FMCSA should follow the normal rulemaking process by providing an opportunity to comment on its proposal and issuing a decision explaining its final rule, citing to portions of the record that support the rule, the groups said, adding that FMCSA should not be allowed to implement CSA 2010 until it has completed this process.

But if the court believes that any part of CSA is exempt from APA’s notice-and-comment provisions, “then at a minimum it should stay the publication of individual carriers’ BASIC scores and ratings until the agency has complied with APA requirements,” the motion states.

In justifying its request for a stay, the associations said that CSA and, especially, the publication of BASIC ratings “will result in irreparable competitive and economic harm to motor carriers and freight brokers” while a delay will cause no harm to the agency or the public because FMCSA has in place a successful safety monitoring and enforcement program.

“While the public undoubtedly has an interest in safe highways, it also has an interest in a competitive motor carrier industry, especially in these economic times,” the motion states. “A program that decreases competition, reduces jobs, and increases transportation costs, is not in the public interest. Implementation of CSA 2010 in its current form threatens the survival of thousands of carriers, many of which are small companies in rural America.”

The groups charge that FMCSA has not adequately responded to substantial concerns over CSA methodology, including: