Notice of Safety Advisory 2006-04, 26604-26605 [E6-6873]
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26604
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 2006 / Notices
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety
Standards and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E6–6788 Filed 5–4–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257]
Notice No. 39; Railroad Safety
Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of the Railroad Safety
Advisory Committee (RSAC) meeting.
cchase on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: FRA announces the next
meeting of the RSAC, a Federal
Advisory Committee that develops
railroad safety regulations through a
consensus process. The RSAC meeting
topics include opening remarks from the
FRA Administrator, a discussion panel
on lessons learned during the ten years
RSAC has existed, and the report on the
Safety of Remote Control Locomotive
Operations. Status reports will be given
on the Passenger Safety, Roadway
Worker, Continuous Welded Rail, and
Locomotive Standards working groups.
The Committee will be asked to vote to
accept a task on railroad security.
DATES: The meeting of the RSAC is
scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m.,
and conclude at 4 p.m., on Thursday,
May 18, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The meeting of the RSAC
will be held at the Wyndham
Washington, DC, 1400 M Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20005, (202) 493–1700.
The meeting is open to the public on a
first-come, first-serve basis, and is
accessible to individuals with
disabilities. Sign and oral interpretation
can be made available if requested 10
calendar days before the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patricia Butera, RSAC Coordinator,
FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Stop
25, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493–
6212 or Grady Cothen, Deputy Associate
Administrator for Safety Standards and
Program Development, FRA, 1120
Vermont Avenue, NW., Mailstop 25,
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493–6302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–
463), FRA is giving notice of a meeting
of the RSAC. The meeting is scheduled
to begin at 9:30 a.m., and conclude at 4
p.m., on Thursday, May 18, 2006. The
VerDate Aug<31>2005
18:48 May 04, 2006
Jkt 208001
meeting of the RSAC will be held at the
Wyndham Washington, DC, 1400 M
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005,
(202) 493–1700. RSAC was established
to provide advice and recommendations
to the FRA on railroad safety matters.
Currently, the Committee consists of 48
individual voting representatives and
five associate representatives drawn
from among 30 organizations
representing various rail industry
perspectives, two associate
representatives from the agencies with
railroad safety regulatory responsibility
in Canada and Mexico, and other
diverse groups. Staffs of the National
Transportation Safety Board and the
Federal Transit Administration also
participate in an advisory capacity. The
Committee’s charter must be renewed
by May 17, at which time it is
anticipated that proposed changes to the
membership will be approved. The
changes include the addition of one
voting seat for the Transportation
Security Administration and five voting
seats for hazardous materials shippers
and manufacturers.
See the RSAC Web site for details on
pending tasks at:
https://rsac.fra.dot.gov/. Please refer to
the notice published in the Federal
Register on March 11, 1996, (61 FR
9740) for more information about the
RSAC.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety
Standards and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E6–6787 Filed 5–4–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice of Safety Advisory 2006–04
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory 2006–
04; Tank Cars with Stub Sills.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety
Advisory 2006–04 recommending that
owners of tank cars equipped with the
ACF Industries, Incorporated (ACF) 200
stub sill design, inspect and enhance the
underframes in accordance with the
procedures contained in ACF’s
Maintenance Bulletin TC–200. Owners
should contact ACF (see below) for a
copy of Maintenance Bulletin TC–200
and for clarification of procedures and
any additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Albert R. Taber or Thomas A. Phemister,
PO 00000
Frm 00156
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Railroad Safety Specialists (Hazardous
Materials), Hazardous Materials
Division, Office of Safety Assurance and
Compliance, Federal Railroad
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1120 Vermont Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20590–0001
(telephone: (202) 493–6254 or (202)
493–6050; e-mail: al.taber@dot.gov or
tom.phemister@dot.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Since 1990, FRA, in conjunction with
Transport Canada, has documented
approximately eleven known defects on
tank cars built with the ACF 200 stub
sill design (ACF–200 tank cars). These
defects included tank head cracks, pad
to tank cracks, sill web cracks, and tank
car buckling that in some instances led
to hazardous materials incidents. In
addition, the Association of American
Railroads (AAR) Stub Sill (SS–3)
inspection data related to ACF–200 tank
cars shows significant percentages of
longitudinal weld cracks located in the
pad to sill area, and parent metal cracks
in the pad. These cracks present a
possible source of the loss of tank
integrity which could lead to
unintended releases of hazardous
materials from ACF–200 tank cars.
