Relocation of Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Nevada

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 71

[OST Docket No. OST-99-5843]

RIN 2105-AC80

Relocation of Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Nevada

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) is relocating the City

of West Wendover, Nevada, from the Pacific Time Zone to the Mountain

Time Zone. This action is taken in response to a petition by the Mayor

of West Wendover. The action is designed to facilitate commerce and

reduce confusion.

DATES: This rule is effective at 2:00 a.m. PDT, Sunday, October 31,

1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne Petrie, Office of the Assistant

General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of

Transportation, Room 10424, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC

20590, (202) 366-9315; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under the Standard Time Act of 1918, as amended by the Uniform Time

Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 260-64), the Secretary of Transportation has

authority to issue regulations modifying the boundaries between time

zones in the United States in order to move an area from one time zone

to another. The standard in the statute for such decisions is ``regard

for the convenience of commerce and the existing junction points and

division points for common carriers engaged in interstate or foreign

commerce.''

Petition for Rulemaking

On January 8, 1999, Walter F. Sanders, Mayor of the City of West

[[Page 56706]]

Wendover, Nevada sent a letter to the Department of Transportation

petitioning the Department to change the city from the Pacific Time

Zone to the Mountain Time Zone. The letter noted the following facts in

support of the petition.

1. West Wendover is located on the border of Utah and Nevada and is

directly adjacent to the City of Wendover, Utah, which is in the

Mountain Time Zone.

2. It is more than one hundred miles to the nearest city.

3. Businesses in West Wendover make most of their purchases from

Salt Lake City, which is in the Mountain Time Zone.

4. The city receives all of its television and radio broadcasts

from Salt Lake City. Due to mountain ranges west of West Wendover,

radio broadcasts cannot be received from the Nevada area.

5. West Wendover has one weekly local newspaper, which is printed

in Salt Lake City.

6. The City of West Wendover currently has no passenger rail

service. The nearest public rail service is located in either Salt Lake

City, Utah or Elko, Nevada. Both cities are more than one-hundred miles

from West Wendover.

7. Greyhound buses travel through West Wendover on an east/west

run, but only stop in Wendover, Utah.

8. Wendover, Utah, has a small airport, which is limited to mostly

small private aircraft and which receives no commercial air service.

Tooele County, Utah, which is on Mountain time, is in the process of

renovating its airport. The closest major airport is Salt Lake City

International Airport.

9. A small percentage of West Wendover's working population resides

outside the City limits. The majority of employed residents work in the

gaming/tourism industry.

10. Medical services are currently provided by a local medical

clinic. The facility is owned by the City of West Wendover, which in

turn has leased the facility to the University of Utah--Medical

Facility. This agreement provided the opportunity for expanded medical

services to the community. Most residents of West Wendover travel to

Salt Lake City for major and routine health care.

11. Secondary education is offered in Salt Lake City, Utah and

Elko, Nevada.

12. West Wendover is in the process of expanding its recreation

facilities. These recreational services are designed to accommodate

people from the Wastach Front area, which is on Mountain time.

13. West Wendover's residents must travel to Salt Lake City or Elko

in order to obtain a greater variety of services, shopping, and

recreation.

14. The City of West Wendover is trying to purchase Air Force

property adjacent to the Tooele County Airport. This purchase is

expected to provide opportunities to establish a more diversified

economy within the Wendover/West Wendover community.

15. Historically, West Wendover has always operated on Mountain

time. Prior to the 1980s, there was no reason to do otherwise because

there was literally nothing to the town fifty yards past the state

line. When West Wendover began to ``boom,'' the town tried to operate

by Pacific time. According to the Mayor, this action created mass

confusion for both residents and those outside the community.

16. The Mayor stated that by allowing West Wendover to formally

move into the Mountain Time Zone, commerce within the Wendover/West

Wendover community would be facilitated and confusion would be

eliminated.

On July 26, 1999, the DOT published a notice of proposed rulemaking

in the Federal Register (64 FR 40331) that would move West Wendover to

the Mountain Time Zone. On August 10, 1999, the DOT held a public

hearing at the West Wendover Library to take questions and comments on

the proposed change. The hearing was attended by approximately twelve

people plus the City Council. All but one of those testifying favored

the change. The individual in favor of Pacific time did not elaborate

on her reasons for her position. Those in favor focused on the

practicality of observing Mountain time based on the geography of the

area. The City is located on the State line and adjacent to Wendover,

Utah. The nearest towns are over 100 miles away. Most of the commerce

takes place to the east. The economy of the community, especially its

plans for future expansion, are tied to the Mountain Time Zone. The

City has always observed Mountain time and it would be a hardship to

now enforce Pacific time.

