1033.650—Incidental use exemption for Canadian and Mexican locomotives.
You may ask us to exempt from the requirements and prohibitions of this part locomotives that are operated primarily outside of the United States and that enter the United States temporarily from Canada or Mexico. We will approve this exemption only where we determine that the locomotive's operation within the United States will not be extensive and will be incidental to its primary operation. For example, we would generally exempt locomotives that will not operate more than 25 miles from the border and will operate in the United States less than 5 percent of their operating time. For existing operations, you must request this exemption before January 1, 2011. In your request, identify the locomotives for which you are requesting an exemption, and describe their projected use in the United States. We may grant the exemption broadly or limit the exemption to specific locomotives and/or specific geographic areas. However, we will typically approve exemptions for specific rail facilities rather than specific locomotives. In unusual circumstances, such as cases in which new rail facilities are created, we may approve requests submitted after January 1, 2011.