On November 15, 2005, FRA
representatives met with officials
representing the original builder of the
ACF–200 tank cars to discuss the
evolution of the design, areas of
concern, and proper modifications/
enhancements to the sill of ACF–200
tank cars to ensure structural integrity
while transporting hazardous materials
by rail. At this meeting, FRA learned
that the safety concerns with the ACF–
200 stub sill design are fatigue related
which could be addressed through
periodic inspection and modification of
the tank cars at certain intervals
determined by mileage and requalification inspection and
maintenance dates. Specifically, FRA
learned that the fatigue-related safety
concerns with the ACF–200 stub sill
design can be eliminated by modifying
the underframe of the tank car in
accordance with ACF’s Maintenance
Bulletin TC–200 (ACF Style 200 Stub
Sill Underframe Enhancement, issued in
May 1994) and installing the P470 angle
application head brace. Once the P470
Angle Application has been installed
(popularly known as the ‘‘ladder fix’’),
the underframe of the tank car is
transformed into what is known as the
ACF–270 stub sill design. According to
ACF, this program of retrofitting ACF–
200 tank cars to the ACF–270 design,
began nearly a decade ago and has
E:\FR\FM\05MYN1.SGM
05MYN1
cchase on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 2006 / Notices
progressed through the fleet, resulting in
the majority of the affected cars having
already been retrofitted to the ACF–270
design.
FRA is aware that most interested
parties agree with ACF and FRA that a
retrofit program is the best course of
action. Through meetings with,
primarily, small fleet owners, FRA has
learned that many car owners have
completed, or are making substantial
progress on, their ACF–200 tank car
retrofit programs. FRA recognizes the
importance of good engineering practice
and sill design in conjunction with a
reliable maintenance plan. For ACF–200
tank cars, FRA agrees with ACF that the
program established by Maintenance
Bulletin TC–200, augmented by the
P470 Angle Application, represents
good engineering practice and a material
safety enhancement. This Safety
Advisory recommends that owners of
unmodified ACF–200 tank cars bring
these cars into conformity with
Maintenance Bulletin TC–200 and the
P470 Angle Application at the earliest
practicable date.
Recommended Action: Based on the
need to achieve the maximum level of
safety possible in the railroad tank car
transportation industry and to enhance
the public’s confidence in that level of
safety, FRA makes the following
recommendations:
1. ACF–200 tank car owners should
enter into discussions with the car
builder and decide the best course of
action with regard to inspection of and
modifications to tank cars built with the
ACF–200 stub sill design and not yet
retrofitted to the ACF–270 design.
Copies of the ACF Maintenance Bulletin
TC–200 and the P470 Angle Application
are available from—Director of
Customer Service, American Railcar
Industries, 100 Clark Street, St. Charles,
MO 63301–2075. https://
www.americanrailcar.com.
2. ACF–200 tank car owners should
modify ACF–200 tank cars to the ACF–
270 design at the earliest of any of the
following events:
• A tank car is due for re-qualification
under 49 CFR 180.509;
• A tank car is recalled under an AAR
Maintenance Advisory requiring
modification in the draft sill area;
• A tank car has been in service for
150,000 miles; or
• A tank car requires general repairs
and the repairs consume (or are
expected to consume) at least 36 hours.
