed, it was not proposed for the April 2010 final rule because it went beyond the scope of the NPRM.

 

In the regulatory evaluation for this rulemaking, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) separates costs of the rule into two additional baseline estimates to demonstrate the cost impacts of applying the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) requirements in various segments.  This analysis also describes the economic impacts of applying a mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) requirement to the entire motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees population that is required to follow HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) requirements.  Because FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) is trying to implement the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule in a cost effective manner with maximum safety benefits, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) has ruled out using these baselines and applying the requirements to the population of motor carriers subject to HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) requirements but provides them in the regulatory evaluation or Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIARegulatory Impact Analysis) , which is located in the docket for this NPRM.  The reader is referred to the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for further details.

 

The two options analyzed in this EA are further described below.  Impacts to the environment as a result from these two options are considered in Chapter 3 of this EA.

 

2.2 OPTION 1: NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE

 

This is a No-Action Alternative that will be used as a baseline to compare the proposed action against the impacts to the environment. Under this option, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) would not require EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) usage in a broader population of motor carriers.

 

2.3 OPTION 2: MANDATORY EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) USE IN RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) POPULATION (FMCSA Preferred Option)

 

Under Option 2, which is FMCSA’s preferred option, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) would require EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) only in the population of motor carriers currently required to complete and maintain RODS.  This is further defined by the regulations as all property-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) except those using only accurate and true time records to record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1) and (e)(2).

2.4 OPTION 3: MANDATORY EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) USE IN BROADER CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles POPULATION

 

Under this option FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) proposes mandatory installation and use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by the following categories of motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees operations:

 

• All property-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) except those using only accurate and true time records to record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1) and (e)(2).
• All CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) designed or used to transport nine or more passengers, including the driver, in interstate commerce, for compensation.  These include CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by motor carriers that would otherwise record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1).
• All CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, operating in interstate commerce.
• All CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) used in transporting bulk quantities of material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.  These include CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operated by motor carriers that would otherwise record drivers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) under the provisions of 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e)(1).

 

This approach has two components: (1) requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) to be used by considerably more motor carriers and drivers and (2) requiring motor carriers to develop and maintain systematic HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) oversight for their drivers and providing additional incentives to promote EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use by simplifying the supporting documents requirements.

 

2.5 OPTION 4: MANDATORY EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) USE IN ALL HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) MOTOR CARRIERS

 

This option is the broadest option possible.  It would require mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use in all motor carriers that are required to comply with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) requirements.  In the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for this rulemaking, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) determined that this Option is not cost affective.  It is analyzed here and in the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis since there was interest from the regulated community to know the potential impacts for applying the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) requirements to the broadest population possible.
3. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES

 

This chapter begins by describing the environment affected by the rulemaking.  It then presents the potential environmental consequences to that affected environment resulting from the proposed action and its alternatives.  Per FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) Order 5610.1, the EA will focus only on those resource categories that are potentially impacted, of interest to the public, or important to the decision to require the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) on CMVs.

 

3.1 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

 

The actual physical environment that may be affected by the proposed changes include the environment around the roads over which motor carriers operate.  These roads and the infrastructure of the roadway system that CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) utilize could be affected by CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes where drivers may be involved in crashes or environmental impacts are realized.  This rule affects motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees operations across the United States.  Subsequently, emissions released or prevented by this rulemaking are national in scope and all analysis of impacts are at a national level.

 

The resource areas examined and analyzed include:

1)      Air Quality and Clean Air Act (CAA) Requirements

2)      Socioeconomics

3)      Public Health and Safety

4)      Solid Waste

5)      Hazardous Materials

Sections 3.1.1 – 3.1.6 describe these resources areas starting with a broad overview of the physical environment that is potentially affected by this rulemaking.

 

3.1.1. Physical Environment Affected

 

The physical environment potentially affected by the proposed action includes: the airspace, water resources (e.g., streams, lakes), cultural and historical properties (e.g., properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places), biological and ecological resources (e.g., wetlands, plant and animal species and their habitats, forests, grasslands), and special ecological resources (e.g., threatened and endangered plant and animal species and their habitat, national and State parklands, biological reserves, wild and scenic rivers) that exist directly adjacent to and in the vicinity of the roads, terminals, and facilities where CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operate.

 

Figure 1.0 depicts the national highway system, which is approximately 160,000 miles (256,000 kilometers) of roadway important to the nation’s economy, defense, and mobility (FHWA 2005).  As shown in Figure 1.0, the impact of changes to the highway system or to vehicles operating on the highway system affects the whole nation.

 

In addition, because CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operate throughout the entire highway system, the potential for CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes exist along all of these roads.  With very few exceptions, the FMCSRs Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply to CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) as defined in 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 390.5 – and not with regard to whether the driver is required to hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDLCommercial Driver's License (a license required to drive any vehicle that weighs over a certain amount, carries hazardous waste, or carries over fifteen passengers)) or State-classified operator’s license.[2] CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes impact their immediate environment because of physical alterations (such as a fire that destroys an overpass), fuel spills, commodity spills (especially pertinent in spills of HM), and the noise generated from the crash and ensuing emergency response.  CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes also produce traffic congestion resulting in increased emissions, both of which can be fairly significant.

 

 

Figure 1.0 National Highway System (FHWA 2005)

The physical environmental also includes the drivers and motor carriers that would be impacted by the proposals in this rulemaking. There are upwards of 7 million commercial drivers license A license required to drive any vehicle that weighs over a certain amount, carries hazardous waste, or carries over fifteen passengers holders with an estimate of about 4.4 million active drivers[3] which fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations.

 

3.1.2 Air Quality and Clean Air Act Requirements

 

Under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) and implementing regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EPA established a set of NAAQS for “criteria” pollutants, as follows: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone, particulate matter (PM) less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM₁₀), PM less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM_2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and lead (Pb). The NAAQS include “primary” standards and “secondary” standards. Primary standards are intended to protect public health. Secondary standards are set at levels designed to protect public welfare by accounting for the effects of air pollution on vegetation, soil, materials, visibility, and other aspects of the general welfare. Table 1 below provides information about the standards established by the NAAQS.

 

The health effects of the six Federal criteria pollutants are briefly summarized below. (This section is adapted from the information at http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/greenbk/index.html.)

CO is a colorless, odorless, and poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon in fuels. Motor vehicles (primarily automobiles) are the largest source of CO emissions nationally. When it enters the bloodstream, CO reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues. Health threats are most serious for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease, particularly those with angina or peripheral vascular disease.

Lead exposure can occur through multiple pathways, including inhalation of air and ingestion of lead in food, water, soil, or dust. Excessive lead exposure can cause seizures, mental retardation, and behavioral disorders, and even low doses of lead can lead to central nervous system damage. Because of the prohibition of lead as an additive in liquid fuels, highway transportation sources are no longer a major source of lead pollution.

NO₂ is a brownish, highly reactive gas, caused largely by oxidation of the primary air pollutant nitric oxide (NO). NO₂ can irritate the lungs, cause bronchitis and pneumonia, and lower resistance to respiratory infections. Nitrogen oxides (NO₂ and NO) are an important precursor both to ozone and acid rain, and can affect both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Ozone is a photochemical oxidant and the major component of smog. Ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is formed through complex chemical reactions between precursor emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) in the presence of sunlight. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs), including large trucks and buses, are a major source of NO_x emissions. The majority of the CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) affected by the rule are HDDVs. Ground-level ozone causes health problems by damaging lung tissue, reducing lung function, and sensitizing the lungs to other irritants. Exposure to ozone for several hours at relatively low concentrations has been shown to significantly reduce lung function and induce respiratory inflammation in normal, healthy people during exercise.

 

PM includes dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets directly emitted into the air, and particles formed in the atmosphere by condensation or transformation of emitted gases such as SO₂ and VOCs. HDDVs are a major source of PM emissions. Exposure to high concentrations of PM can affect breathing and respiratory symptoms, aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease, alter the body’s defense systems against foreign materials, damage lung tissue, and cause cancer and premature death.

SO₂ results largely from stationary sources. High concentrations of SO₂ affect breathing and can aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease. SO₂ also is a primary contributor to acidic deposition, or acid rain, which causes acidification of lakes and streams and can damage trees, crops, historic buildings, and statues.

 

For areas that do not meet the NAAQS (these are designated by EPA as nonattainment areas), the CAA establishes levels and timetables for each region to achieve attainment of the NAAQS. The State must prepare a State Implementation Plan (SIP), which documents how the region will reach its attainment levels by the required date. A SIP includes inventories of emissions within the area and establishes emissions budgets that are designed to bring the area into compliance with the NAAQS. In maintenance areas, SIPs document how the State intends to maintain compliance with NAAQS.

 

Section 176(c) of the CAA prohibits Federal entities from taking actions in nonattainment or maintenance areas that do not “conform” to the SIP. The purpose of this conformity requirement is to ensure that Federal activities: (1) do not interfere with the budgets in the SIPs; (2) do not cause or contribute to new violations of the NAAQS; and (3) do not impede the ability to attain or maintain the NAAQS. To implement CAA Section 176(c), EPA issued the General Conformity Rule (40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Part 93, Subpart B), which applies to all Federal actions not funded under U.S.C. Title 23 or the Federal Transit Act. (FMCSA actions are not funded by U.S.C. Title 23 or the Federal Transit Act.) The General Conformity Rule, which was amended on April 5, 2010, established emissions thresholds, or de minimis levels, for use in evaluating the conformity of a federal action (75 FR 17254). If the net emissions increases due to the action are less than these thresholds, it is presumed to conform and no further conformity evaluation is required. If the emissions increases exceed any of these thresholds, a conformity determination is required. The conformity determination can entail air quality modeling studies, consultation with EPA and state air quality agencies, and commitments to revise the SIP or to implement measures to mitigate air quality impacts.

 

The General Conformity Rule contains several exemptions applicable to Federal actions, which the conformity regulations define as “any activity engaged in by a department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, or any activity that a department, agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government supports in any way, provides financial assistance for, licenses, permits, or approves, other than activities [subject to transportation conformity].” 40 CFR 93.152. The General Conformity Rule defines emissions as “direct” or “indirect” (75 FR  at 17260).   Actions that do not meet the definitions of direct or indirect emissions are exempt from the General Conformity Rule. “Direct emissions” are those that occur at the same time and place as the Federal action. In the case of this matter, the Federal action is a rulemaking and no emissions occur at the same time and place as the Federal action; thus the proposed action has no direct emissions. The definition of “indirect emissions” contains four criteria, all of which must be met. As stated in 40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 93.152, indirect emissions mean those emissions of a criteria pollutant or its precursors:

 

(1)   That are caused or initiated by the Federal action and originate in the same nonattainment or maintenance area but occur at a different time or place as the action;

(2)   That are reasonably foreseeable;

(3)   That the agency can practically control; and

(4)   For which the agency has continuing program responsibility.

 

For the purposes of this definition, even if a Federal licensing, rulemaking, or other approving action is a required initial step for a subsequent activity that causes emissions, such initial steps do not mean that a Federal agency can practically control any resulting emissions. 40 CFR 93.152.

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Climate change refers to long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and other elements of Earth’s climate system. Atmospheric gases affect Earth’s surface temperature by absorbing solar radiation that would otherwise be reflected back into space. The concentration of GHGs is increasing as a result of human activities according to EPA’s Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2008 (EPA 2010). Although there are a variety of GHGs, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most significant one resulting from human activity. Motor vehicles contribute to CO₂ concentrations, and to concentrations of other GHGs including methane and nitrous oxides.

 

The impact of an individual GHG on Earth’s absorption of radiation is measured as global warming potential. Global warming potential values can be used to express the quantity of a GHG in terms of its CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e). Rather than assessing the individual contribution from each GHG, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) considered CO₂e when assessing the effect of the action alternatives on GHG emissions. The total 2008 U.S. GHG emissions from medium- and heavy-duty trucks in terms of CO₂e is made up of 96.9 percent CO₂, 2.9 percent hydrofluorocarbons, 0.2 percent nitrous oxide, and 0.02 percent methane (EPA 2010, Table 2-15).

U.S. GHG emissions have been increasing over time, but total emissions have been nearly level since 2005 (EPA 2010). Table 2 shows total U.S. GHG emissions and GHG emissions from transportation sources since 1990. Transportation sources account for approximately 32 percent of the total U.S. CO₂e emissions from fossil fuel combustion (EPA 2010, Table ES-2). Freight trucks were responsible for 21 percent of total transportation GHG emissions in 2008 (EPA 2010).

3.1.3 Socioeconomics

 

FMCSA estimates that approximately 500,000 motor carriers with 4,000,000 drivers and 3,637,000 CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) are currently subject to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules.  Roughly 60 percent of the industry is engaged in SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers operations and 40 percent in long haul generally, >150 mi. from base for property carriers operations, although these percentages vary with different segments of the industry.  Table 1 below summarizes the number of affected carriers, drivers, and CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) in total and for the individual segments analyzed.  The explanation of how these numbers were derived can be found in Appendix A.

Table 1: Summary of Regulated Entities (thousands)

The magnitude of costs and benefits of this rule is determined by the number of drivers and CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) covered by the mandate.  However, the effects of different sources of costs and benefits are not uniform for all drivers and CMVs.  For example, the safety benefits of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules are highest for LH long-haul; generally >150 mi. from base for property carriers drivers, those most at risk to suffer from inadequate rest because of longer continuous daily driving periods and nights away from home.  For these reasons, long haul generally, >150 mi. from base for property carriers carriers are the most likely to already be using EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) or Fleet Management Systems (FMSfleet management system) to efficiently route their drivers or to track their whereabouts.  Full EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) can likely be accomplished more rapidly and at lower costs for long haul generally, >150 mi. from base for property carriers operations.  SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers operations accrue smaller safety benefits from the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, and those SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers carriers exempt from paper RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) requirements will likely have no voluntary EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use and would not benefit from the elimination of paper RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) afforded by EOBRs.  The Agency assumes that 25 percent of SH short-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers operations are exempt from RODS[4].

 

3.1.4 Public Health and Safety

 

FMCSA’s primary mission is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  Thus the rules and actions taken by FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) primarily involve regulations that achieve this goal.  Table 4 shows data for large trucks for 2003 through 2008 on average fatal crash and injury crash incidents and property damage only crash incidents.

3.1.5 Solid Wastes

 

CMV crashes can generate solid wastes.  The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and related regulations establish the waste management requirements that apply to CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash generated waste.  The chassis and engines, as well as associated fluids and components of trucks, buses, and automobiles and the contents of the vehicle can all be deemed waste.  The waste can also include damage to the roadway infrastructure including road surface, barriers, bridges, and signage.   The purpose of this report section is to quantify solid waste generated from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.

 

Waste material has one of three fates.  First, the material can be returned to the originally intended use: vehicles can be repaired, cargo can be still be utilized.  Second, damaged vehicles parts or cargo may be recycled, depending on market demand and availability of recycling technology and facilities.  Third, material that cannot be repaired or recycled must be abandoned.  The term abandoned refers to material that is either disposed in a landfill or burned in an incinerator.

 

According to RCRA regulations the definition of a solid waste encompasses the following materials: (1) materials that are abandoned; (2) materials that are recycled, (3) materials that are inherently waste-like, and (4) waste military munitions (40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 261.2).  Recycled materials still fall under regulatory classification of solid waste depending on the type of material and recycling method.  For example, for CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes, scrap metal from automobiles is regulated as a solid waste (40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 261.1(c)(6)).  All materials that are permanently disposed of due to CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes are technically solid waste (including liquids).  These materials can include components of vehicles that are discarded during repair.

 

FMCSA’s actions and proposed regulations to reduce the number and severity of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes may impact the quantity and number of occurrences of collisions producing solid waste generated in the U.S.  Less solid waste translates into cost savings from reductions in the following areas: (1) transport of waste material, (2) energy required for recycling efforts, and (3) landfill or incinerator fees.

 

3.1.6 Hazardous Materials

 

The federal hazardous materials transportation law, 49 U.S.C. § 5101 et seq., (formally the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, 49 App. U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.) is the basic statute regulating hazardous materials transportation in the U.S.  The purpose of the law is to provide adequate protection against the risks to life and property inherent in transporting HM in commerce by improving the regulatory and enforcement authority of the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary).

 

The Secretary has the authority to designate a material or a group or class of materials as hazardous when the Secretary decides that transporting the material in commerce in a particular amount and form may pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property.  The HM regulations (HMR) can be found at Title 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Parts 171-180.  The HMR cover five areas as follows:

 

• Hazardous materials definition/classification

(Part 172, Subparts A-B, and Part 173);

• Hazard communication (Part 172, Subparts C-G);
• Packaging requirements (Parts 173, 178, 179 and 180);
• Operational rules (Parts 171, 173, 174, 175, 176 and 177); and
• Training (Part 172, Subpart H).

 

The U.S. DOT, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), has public responsibilities for the safe and secure movement of HM to industry and consumers by all transportation modes, including the nation’s pipelines. PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) is the federal safety authority for the transportation of HM by air, rail, highway and water.

 

The HMR (49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Section 171.16) require that certain type of HM incidents be reported to PHMSA on US DOT Department of Transportation Form F 5800.1, Hazardous Material Incident Report (HMIR).  The information in the report is fundamental to HM transportation risk analysis and risk management by government and industry.  Additional information on transportation and HM can be found on the PHMSA website at (www.phmsa.dot.gov).

 

CMV crashes can result in the release of hazardous materials (HM) into the environment.  Crashes occur in varying locations and with varying amounts and types of HM being released from the CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles cargo.  Environmental impacts are dependent on these variables. In addition, HM from the CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles cargo is also released into the environment from non-crash related incidents that occur during in-transit movements, loading, unloading and in-transit temporary storage.  Similar to CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes, the environmental impacts are dependent on the location, quantity and type of HM being released.

In general, HM are substances that may pose a threat to public safety or the environment during transportation, because of their physical, chemical, or radioactive properties.  The potential for environmental damage or contamination exists when packages of HM are involved in crashes or en route incidents resulting from cargo shifts, valve failures, package failures, or loading, unloading, or handling problems.  Accidental releases of HM can result in explosions or fires. Radioactive, toxic, infectious, or corrosive HM can have short- or long-term exposure effects on humans or the environment.  Diesel fuel released during a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash from a fuel tank rupture, although not classified as a HM under federal HM transportation law can also adversely impact the environment.

3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES

 

This section examines the impacts to the environment from the options being considered in this rulemaking.  The reader should also note that the impacts in the section measure the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) according to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations in place as of 2005, the last substantive revisions of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules.  Because the Agency is also considering a rulemaking which may revise the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, the environmental impacts may differ slightly as the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules change.  Consequently, see Section 3.3, Cumulative Impacts, for an analysis of the potential impacts of the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking under options proposed in the upcoming 2010 HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rulemaking action.

 

Options 2, 3, and 4 are very similar in scope: the only difference being that Option 3 includes a slightly larger motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees population of passenger-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) and CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) carrying HM as described under Option 3 in Section 2.4 and Option 4 includes all motor carriers under FCMSA’s regulatory scope for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance.  The only analytical difference of these Options concerns the number of potential crashes reduced.  Thus, these Options will appear together in the analysis for this section to reduce repetition in the analysis.

 

3.2.1 Air Emissions

 

There are several ways that the proposed rulemaking affects air emissions.  Depending on the option, the rule may simultaneously produce and prevent emissions or simply produce emissions.  Some of the emissions prevented or produced come from congestion behind a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash, which FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) has estimated in its report “Environmental Cost of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes” (FMCSA 2004).  Some of the air emissions impacts comes from the rest-time idling of trucks (referred to as “hoteling”) while drivers take the mandatory HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) breaks that, before the inclusion of the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) device, they would forgo (and be in violation of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations).  While the different Options impact the number of reduced crashes, and the subsequent emissions from those crashes, Options 2, 3 and 4 are identical in terms of estimating the amount of additional emissions from hoteling since the estimate of sleeper-berth cabs would be the same in these populations (long-haul RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) users, which are included in all Options).  The additional populations in Options 3 and 4 are not populations that would normally practice hoteling in response to complying with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations. Thus, the emissions estimates from hoteling are applicable to Options 2, 3 and 4.

 

OPTION 1: No-Action Alternative

 

Without the mandatory use of EOBRs, there would be no additional emissions as a result of idling as drivers increased their compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations.  However, there would not be the decrease in emissions from the decrease in crashes associated with complying improved compliance with HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) requirements.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates the number of crashes that could occur under the No-Action Alternative (that is, by not requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) as outlined in the NPRM).

OPTIONS 2, 3 and 4: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) Population, Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in Broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Population, and Mandatory EBOR Use in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Population

 

Since Options 2, 3 and 4 are essentially the same options with only the addition of the number of motor carriers, this analysis will compare all Options in the same discussion.  Comparisons of the Options will appear in the tables as to make apparent the potential minor differences in the Options on the impacts to the environment.

 

The mandatory use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) affect air quality in two main ways: 1) from changing behavior of drivers currently violating HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations, toward improved compliance that would often entail spending additional time off-duty or, often in the sleeper berth of a cab with the engine running to power climate control systems and electronics. The additional time in the sleeper berth has the potential to increase emissions, yet, the reduction in crashes (safety improvement) prevents congestion — which reduces emissions from other highway vehicles.  Note that the hoteling estimates are the same for Options 2, 3  and 4.

 

Emissions from Additional Idling

 

Table 5 below describes the potential additional amount of emissions from drivers that idle their CMVs’ engines to maintain cab temperature in a comfort range during the time they are off-duty or using a sleeper berth to abide by HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, rather than violating those rules by driving beyond the regulatory maximum. FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates the out-of-service (OOS) rate for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations from roadside inspections at about 4%.[5] However, these violations are a result of using targeted methods to identify most problematic carriers for roadside inspection, and therefore is likely to be higher than the OOS violation rate of the carrier population as a whole. In addition, the actual rate of unknown violations (violations that FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) does not catch) is lower because inspections that result in no citations are not included in the total number of inspections, which if they were, would reduce the non-compliance rate further.  The rate of effectiveness of the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) on HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations was calculated to be about 40% in the regulatory analysis for this rulemaking.  Thus, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that, for the baseline estimate, there are 1.00% unobserved violations, and the impacts of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) on this baseline is 40 percent.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) requests comments on this analytical approach.

 

FMCSA estimates that there are about 665,000 affected tractor trailers with sleeper berths (VIUS 2002); vehicles FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates could be used for idling while the driver is sleeping. According to some researchers, drivers who are not currently in compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations (that the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) is designed to help address) lose 2 work hours per week.  Drivers, even with a sleeper berth, have options for not idling while they are sleeping in the sleeper berth by using an electrified truck stop, an auxiliary power unit, not idling (and forgoing heating or cooling of the cab), or spending the night in a fixed location (generally a motel, occasionally motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees provided sleeping quarters).  Drivers and motor carriers tend to act in their best interest.  Furthermore, a growing number of States and localities are implementing anti-idling laws.  As a result, drivers will idle their CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles engines less.  Thus we estimate that the percent of the time of lost work, which could include idling, to be 70%.[6] (Argonne 2000)  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) seeks comments on these estimates and methodologies.

 

 

Table 5. Estimates of Hoteling Time (Sleeper Berth Units=Long-Haul Tractors)
	Tractors	Trips	HOS-Related OOS Orders	HOS OOS Rate	Lost work hours	Percent of Lost Work Hours Idling	Total Hoteling Time (Hours)
Long Haul	665,000	144,000,000
		Trips w/o Inspections (or Citations)
Baseline		143,720,653	1,437,207	1.00%	2	0.7	2,012,089
Impact from EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Usage		143,720,653	574,883	0.4%	2	0.7	804,836

 

From these calculations, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use will result in 804,836 hours of idling.

 

Next, the idling times are converted into emissions.  In order to determine the amount of criteria pollutants from the idling rates shown in Table 5, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) relies on the EPA Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) model from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This model is used throughout the transportation community to calculate emissions and is a standard model which takes drive cycles and vehicle types into consideration in order to produce its output of emission amounts.  In order to estimate these emissions from idling trucks, several calculations and assumptions needed to be developed in order to extract the emissions from MOVES.  This methodology is explained in Appendix A of this EA.  Since the proposed rule would go into effect in the year 2015, and the trend in truck emissions is decreasing over time[7], the year 2015 was chosen to model emissions with the assumption that by the time full compliance came into effect, truck emission rates would be even lower.  Thus, using year 2015 would provide a maximum level for analytical purposes of environmental impact.  Table 6 shows the emissions released due to the additional estimated idling while hoteling in year 2015, the year that most of the population would be impacted by the proposed changes.

 

 

Table 6.  Emissions From Truck Hoteling in Year 2015
Pollutant	Emission Rate Calculated from EPA MOVES[8] (kg/hr)	Baseline (2,012,089 hrs) in U.S. Tons	Impact from EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road)  (804,836 hrs) in U.S. Tons
CO	0.088820509	197.00	78.80
NOX	0.227259488	504.05	201.62
SO2	0.000065	0.14	0.06
CO2	8.959934595	19,872.65	7,949.06
PM10	0.001444358	3.20	1.28
PM2.5	0.001401075	3.11	1.24
VOC	0.054895555	121.76	48.70

 

 

Since FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) is trying to determine, through the NEPA process and this EA, whether the environmental impacts reach a significant level, the analysis will look at the maximum amount of emissions release, though the Agency considers it equally possible the low case would better approximate the actual amount of emissions.

