(a)Any person, including a State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe directly affected by any highway routing designation of another State, political subdivision, or Indian tribe, may apply to the Administrator for a determination of whether that highway routing designation is preempted by the Act or § 397.203 of this subpart. The Administrator shall publish notice of the application in the Federal Register.
(b)Each application filed under this section for a determination must:
(1)Be submitted to the Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Attention: Office of the Chief Counsel, Enforcement and Litigation Division (MC-CCE);
(2)Set forth a detailed description of the highway routing designation of the State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe for which the determination is sought;
(3)If applicable, specify the provisions of the Act or the regulations issued under the Act under which the applicant seeks preemption of the highway routing designation of the State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe;
(4)Explain why the applicant believes the highway routing designation of the State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe should or should not be preempted under the standards of § 397.203; and
(5)State how the applicant is affected by the highway routing designation of the State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe.
(c)The filing of an application for a determination under this section does not constitute grounds for noncompliance with any requirement of the Act or any regulation issued under the Act.
(d)Once the Administrator has published notice in the Federal Register of an application received under paragraph (a) of this section, no applicant for such determination may seek relief with respect to the same or substantially the same issue in any court until final action has been taken on the application or until 180 days after filing of the application, whichever occurs first. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any person, including a State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe, directly affected by any highway routing designation from seeking a determination of preemption in any court of competent jurisdiction in lieu of applying to the Administrator under paragraph (a) of this section.