January 10, 2013
Docket Number FMCSA-2011-0321
Docket Management Facility (M-30)
U. S. Department of Transportation
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590-0001
FAX: 202-493-2251
To Whom It May Concern:
The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) supports the agency’s efforts to
identify irresponsible commercial motor vehicle companies and their management
that egregiously and willfully ignores the FMCSA’s regulations – and revoke
those motor carriers’ authority to operate. NGWA does; however, wish to offer
some general comments relative to compliance and agency enforcement of the
regulations.
Industry Profile
There are approximately 9,000 water well drilling firms in the United
States. Most are multi-generation family-owned businesses located in rural areas.
The average water well drilling firm employs less than 10 people, the bulk of
which are engaged in actual field service operations (drilling and pump work).
These firms provide well construction, well maintenance, and irrigation
services to agricultural and rural areas. Drilling firms may also provide complete
water systems and water treatment services. Their customers include, but are not
limited to, homeowners, farmers, ranchers, recreational areas, parks, golf courses,
schools, hospitals, community water systems, and commercial processing plants.
Most of the companies in the ground water industry are small businesses
and have annual sales of less than half a million dollars.
ANNUAL GROSS RECEIPTS BY FIRM (by percentage)
60
50
40
30
Series1
20
10
0
Less than
$500,000
$500,001 $1,000,000
More than
$1,000,000
Water well drilling contractors meet the water supply needs of America
365 days a year. Given that the majority of the states in the United States have
suffered some level of drought conditions the past few years, this water supply
service becomes even more crucial. Natural disasters, such as, floods and
hurricanes also create a critical and immediate demand for our industry services.
The majority of portable drilling rigs travel less than 5,000 miles per year
from job site to job site. The table below provides a breakdown of the miles these
rigs travel annually.
Less than 2,000 miles
2,000 to 5,000 miles
5,001 to 7,500 miles
Over 7,500 miles
27.2%
37.5%
15.4%
19.9%
Comments
While we are first to recognize that some commercial and vocational motor carrier
operations will intentionally ignore and attempt to subvert any regulations, we do
believe both the federal and state governments have fallen short in efforts to
properly educate the enforcement officers and the regulated community. The
educational approach for all FMCSA regulations, including the Compliance Safety
Accountability (CSA) program,
should more closely mirror the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program
(MCSAP). In MCSAP there was a concerted effort on education of inspectors to
insure uniformity of inspections and emphasis on educating the regulated
community by providing a variety of supplemental informational resources.
We believe this approach would address several of the flaws in the CSA program
and result in greater compliance and a sense of cooperation between and among
the inspectors and those in the regulated community:



Inconsistent enforcement by state inspection personnel;
Some inspectors are more pre-disposed to inspect a given factor,
like air brakes; cargo securement; etc. thus skewing the aggregate
carrier data;
The original program intent of focusing on actual safe practice and
driver fitness has morphed into algorithms and scoring systems, not
originally designated.
The determination of a peer group can be especially nebulous for those industries
subject to the regulations but that are not traditional commercial trucking
operations. Who/what exactly is the peer group for water well drilling rigs and
companion service vehicles? Few inspectors are really familiar with water well
drilling rigs, thus there is a natural curiosity to stop and inspect the vehicles. The
enforcement officer must immediately make judgments on how the equipment and
regulations differ from commercial trucking for the groundwater industry and its
equipment. Consistent and uniform inspections enable employers to better train
employees, maintain equipment, and support safe vehicle operation.
Sincerely,
Christine L. Reimer, Director
Government Affairs