 

Reduction of Emissions from Crash Prevention

 

The safety benefits of increased adherence to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules through the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) can be realized through a reduction of crashes, and a reduction in crash severity.  This, in turn, reduces the amount of emissions from the congestion that a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash directly generates.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) calculated the emissions from an average CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash in its report entitled, “Environmental Costs of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes,” which is used to determine the emissions prevented by the rule.  In the regulatory evaluation for this rule (FMCSA 2010b), FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that 7,627 crashes would be prevented under Option 2, 7,640 crashes would be prevented from implementing Option 3, and that Option 4 would prevent 7,727 crashes per year.  These are a combination of fatal, injury, and property-damage only crashes.  Thus, emissions from an “average” crash, as calculated in the “Environmental Costs of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes” report, are used.  Table 7 below shows the emissions from the average crashes from both options that would be averted if these crashes are prevented.

 

Table 7.  Estimated Prevented Emissions of Average[9] CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes From Option 2, 3 & 4 (rounded) U.S. Tons of EPA Criteria Pollutants Prevented Annually by Crash Prevention
	CO	VOC	NOx	PM10	PM2.5	SO2	CO2
Crash Reduction Emissions Option 2	634	48	80	5	3	9	20,334
Crash Reduction Emissions Option 3	635	48	80	5	3	9	20,638
Crash Reduction Emissions Option 4	642	49	81	5	3	9	20,600

 

 

Net National Emissions Estimate

 

Finally, the national-level emissions reductions expected (as a result of EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use) from crash reductions are subtracted from the total national-level emissions expected to be released by the additional idling from further compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations.  Table 8 shows the net emissions impacts from the proposed rule compared to EPA’s reported national roadway emissions for comparison of significance. Idling emissions are from hoteling, as calculated above, combined with the 3 Options to produce net estimates.  Numbers in parenthesis indicate a net reduction in emissions.  These emissions are national-level emissions: long-haul truck idling can occur in numerous locations around the country.

 

 

Table 8.  Net Emissions Produced (or Reduced) Annually From Option 2, 3 and 4  Compared to National Average Emissions[10] in U.S. Tons in Year 2015 (rounded)
	EPA Criteria Pollutants
	CO	VOC	NOx	PM10	PM2.5	SO2	CO2
Idling Emissions  (+)	78.8	48.7	201.62	1.28	1.24	0.06	7,949.06
Net Emissions Opt. 2 (-)	(555)	.69	121	(3.3)	(2.2)	(9)	(12,385)
Net Emissions Opt. 3 (-)	(556)	.61	121	(3.3)	(2.2)	(9)	(12,419)
Net Emissions  Opt. 4 (-)	(564)	.06	120	(3.3)	(2.3)	(9)	(12,651)
National Average	42,091,928	3,649,969	5,635,009	178,023	119,049	91,051	*

* EPA has not set a limit for CO2 as of this time.

As is apparent from Table 4, additional national-level emissions of VOC and NOx, generated by increased idling are very small compared to the national average emissions for all 3 options, and are relatively even for all three options.  Emissions of CO, SO2 , PM2.5, PM 10, and CO2 are actually reduced due to the prevention of emissions that result from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  Using the national average emissions as the comparison for an inventory analysis, this rulemaking will have a very small negative impact on emissions, with a very small benefit of emissions reductions.  For example, CO2 emissions from highway vehicles alone in 2002 were over 1,464 teragrams[11], or 1,614,000,000 U.S. tons.  This rulemaking’s CO2 contribution is very small in comparison to even highway transportation’s overall contribution.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) seeks comments on this analysis.

 

3.2.2 Clean Air Act

 

In addition to the NEPA requirements to examine impacts on air quality, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) also analyzed this proposed rule under the CAA.

 

FMCSA recognizes that the action taken in this rulemaking has the potential to affect emission of criteria pollutants from CMVs.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) discusses the air emissions analysis in Section 3.2.1. of this EA.  As discussed in Section 3.1.2, the CAA requires additional analysis to determine if this action impacts air quality.  In determining whether this action conforms to CAA requirements in areas designated as nonattainment under section 107 of the CAA and maintenance areas established under section 175A of the CAA, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) is required (among other criteria) to determine if the total direct and indirect emissions are below or above de minimis levels.  In the case of this NPRM, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) considers the change in emissions to be an indirect result of the rulemaking action.  FMCSA is requiring drivers and motor carriers to use EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) which will lead to greater compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations which, directly, does not require additional emissions releases.  While emissions from idling are foreseeable, under the definition of ‘indirect emissions’ in 40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations  93.152, all four criteria must be met.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) does not believe the emissions of criteria pollutants or its precursors from the publication of this rulemaking meet two of the criteria (that the Agency can practically control the emissions and that the Agency has continuing program responsibility).  FMCSA’s authority limits its ability to require drivers to choose alternatives to idling while taking a rest period.  If FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) had authority to control CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles emissions then the Agency could prohibit idling or require drivers to choose an alternative such as electrified truck stops and auxiliary power units, both of which reduce idling emissions.  Since FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) lacks this jurisdiction, this action is exempt from the CAA’s general conformity requirement since it would not meet the definitions of direct or indirect emissions. (See discussion of 75 FR 17254, 17260, above.)  Moreover, based on our analysis, it is reasonably foreseeable that the NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule would not significantly increase total CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles mileage, nor would it change the routing of CMVs, how CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) operate, or the CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles fleet‑mix of motor carriers.

 

FMCSA requests comments on this analysis.

3.2.3 Socioeconomics

 

The regulatory impact analysis (RIARegulatory Impact Analysis) that accompanies this rule provides an assessment of the costs and benefits of requiring motor carriers to use electronic on-board recorders (EOBRsElectronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road)) to track driving and duty time [Insert RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis citation]. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The agency proposing the EOBR rule (FMCSA or the Agency) is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM to improve compliance with the Hours of Service (HOSHours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive)) regulations for (49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Part 395) commercial motor vehicle Any vehicle owned or used by a business (CMVCommercial Motor Vechicles) drivers. EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) track driving time and other activities electronically, providing largely the same information currently collected on paper records of duty status (RODSRecord of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period)) .

A Final Rule on EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance (EOBR I) was published on April 5, 2010, 75 Federal Register (FR) 17207,^[12] providing the technical requirements for EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) and mandating their installation and use for a period of two years on all power units of carriers with recurrent HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance problems, those found in a compliance review to have a 10 percent or greater violation rate (pattern violation) for any regulation in Appendix C to 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations Part 385 (“1X10 Remedial Directive Carriers”).^[13] FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) determined that an approach designed to target only HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violators would (1) be most likely to improve the safety of the motoring public on the highways in the near term, and (2) effectively utilize motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees and Federal and State enforcement resources.

FMCSA proposes to expand the requirement for EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use to a larger number of motor carriers and to require these devices to be permanently installed and utilized for tracking of drivers’ HOS.  The RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis examines three options for the broader EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) mandate that differ solely on the number of carriers, drivers, and power units affected.  Whereas the 1X10 Remedial Directive targeted a relatively small number of carriers, approximately 5,700 firms with 139,000 CMVs, this second EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule could potentially affect the entire motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees industry subject to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, about than 500,000 carriers with 4 million CMVs.  The Agency proposes to implement the rule three years after the publication of a final rule; this accounts for the time needed for EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) vendors to produce adequate numbers of the devices.

The Agency gathered cost information from publicly available marketing materials and contact with EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) vendors. The analysis for EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) I focused on the least expensive device determined to be compliant with the rule.^[14] The Agency has chosen to base its calculations on a higher cost device in the RIA.  The manufacturer of the devices used as the basis for the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) I is relatively small, and, although the Agency believed that a sufficient number of units for 1×10 remedial directive carriers would be available at this price from this vendor or its competitors, it did not find evidence indicating that a sufficient number of—the Agency estimates that about 2 million will be needed—these least cost units are available for a broad industry mandate.  The Agency also has not found any compelling evidence or economic arguments that market forces would cause EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) device prices to fall. The performance standards for EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) require manufacturers to use mature, off-the-shelf technology currently in implemented in the fleet A group of motor vehicles owned or leased by businesses or government agencies management systems (FMSfleet management system) already sold in a large, competitive market.  EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) functionality will likely be added to these devices.  The Agency is receptive to comments on its analysis of the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) and FMS fleet management system market.

FMCSA uses a higher cost device such as the one discussed in Appendix B (Alternative Estimates of EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Device Costs) of the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) I RIA.^[15] Although the manufacturer produces more expensive devices than the one evaluated in the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) I RIA, the higher costs of its products reflects additional functions and features unrelated to the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) tracking feature.  The Agency believes the unit considered in this analysis represents a reasonable upper limit for costs.  After amortizing purchase and repair costs over time and evaluating monthly operational costs, the per-unit device costs would be slightly higher than those presented in the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) I RIA, but the Agency still believes that these costs are not overly burdensome to motor carriers.  The Agency has found the range of device costs to be narrow: Annualized costs for the low cost device were estimated to be $525, and annualized costs for the high cost device were estimated to be $785.  -Appendix E of the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for this rulemaking contains a more detailed discussion of EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) device costs.  Moreover, EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) would eliminate or significantly simplify several of the paperwork processes associated with paper RODS, and the monetized paperwork burden reduction offsets most of the device costs for motor carriers and their drivers currently using paper RODS.  Appendix F of the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis contains additional discussion of the availability and prices of EOBRs.

This analysis also evaluates the costs and benefits of motor carrier’s improved compliance with the underlying HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules through the use of EOBRs.  The Agency has updated its assessment of the baseline level of non-compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules to account for changes in factors such as inflation, a decline in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations that preceded the need for EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use, and the decline in CMV-related crashes.  Included in this analysis as alternative baselines are options from the recently published NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule for the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules for property carriers.  (Option 1 of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule is to retain the current HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules) [insert publication date and FR cite].  The major changes for both HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) options is to allow at most 13 hours of on-duty time within the daily driving window; limit continuous on-duty drive time to seven hours, at which point a thirty-minute off-duty or sleeper-berth period would be required; and to require at least two overnight periods per 34-hour restart. HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Option 2, however, also reduces daily drive time from 11 to 10 hours, while HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Option 3 retains 11 hours of drive time.  To avoid confusion between the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) options and the options for the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) NPRM, HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Option 2 and HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Option 3 are referred to as Baseline 2 and Baseline 3.

As stated, the Agency is currently considering three options for the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) mandate.  Option 1 would be to require EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) for all drivers currently using paper RODS.  Option 2 (often referred to as “RODS+” in the RIA) expands Option 1 to include nearly all passenger-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) and all shipments of bulk quantities of hazardous materials, regardless of whether the drivers use paper RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) or are exempted from doing so as described under the “short-haul operations” provisions in 49 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 395.1(e).  The Agency believes that the higher potential for injuries and fatalities in crashes involving passenger-carrying CMVs Commercial Motor Vehicles (vehicles owned or used by a business) and shipments of bulk hazardous materials warrant additional safety requirements for these operations.  Option 3 would include all CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles operations subject to HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) requirements.

The NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule being evaluated also proposes changes to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) supporting document requirements.  The Agency has attempted to clarify its supporting document requirements, recognizing that EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) records serve as the most robust form of documentation for on-duty driving periods.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) neither increases nor decreases the burden associated with Supporting Documents for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Compliance.  These proposed changes are expected to improve the quality and usefulness of the supporting documents retained.  The improved quality of the supporting documents will subsequently increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Agency’s review of motor carriers’ HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) records during on-site compliance reviews, thereby increasing its ability to detect HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules violations.  The Agency is currently unable to evaluate the extent to which the proposed changes to the supporting documents requirements will lead to reductions in crashes.

The table below summarizes the analysis.  The figures presented are annualized using seven percent and three percent discount rates.

Table 9: Annualized Costs and Benefits (2008$ millions)

 

FMCSA has estimated that all options presented in the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis have positive net benefits under any baseline, that is, under any version of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules.   However, the greatest safety impacts of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules are seen in long-haul (LHlong-haul; generally >150 mi. from base for property carriers) operations, and the inclusion of short-haul (SHshort-haul: generally, < 150 mi. from base for property carriers) operations diminishes the net benefits of this EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule.  Therefore Option 3, which includes all carrier operations, results in much lower net benefits as compared to Options 1 and 2.  The alternative baselines reflect changes to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules that affect only LH, RODS-using operations.  For a complete description of the fiscal costs of this rule, please see the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for this rulemaking.

3.2.4 Public Health and Safety

 

This NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule is intended to improve CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles safety through increasing use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) within the motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees industry that will improve their HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance.  The approach has three components: (1) requiring EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) to be used by considerably more motor carriers and drivers, and (2) requiring motor carriers to develop and maintain systematic HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) oversight for their drivers, and (3) providing additional incentives to promote EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) use by simplifying the supporting documents requirements.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) believes this approach strikes an appropriate balance between promoting highway safety and minimizing cost and operational burdens on motor carriers.

 

OPTION 1: No-Action Alternative

 

The No-Action Alternative would not prevent the crashes that FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates will be eliminated through the proposed requirement for EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) presented in this NPRM.  Thus, the estimated crashes, which are comprised of property-damage only, injuries, and fatalities, which FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates this would prevent, would not be realized.

 

OPTIONS 2, 3 and 4: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) Population, Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in Broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Population, and Mandatory EBOR Use in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Population

 

In its RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for this rule, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that a number of crashes for Options 2, 3 and 4 would be prevented through the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in the larger CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles population.  These crashes result in property-damage only events, injuries, and fatalities.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that the use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) in the wider CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles community will lead to additional compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations and, subsequently, the rule will have the benefits of reducing these crashes.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) discusses the benefits of crash reduction on society in the NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule as well as in the RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis for the NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule (which can be found in the docket for the NPRM).  The following Table 10 displays the differences in the estimate number of crashes prevented with these three options.  The differences come from the difference in affected motor carrier A person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and employees populations.

 

Table 10.  Crashes Prevented by Option
OPTION	Number of Crashes Prevented Annually
Option 2	7,627
Option 3	7,640
Option 4	7,727

 

 

FMCSA’s primary goal is to reduce fatalities from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) promulgates rules to reduce CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes with the intent for highway safety as the primary objective.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) has found that fatigued drivers contribute to CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes and that compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations reduces the potential for crashes from fatigue. For a complete discussion of this issue, the reader is referred to the preamble of the NPRM.

 

3.2.5 Solid Waste

 

This rule affects the area of solid waste generation and disposal in two main ways.  The first comes from the prevention of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  There is a benefit to the environment due to preventing the solid waste generated from the CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash.  The second is the reduction in paper use that is expected to occur when drivers and motor carriers are no longer required to use and retain the paper RODS.  This section will estimate the amount of solid waste FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) expects will be kept out of the waste stream as a result of this rulemaking.

 

OPTION 1: No-Action Alternative

 

Under the No-Action Alternative, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) would not expect to see reductions in solid waste from crash reduction or reductions in paper  use associated with a transition to EOBRs. As this is the baseline that the proposed actions will be compared against, the impact to the waste stream from Option 1 would be zero.  There would be no increase or reduction in waste generated.  Since the proposed alternative would potentially reduce solid waste, it is worth noting that choosing the No-Action Alternative may prevent the opportunity for reducing both paper and CMV-crash-generated solid waste streams.

 

OPTIONS 2, 3 and 4: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) Population, Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in Broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Population, and Mandatory EBOR Use in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Population

 

As mentioned earlier in this section, Option 2, 3 and 4 have two ways that impact solid waste generation and disposal.  The first is from the prevention of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  There is a benefit to the environment due to preventing generation of solid waste from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  The second is the reduction in paper use that is expected to occur when drivers and motor carriers are no longer required to keep paper RODS.

 

Solid Waste from CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes

For solid waste prevented due to the reduction in crashes, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) calculated per-crash estimates of solid waste generation in the “Environmental Costs of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes” report.  In Table 11, the amount of solid waste prevented is estimated for the crashes that the Options in this rulemaking may prevent.  The 50 percent replacement cost is for a property damage only or injury crash while the 100 percent replacement cost represents a fatal crash.  The reductions for each option are shown in Table 11.