One written comment strongly supporting Mountain time was filed in

the docket by Viola S. Troyan. Among other things, Ms. Troyan noted her

belief that 99 percent of the people in West Wendover ``think Mountain

time.''

Finding

We find that, based on the Mayor's petition, testimony presented at

the hearing and the comment filed in the docket, there is good cause to

place West Wendover, Nevada in the Mountain Time Zone. The change is

effective at 2:00 a.m. PDT, Sunday, October 31, 1999. Because the

community is already unofficially observing Mountain time, we find good

cause to make this rule effective on less than 30 days notice.

Impact on Observance of Daylight Saving Time

This time zone change does not affect the observance of daylight

saving time. Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, as amended, the

standard time of each time zone in the United States is advanced one

hour from 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in April until 2:00 a.m. on the

last Sunday in October, except in any State that has, by law, exempted

itself from this observance.

Regulatory Analysis and Notices

This rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under section

3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an assessment of

potential costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that Order. It

has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under that

Order. It is not ``significant'' under the regulatory policies and

procedures of the Department of Transportation (DOT) (44 FR 11040;

February 26, 1979.) We expect the economic impact of this rule to be so

minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation under paragraph 10e of the

regulatory policies and procedures of DOT is unnecessary. The rule

primarily affects the convenience of individuals in scheduling

activities. By itself, it imposes no direct costs. Its impact is

localized in nature.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we

considered whether this proposed rule would have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small entities. The term ``small

entities'' comprises small business, not-for-profit organizations that

are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their

fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than

50,000. This rule primarily affects individuals and their scheduling of

activities. Although it will affect some small businesses, not-for-

profits, and the City of West Wendover, it will not be a substantial

number. In addition, the change should have little, if any, economic

impact. I, therefore, certify under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will

not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

[[Page 56707]]

Collection of Information

This rule calls for no new collection of information under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

Federalism

We have analyzed this rule under Executive Order 12612 and have

determined that this rule does not have sufficient implications for

federalism to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Unfunded Mandates

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) and

Executive Order 12875, enhancing the Intergovernmental Partnership, (58

FR 58093; October 28, 1993) govern the issuance of Federal regulations

that require unfunded mandates. An unfunded mandate is a regulation

that requires a State, local, or tribal government or the private

sector to incur direct costs without the Federal Government's having

first provided the funds to pay those costs. This rule does not impose

an unfunded mandate.

Taking of Private Property

This rule does not effect a taking of private property or otherwise

have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, Governmental

Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protect Property Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

This rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2)

of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize litigation,

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

Protection of Children

We have analyzed this rule under Executive Order 13045, Protection

of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. This rule

is not an economically significant rule and does not concern an

environmental risk to health or risk to safety that may

disproportionately affect children.

Environment

This rule is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment under the National Environmental

Policy Act and, therefore, an environmental impact statement is not

required.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 71

Time.

For the reasons discussed above, the Office of the Secretary is

amending Title 49 Part 71 as follows:

PART 71--[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 71 continues to read:

Authority: Secs. 1-4, 40 Stat. 450, as amended; sec. 1, 41 Stat.

1446, as amended; secs. 2-7, 80 Stat. 107, as amended; 100 Stat.

764; Act of Mar. 19, 1918, as amended by the Uniform Time Act of

1966 and Pub. L. 97-449, 15 U.S.C. 260-267; Pub. L. 99-359; 49 CFR

159(a), unless otherwise noted.

2. In Sec. 71.9, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:

Sec. 71.9 Boundary line between mountain and Pacific zones.

* * * * *

(b) Utah-Nevada-Arizona-California. From the northeast corner of

the State of Nevada southerly along the Utah-Nevada boundary to the

junction with the northern border of the City of West Wendover, Nevada.

Then westward along the northern, western, and southern boundaries of

the City of West Wendover back to the Utah-Nevada boundary. Then

southerly along the Utah-Nevada boundary, the Nevada-Arizona boundary,

and the Arizona-California boundary to the boundary between the United

States and Mexico.

* * * * *

Issued in Washington, DC. on October 12, 1999.

Rodney E. Slater,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-27240 Filed 10-20-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-62-P