3. First priority in modifying
unretrofitted ACF–200 tank cars to the
ACF–270 design should go to cars in the
general service fleet and, then, to the
pressure car fleet.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
18:48 May 04, 2006
Jkt 208001
26605
FRA policy is that the owner of the
car’s reporting marks is the owner of the
car and primarily responsible for
maintaining the car in a safe and
compliant condition. However, for
purposes of this Safety Advisory, FRA
would expect cooperation from the
entity who controls the usage of the car
in day to day operations, from the
lessee/shipper, and from the title holder
of the car. Although FRA does not see
the need for further regulatory or
enforcement action at this time, FRA
will continue to monitor the status of
ACF–200 tank cars in the hazardous
materials industry and will take any
necessary regulatory or enforcement
action to ensure the highest level of
safety on the nation’s railroads.
for electronic submissions or for
electronic access to docket contents is
https://dms.dot.gov. Note that all
comments received will be posted
without change to https://dms.dot.gov
including any personal information
provided. Please see the Privacy Act
heading below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary K. Jager, U.S. Coast Guard,
telephone: 202–267–6084, e-mail:
mjager@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have
questions on viewing the docket, call
Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager,
Docket Operations, telephone: 202–366–
0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2006.
Jo Strang,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. E6–6873 Filed 5–4–06; 8:45 am]
On January 12, 2006, the Coast Guard
and MARAD received an application
from TORP Terminal LP, 15995 North
Barkers Landing, Suite 310, Houston,
Texas 77079 for all Federal
authorizations required for a license to
own, construct, and operate a deepwater
port governed by the Deepwater Port
Act of 1974, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1501
et seq. (the Act). On May 1, 2006, we
determined that the application appears
to contain all information required by
the Act.
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[USCG–2006–24644]
TORP Terminal LP, Bienville Offshore
Energy Terminal Liquefied Natural Gas
Deepwater Port License Application
Maritime Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
announce that they have received an
application for the licensing of a natural
gas deepwater port, and that the
application appears to contain the
required information. This notice
summarizes the applicant’s plans and
the procedures that will be followed in
considering the application.
DATES: The Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
as amended, requires any public hearing
on this application to be held not later
than 240 days after this notice, and
requires a decision on the application to
be made not later than 90 days after the
final public hearing.
ADDRESSES: The public docket for
USCG–2006–24644 is maintained by
the: Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590–0001.
Docket contents are available for
public inspection and copying, at this
address, in room PL–401, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The
Facility’s telephone is 202–366–9329,
its fax is 202–493–2251, and its Web site
PO 00000
Frm 00157
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Receipt of Application
Background
According to the Act, a deepwater
port is a fixed or floating manmade
structure other than a vessel, or a group
of structures, located beyond State
seaward boundaries and used or
intended for use as a port or terminal for
the transportation, storage, and further
handling of oil or natural gas for
transportation to any State.
A deepwater port must be licensed by
the Maritime Administrator (by
delegated authority of the Secretary of
Transportation, published on June 18,
2003 (68 FR 36496)). Statutory and
regulatory requirements for licensing
appear in 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. and in
33 CFR part 148. Under delegations
from and agreements between the
Secretary of Transportation and the
Secretary of Homeland Security,
applications are processed by the Coast
Guard and MARAD. Each application is
considered on its merits.
The Act provides strict deadlines for
processing an application. Once we
determine that an application contains
the required information, we must hold
public hearings on the application
within 240 days, and the Maritime
Administrator must render a decision
on the application within 330 days. We
will publish additional Federal Register
notices to inform you of these public
hearings and other procedural
E:\FR\FM\05MYN1.SGM
05MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26604-26605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6873]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice of Safety Advisory 2006-04
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory 2006-04; Tank Cars with Stub Sills.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2006-04 recommending that
owners of tank cars equipped with the ACF Industries, Incorporated
(ACF) 200 stub sill design, inspect and enhance the underframes in
accordance with the procedures contained in ACF's Maintenance Bulletin
TC-200. Owners should contact ACF (see below) for a copy of Maintenance
Bulletin TC-200 and for clarification of procedures and any additional
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Albert R. Taber or Thomas A.