 

Table 11.   Reduction in Solid Waste Generated Preventing Average[16] CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes for Options 2, 3 and 4 (tons, rounded)
OPTION	50%  Vehicle Replacement (Non-Fatal Crash)	100% Vehicle Replacement (Fatal Crash)
2	2,875	5,751
3	2,880	5,760
4	2,913	5,826

Paper Reduction & Associated Impacts

 

In addition to preventing solid waste from a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) expects another reduction in solid waste from the elimination of paper RODS.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates that 860 million sheets of paper per year (3.6 million RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) users x 240 RODS/yr.) will be prevented by this rulemaking.  Due to the difficulties in determining the types of paper used in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) and the amount of environmental impact per unit of paper, a quantitative analysis of the impacts of reducing this much paper use is not included.  However, a narrative description is included to demonstrate the importance of paper-use reduction by this NPRM.  Since Options 2, 3 and 4 all eliminate the use of paper RODS, and that number is equal, this analysis applies to all three of these options.

 

Paper manufacture involves many environmentally damaging steps.[17] The pulp for making paper (and any recycled paper stock if the paper contains recycled content) is derived from trees which involves cutting forests.  Also, the manufacturing of paper emits a large amount of greenhouse gases and uses a large amount of water.

 

The paper-making industry depends heavily upon virgin wood-based fibers to make the pulp that becomes sheets of paper. Much of the wood used comes from old growth and environmentally sensitive forests around the world.[18] Forests serve two important roles: 1) as critical protectors of biodiversity by providing habitats and 2) as climate stability by serving as a source of storage for carbon.[19] Logging companies often making use of high-intensive harvesting practices such clear-cutting.

 

The pulp and paper manufacturers are the fourth largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases.[20] In addition, the pulp and paper industry is very energy intensive and requires large amounts of water.  The chemicals used in paper manufacturing contain chlorine compounds to bleach paper pulp.  One of the more dangerous chemicals is dioxin, which studies show can cause cancer and other serious health effects.[21]

The elimination of paper RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) not only reduces the need for paper but also reduces the waste from the paper.  While the RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) are initially stored for recordkeeping, at some point the documents are either recycled or sent to a landfill or incinerator.  This rulemaking

is expected to have a small net benefit to the waste stream from the elimination of paper RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) and a small net benefit to forests and waterways from the elimination of the production of paper RODS.

3.2.6 Hazardous Materials

 

FMCSA analyzes the impact of this NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule on HM transportation since a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash of an HM carrier can potentially affect the environment from the spill of HM cargo.  The main impact of this rulemaking on HM spills is from the reduction of crashes expected from this NPRM.

 

OPTION 1: No-Action Alternative

 

The main impact of choosing the No-Action Alternative is that motor carriers and other highway users would not realize the benefits from the 7,627 crashes expected to be prevented from choosing Option 2.  Thus, the expected releases of HM from these crashes would continue.  Since there are no negative impacts on HM transportation from the adoption of the proposed regulations, there are no benefits or costs to HM transportation from choosing the No-Action Alternative.

 

OPTIONS 2, 3 and 4: Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) Population, Mandatory EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Use in Broad CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Population, and Mandatory EBOR Use in HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Population

 

Spills of HM cargo can create large environmental impacts if the material spilled is particularly dangerous to the environment in which it is spilled.  This rulemaking is expected to reduce average annual crashes.  While HM transportation is only a small percent of overall freight transportation, the potential for an environmental impact is higher.  Thus, in the “Environmental Costs of CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes,” FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) developed rates of HM releases per average crash.  Note that this is averaged over all crashes across the population, not just HM carriers.  This rulemaking affects the larger CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles population, some of which transports HM.  Table 12 displays the amounts of HM prevented from being spilled into the environment with the adoption of Option 2, 3 or 4.

 

Table 12.  Hazardous Materials Spills Prevented by Reducing CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles Crashes Under Options 2, 3 and 4 (rounded)
Hazardous Material Class	Amount Prevented per Option
	Option 2	Option 3	Option 4
1 – Explosives (lbs)	1,393	1,396	1,412
2 – Gases (gal equiv.)	2,984	2,990	3,034
3 – Flammable Liquids (gal)	20,177	20,212	20,442
4 – Flammable Solids (lbs)	463	464	469
5 – Oxidizers (lbs)	2,438	2,443	2,470
6 – Toxics (lbs)	792	793	802
7 – Radioactive (ci)	11	11	11
8 – Corrosive (gal)	1,073	1,075	1,087
9 – Miscellaneous (lbs)	2,973	2,978	3,012

 

FMCSA seeks comments on the analysis provided.

3.2.7 Unaffected Areas

 

The following areas are not expected to be significantly impacted under any of the proposed scenarios in this NPRM.  It should be noted, however, that these resources may experience minor net benefits from the proposals that reduce CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) has quantified the environmental impacts of a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crash.  Preventing CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles crashes and related cargo spills (especially of HM), reduces congestion and subsequent air pollution and produces net positive environmental benefits.

 

Section 4(f) Compliance:  Section 4(f) of the DOT Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303) requires agencies within DOT Department of Transportation to make a special effort to preserve the natural beauty of historic sites, public parks, and recreation lands.  If a transportation program, project, or activity requires the use of public land in a public park, it must include all possible planning to minimize harm to the park or historic area. FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) does not expect such 4(f) properties to be impacted and consequently, no 4(f) statement needs to be prepared for this rulemaking.

 

Endangered Species:  The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. § 1531) requires all Federal departments and agencies to seek to conserve endangered species and threatened species. The Secretary of the Interior was directed to create lists of endangered and threatened species. Endangered species designation is conferred on any plant or animal species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The Endangered Species Act defines a threatened species as any species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Critical habitat for an endangered or a threatened species is defined as specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time it is listed that contain the physical or biological features essential to conservation of the species and that might require special management considerations or protection. Critical habitat also includes specific areas outside the geographic area occupied by the species at the time it is listed that are essential to conservation of the species.

A key provision of the Endangered Species Act for Federal activities is Section 7, Consultation. Under Section 7 of the Act, every Federal agency must consult with the Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that any agency action is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species.

The proposed rulemaking is not expected to impact endangered species.

 

Archaeological, Cultural, and Historic Resources:  The National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 470f and 470h-2(a)) establishes a national policy to preserve, restore, and maintain historic and cultural resources. The Act establishes the National Register of Historic Places as the mechanism to designate public or privately owned properties for protection. Section 106 (36 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 800) of the Act requires Federal agencies to “take into account” the effect of a project on any property included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register. Section 106 prescribes the following for consideration of historic properties under NEPA: early coordination, inclusion of historic preservation issues, and actions categorically excluded under NEPA.

This rulemaking is not expected to affect any archaeological, cultural, or historic resources.

 

Wetlands:  Executive Order 11990 (42 FR 26961, 1977), Protection of Wetlands, requires Federal agencies to provide leadership on and work toward minimizing the destruction, loss, and degradation of wetlands. The Order also requires agencies to preserve and enhance the natural and beneficial values of wetlands while discharging their responsibilities for acquiring, managing, using, and disposing of Federal lands.

 

The proposed rulemaking is not expected to affect wetlands.

 

Environmental Justice:  FMCSA evaluated the environmental effects of this NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule in accordance with Executive Order 12898 and preliminarily determined that there are no environmental justice issues associated with its provisions nor any collective environmental impacts that could result from its promulgation. Environmental justice issues would be raised if there were ‘‘disproportionate’’ and ‘‘high and adverse impact’’ on minority or low-income populations.

 

None of the alternatives analyzed in the Agency’s initial EA, discussed under NEPA, would result in disproportionate or high and adverse environmental impacts.

Noise: FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) does not expect any significant impact on noise levels from this rulemaking.

 

3.3 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

 

CEQ identifies the impacts that must be addressed and considered by Federal agencies in satisfying the requirements of NEPA.  This includes permanent, temporary, indirect, and cumulative impacts.

 

CEQ NEPA implementing regulations define ‘cumulative impact” as “the impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such action.”  40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations 1508.7 states that cumulative impacts should be evaluated along with the overall impacts analysis of each alternative.  The range of alternatives considered includes not only the proposed action but all connected and similar actions that could contribute to cumulative effects.  Related actions should be addressed in the same analysis.  A cumulative impacts analysis involves assumptions and uncertainties. The absence of an ideal database should not prevent the completion of a cumulative effects analysis.

 

3.3.1 Proposed HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Rulemaking

This section will focus on the impacts of mandatory EBOR use to a broad segment of the CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles industry under the options provided in FMCSA’s upcoming proposed HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rulemaking.  Since the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) impacts are reliant on what HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations the device is assisting with in compliance, changes to the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations may affect the environmental impact of EOBRs.

The HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations address the number of hours that a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles driver may drive and the number of hours a CMV Commercial Motor Vechicles driver may be on duty before rest is required, as well as the minimum amount of time that must be reserved for rest.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) recently proposed to change the requirements for these regulations in the NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule [Insert Citation for HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) Rule].  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) proposed the following options in the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) NPRM:

Option 1

Option 1 is to adopt provisions of the 2008 HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule; i.e., make no changes to the current HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations.  The existing exemptions to the current HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations would remain in effect.

 

The 2008 rule is divided into daily and multi-day provisions, which can be expressed as follows:

• Following at least 10 consecutive hours off duty, operators can drive up to 11 hours within a period of 14 consecutive hours from the start of the duty tour.
• Short-haul operators of vehicles for which a CDL Commercial Driver's License (a license required to drive any vehicle that weighs over a certain amount, carries hazardous waste, or carries over fifteen passengers) is not required (generally those less than 26,000 lbs gross vehicle weight (GVW), remaining within a 150 mile radius of their normal work reporting location, may keep timecards in lieu of logbooks and may be on duty up to 16 consecutive hours two days during a seven-day work week.
• Operators can cumulatively drive or be on duty up to 60 hours over the last seven consecutive days or 70 hours over the last consecutive eight days.
• If a sleeper berth is used, the 10-hour break can be split into two periods.  One period of at least eight consecutive hours must be in the sleeper berth, and a separate period of at least two consecutive hours may be in the sleeper berth or off-duty. The 11-hour driving and 14-hour duty-period limits apply, but special requirements for calculation are provided in the regulations.
• Operators who obtain at least 34 consecutive hours of off-duty time can begin a new seven-or eight-day period, over which they can drive or be on duty a cumulative total of 60 or 70 hours respectively (i.e., the seven- or eight-day “clock” is restarted by a 34-hour off-duty period).

Option 2

This option differs from Option 1 as follows:

• Following at least 10 consecutive hours off-duty, operators are limited to 10 (rather than 11) hours of driving within a period of 14 consecutive hours from the start of the duty tour.
• Operators may be on duty for only 13 hours within the 14-hour (or 16, as described below) driving window.
• Twice a week, operators may extend the driving window to 16 hours.  The extension of the driving window does not increase the allowed driving or time on-duty.  Thus, operators using an extension must take at least three hours off-duty during the day to extend the window to 16 hours.
• Operators may not drive if it has been more than seven hours since a rest break of at least 30 minutes.
• The 34-hour period of off-duty time required prior to a restart must include at least two periods between midnight and 6:00 AM.  A driver may begin another 34-hour off-duty period no sooner than 168 hours (seven days) after the beginning of the last restart.  The driver must designate whether any period of 34 hours off-duty is to be considered a restart.

Option 3

This option differs from Option 2 only in the amount of driving allowed within a duty period.

Option 3 allows 11 hours, or one more hour than Option 2.

Option 4

This option differs from Option 2 only in the amount of driving allowed within a duty period.    Option 4 allows only 9 hours, or one hour less than Option 2.

 

These various options were evaluated for environmental impacts in the accompanying EA for the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule.  Readers are directed to view the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) EA for a complete background on the environmental impacts.

 

The impact to the environment by the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking in light of these new proposals is to assure that the new HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, whatever they may be decided upon in the Final Rule, are followed.  This EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking, for the purposes of examining cumulative impacts, may change in its environmental impacts if a different set of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules are adopted by the Agency.  The full environmental impacts may not actually be realized in the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule if full compliance, which is assumed during the development of rulemaking analysis, does not occur.  Indeed, in this EA, the Agency estimates a rate of non-compliance of the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) regulations that lead to an OOS order.  This actual rate of non-compliance will change as the rule changes as well, depending on how the regulated community responds to the rule.

 

FMCSA would need to analyze inspection and violation data to determine non-compliance rates with the new rule to accurately assess a non-compliance rate.  However, if the rate is similar to what it is today, then one could expect that the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking would have similar impact on the environment under the new rules as it does presented in this EA.  If the ratio of non-compliance with the new rules is similar as with current rules, then one could expect that about one or two percent of the impacts associated with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule would actually be realized with the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule in place.

 

In addition, the emissions rates calculated in the new HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rulemaking are based on the EPA MOVES model with the same input criteria as used in this analysis.  The vehicle-idling mix is slightly different for the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule due to the broader scope of vehicles affected.  The EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) analysis, since it is looking at pulling out-of-compliance operators in to HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) compliance, uses an estimate of non-compliance which, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) estimates, impacts mainly long-haul operators with sleeper berths.  Consequently, minor differences in emissions rates would be expected between the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) and this EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule.

 

It is FMCSA’s intent to reduce crashes through the promulgation of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules.  Consequently, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) expects there to be safety benefits with the new HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules, and the mandatory use of EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) will further create compliance with the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rules.  The reader is urged to consult the EA for the HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) rule (FMCSA 2010a).

 

3.3.2 EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) Remedial Directive Rule

 

On April 5, 2010, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) published another EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rulemaking focused on the population of carriers found to have a high rate of HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations.  The rule required motor carriers that have been determined to have critical HOS Hours of service (Regulations issued by FMCSA that limit the number of daily and weekly hours a CMV driver may drive) violations in 10 percent or more of the RODS Record of duty status (A logbook maintained by CMV drivers to track driving time (i.e., duty status) for each 24-hour period) reviewed during a single compliance review to use EOBRs Electronic on-Board Recorders (Devices attached to commercial motor vehicles that track the number of hours drivers spend on the road) which meet the performance standards for two years, unless the vehicles are already equipped with an automatic on-board recording device that meets current requirements for such devices.  The EA for this NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: the official document announcing and explaining the proposed rule determined that, due to the small number of carriers affected by the rule, the additional emissions from idling were negligible (FMCSA 2010).  The EA did assess the benefits to safety from crash reduction and the resulting emissions prevented.  The EA estimated about 950 average crashes prevented from the rulemaking and the resulting emissions as shown in Table 13.

Table 13.  Estimate of Emissions Prevented from Crash Reduction (kg)    Pollutant Regulation Option 1  (1×10 Remedial Directive Carriers) Regulation Option 2  (2×10 Remedial Directive Carriers) CO 71,640 9,200 VOC 5,425 697 NOx 9,054 1,163 PM10 513 66 PM2.5 390 50 SO2 1,055 135 CO2* 2,297,632 295,064

* EPA has not set a level for CO2.

Even combined with the emissions from this NPRM, the overall additional level of emissions is very small compared to national average emissions from highway vehicles as displayed in Table 4 of this EA.

3.4 CONCLUSIONS

 

FMCSA concludes that the rule changes would have a negligible impact on the quality of several environmental components described in this EA and therefore would not require an EIS.  As indicated in the analysis above, several of the changes have the potential to produce negligible adverse and beneficial impacts on the environment.  The provisions under the action do not either individually or collectively pose any significant environmental impact.  Subsequently, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) plans to issue a FONSI with regards to potential environmental impact of this action.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) requests comments on this conclusion.

4. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION

 

4.1 List of Agencies and Persons Consulted

 

In the course of completing the NEPA compliance process for the rulemaking, FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) consulted with technical experts within FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) that are familiar with the impact the rulemaking could have, as well as what the potential environmental consequences of those impacts could be.  No other agencies were consulted in the development of this document.

 

4.2 List of Preparers and Reviewers

 

The following persons participated in the preparation of this EA:

 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

 

Michael M. Johnsen, Environmental Protection Specialist

Education: BS, Natural Resource Management (University of Maryland). MS, Environmental Policy and Science (Johns Hopkins University).

Experience: 22 years in the environmental/chemical management fields

 

Alan W. Strasser, Attorney-Advisor

Education: BA, Psychology (SUNY College at Oneonta, NY). JD, MA, Environmental Law/Policy (Vermont Law School).

Experience: 18 years in the environmental field

 

Steven J. LaFreniere, Regulatory Ombudsman

Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering (University of Massachusetts). Certificates in Hazardous Materials Management & Site Assessment and Remediation (University of California).  MS, Military Operational Art and Science (Air University)

Experience: Over 15 years of environmental restoration management

 

Bivan R. Patnaik, Chief, Regulatory Development Division

Education: B.S. Biology, (Virginia Commonwealth University)

M.S. Environmental Sciences, (Johns Hopkins University).

Experience: 10 years of environmental/transportation rulemaking fields

Deborah M. Freund, Senior Transportation Specialist, Vehicle and Roadside Operations Division

Education:  BS, Civil Engineering; MSc, Transportation and Urban Systems (Washington University, St. Louis).

Experience:  30 years in highway transportation, including 20 years in commercial motor vehicle Any vehicle owned or used by a business safety research and rulemaking.

5. REFERENCES

 

 

 

Argonne 2000. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Center for Transportation Research. Analysis of Technology Options to Reduce the Fuel Consumption of Idling Trucks.  ANL/ESD-43. June 2000.

 

EPA. 2010. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2008. EPA 430-R-10-006. Available: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html.

 

FHWA 2005.  The National Highway System. USDOT Federal Highway Administration.  February 1, 2005. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/index.cfm. Last accessed 6/2/10

 

FMCSA 2004.  FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule) Order 5610.1 National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy For Considering Environmental Impacts, March 2004, USDOT, FMCSA.

 

FMCSA 2010.  Final Environmental Assessment for Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRElectronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road)) for Hours-of-Service Compliance, April 5, 2010, USDOT, FMCSA, Docket No. FMCSA-2004-18940.

FMCSA 2010a. Draft Environmental Assessment for the 2010 Draft Hours-of-Service for Drivers NPRM, [insert publication date], USDOT, FMCSA, Docket No. FMCSA-2004-19608.

FMCSA 2010b. Regulatory Analysis for Electronic On-Board Recorders and Hours-of-Service Supporting Documents Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, [insert publication date], USDOT, FMCSA, Docket No. [Insert docket number].

VIUS 2002.  2002 Economic census: Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, Geographical Area Series – United States, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.,

 

 

 

Page Intentionally Left Blank
PUBLIC NOTICE – ALL INTERESTED PARTIES

FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (FMCSAFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (The agency proposing the EOBR Electronic on-Board Recorder (A device attached to commercial motor vehicles that tracks the number of hours drivers spend on the road) rule))

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

FOR

ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDERS AND

HOURS-OF-SERVICE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

This Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared in accordance with FMCSA’s National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental Impacts (FMCSA Order 5601.1) and complies with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub.L. 91-190) and the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations dated 28 November 1978 (40 CFR Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508).

 

This EA serves as a concise public document to briefly provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining the need to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) or a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).

 

This EA concisely describes the rulemaking action, the need for the proposal, the alternatives, and the environmental impacts of the proposal and alternatives.  This EA also contains a comparative analysis of the preferred alternative, and a list of the agencies and persons consulted during the EA preparation.

 

__________    __________________________________________________________

Date                Michael M. Johnsen, Environmental Program Analyst

 

__________    __________________________________________________________

Date                Larry W. Minor, Associate Admin. Program Policy and Development

 

In reaching my decision/recommendation on the FMCSA’s action, I have considered the information contained in this EA on the potential for environmental impacts.

 

__________    __________________________________________________________

Date                Anne S. Ferro, Administrator for FMCSA

 

 

APPENDIX A:  EPA MOVES MODELING METHODOLOGY

EPA MOVES does not directly output emission rates by mass/time.   Consequently, a methodology was developed to calculate idle time for the purposes of this evaluation.

Methodology

MOVES allows the user to obtain emissions rates by mass/vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which is consistent with its predecessor, MOBILE6.2.  However, for this analysis, there is no VMT to work with so external calculations were performed after running the model to determine the rates.  In addition to providing the emissions rates (mass/VMT), MOVES will also aggregate the emissions inventory and do almost all of the post processing.  (This is one of the main difference between MOBILE6.2 and MOVES.)   In using MOVES, the user can choose both a pre-aggregation technique and a post-aggregation technique.  For both pre- and post-aggregations, the Agency chose a 24-hour (1 day) aggregation.    This means that MOVES will provide a representative day’s worth of emissions for each month (12 values for each pollutant) in the output.

After obtaining the output from MOVES the following steps are taken to determine emissions rate.  NOX is used as the example for the analysis.

1.      Obtain MOVES output –  results reported as total emissions for a representative day of each month.

 

monthID	pollutantName	emissionQuant
1	NOX	911740
2	NOX	951010
3	NOX	975885
4	NOX	967745
5	NOX	909806
6	NOX	853651
7	NOX	807162
8	NOX	827695
9	NOX	852191
10	NOX	947085
11	NOX	976783
12	NOX	986087

 

MonthID = 1 (January)

emissionQuant =  Total emissions for a 24-hour period in kilograms

 

2.      Determine Emission Rate for each month by obtaining the total extended idle hours from the output database.

(emissionQuant = EmissionRate * ExtendedIdleHours) – divide by ExtendedIdleHours to get EmissionRate.

 

monthID	pollutantName	emissionQuant (Kg)	ExtendedIdleHours (Hr)	EmissionRate (kg/hr)
1	NOX	911740	3348690	0.272267663
2	NOX	951010	3536370	0.268922652
3	NOX	975885	3744840	0.260594578
4	NOX	967745	3896680	0.24835116
5	NOX	909806	4009270	0.2269256
6	NOX	853651	4179310	0.204256444
7	NOX	807162	4230220	0.190808516
8	NOX	827695	4280830	0.193349187
9	NOX	852191	4009290	0.212554093
10	NOX	947085	3964060	0.238917928
11	NOX	976783	3798490	0.257150341
12	NOX	986087	3675310	0.268300361

 

3.      Compute Composite Emission Rate by weighting the monthly emission factors.

 

(MonthFrac = ExtendedIdleHours/Total ExtendedIdleHours)

(Composite Emission Rate = SUM(MonthWeightedEmissRate)

 

monthID	pollutantName	emissionQuant (Kg)	ExtendedIdleHours (Hr)	EmissionRate (kg/hr)	MonthFrac	MonthWeightedEmissRate (kg/hr)
1	NOX	911740	3348690	0.272267663	0.071747352	0.019534484
2	NOX	951010	3536370	0.268922652	0.07576849	0.020375863
3	NOX	975885	3744840	0.260594578	0.080235063	0.020908823
4	NOX	967745	3896680	0.24835116	0.083488311	0.020734419
5	NOX	909806	4009270	0.2269256	0.085900608	0.019493047
6	NOX	853651	4179310	0.204256444	0.0895438	0.018289898
7	NOX	807162	4230220	0.190808516	0.090634572	0.017293848
8	NOX	827695	4280830	0.193349187	0.091718916	0.017733778
9	NOX	852191	4009290	0.212554093	0.085901036	0.018258617
10	NOX	947085	3964060	0.238917928	0.084931961	0.020291768
11	NOX	976783	3798490	0.257150341	0.081384541	0.020928063
12	NOX	986087	3675310	0.268300361	0.078745349	0.021127405
				Composite Emission Rate (NOX) =		0.234970013

 

4.      Compute Composite Emission Rate by weighting the monthly emission factors.

 

(MonthFrac = ExtendedIdleHours/Total ExtendedIdlehours)

(Composite Emission Rate = SUM(MonthWeightedEmissRate)

 

 

 

Input Data for MOVES Model

 

Output Database Server Name: localhost

 

Output Database Name: FMCSA_Idle_1

Time Spans:

Aggregate By: Day

Years:

2015

 

Months:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Days:

Weekdays

Hours:

Begin Hour: 00:00 – 00:59

End Hour: 23:00 – 23:59

 

Geographic Bounds:

NATION geography

Selection: null

 

On Road Vehicle Equipment:

Diesel Fuel – Combination Long-Haul Truck

 

Road Types:

Off-Network

 

Pollutants And Processes:

Extended Idle Exhaust Atmospheric CO2

Extended Idle Exhaust CO2 Equivalent

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Extended Idle Exhaust Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Methane (CH4)

Extended Idle Exhaust Methane (CH4)

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Non-Methane Hydrocarbons

Extended Idle Exhaust Non-Methane Hydrocarbons

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Non-Methane Organic Gases

Extended Idle Exhaust Non-Methane Organic Gases

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Oxides of Nitrogen

Extended Idle Exhaust Oxides of Nitrogen

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary Exhaust PM10  – Total

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary Exhaust PM10  – Total

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary Exhaust PM2.5 – Total

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary Exhaust PM2.5 – Total

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Elemental Carbon

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Elemental Carbon

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Organic Carbon

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Organic Carbon

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Sulfate Particulate

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM10 – Sulfate Particulate

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Elemental Carbon

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Elemental Carbon

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Organic Carbon

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Organic Carbon

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Sulfate Particulate

Extended Idle Exhaust Primary PM2.5 – Sulfate Particulate

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Extended Idle Exhaust Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Extended Idle Exhaust Total Energy Consumption

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Total Gaseous Hydrocarbons

Extended Idle Exhaust Total Gaseous Hydrocarbons

Crankcase Extended Idle Exhaust Volatile Organic Compounds

Extended Idle Exhaust Volatile Organic Compounds

 

Rate of Progress:

Rate of Progress calculations are disabled