Phemister, Railroad Safety Specialists (Hazardous Materials), Hazardous
Materials Division, Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance, Federal
Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1120
Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20590-0001 (telephone: (202) 493-
6254 or (202) 493-6050; e-mail: al.taber@dot.gov or
tom.phemister@dot.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Since 1990, FRA, in conjunction with Transport Canada, has
documented approximately eleven known defects on tank cars built with
the ACF 200 stub sill design (ACF-200 tank cars). These defects
included tank head cracks, pad to tank cracks, sill web cracks, and
tank car buckling that in some instances led to hazardous materials
incidents. In addition, the Association of American Railroads (AAR)
Stub Sill (SS-3) inspection data related to ACF-200 tank cars shows
significant percentages of longitudinal weld cracks located in the pad
to sill area, and parent metal cracks in the pad. These cracks present
a possible source of the loss of tank integrity which could lead to
unintended releases of hazardous materials from ACF-200 tank cars.
On November 15, 2005, FRA representatives met with officials
representing the original builder of the ACF-200 tank cars to discuss
the evolution of the design, areas of concern, and proper
modifications/enhancements to the sill of ACF-200 tank cars to ensure
structural integrity while transporting hazardous materials by rail. At
this meeting, FRA learned that the safety concerns with the ACF-200
stub sill design are fatigue related which could be addressed through
periodic inspection and modification of the tank cars at certain
intervals determined by mileage and re-qualification inspection and
maintenance dates. Specifically, FRA learned that the fatigue-related
safety concerns with the ACF-200 stub sill design can be eliminated by
modifying the underframe of the tank car in accordance with ACF's
Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 (ACF Style 200 Stub Sill Underframe
Enhancement, issued in May 1994) and installing the P470 angle
application head brace. Once the P470 Angle Application has been
installed (popularly known as the ``ladder fix''), the underframe of
the tank car is transformed into what is known as the ACF-270 stub sill
design. According to ACF, this program of retrofitting ACF-200 tank
cars to the ACF-270 design, began nearly a decade ago and has
[[Page 26605]]
progressed through the fleet, resulting in the majority of the affected
cars having already been retrofitted to the ACF-270 design.
FRA is aware that most interested parties agree with ACF and FRA
that a retrofit program is the best course of action. Through meetings
with, primarily, small fleet owners, FRA has learned that many car
owners have completed, or are making substantial progress on, their
ACF-200 tank car retrofit programs. FRA recognizes the importance of
good engineering practice and sill design in conjunction with a
reliable maintenance plan. For ACF-200 tank cars, FRA agrees with ACF
that the program established by Maintenance Bulletin TC-200, augmented
by the P470 Angle Application, represents good engineering practice and
a material safety enhancement. This Safety Advisory recommends that
owners of unmodified ACF-200 tank cars bring these cars into conformity
with Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 and the P470 Angle Application at the
earliest practicable date.
Recommended Action: Based on the need to achieve the maximum level
of safety possible in the railroad tank car transportation industry and
to enhance the public's confidence in that level of safety, FRA makes
the following recommendations:
1. ACF-200 tank car owners should enter into discussions with the
car builder and decide the best course of action with regard to
inspection of and modifications to tank cars built with the ACF-200
stub sill design and not yet retrofitted to the ACF-270 design. Copies
of the ACF Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 and the P470 Angle Application
are available from--Director of Customer Service, American Railcar
Industries, 100 Clark Street, St. Charles, MO 63301-2075. https://
www.americanrailcar.com.
2. ACF-200 tank car owners should modify ACF-200 tank cars to the
ACF-270 design at the earliest of any of the following events:
A tank car is due for re-qualification under 49 CFR
180.509;
A tank car is recalled under an AAR Maintenance Advisory
requiring modification in the draft sill area;
A tank car has been in service for 150,000 miles; or
A tank car requires general repairs and the repairs
consume (or are expected to consume) at least 36 hours.
3. First priority in modifying unretrofitted ACF-200 tank cars to
the ACF-270 design should go to cars in the general service fleet and,
then, to the pressure car fleet.
FRA policy is that the owner of the car's reporting marks is the
owner of the car and primarily responsible for maintaining the car in a
safe and compliant condition. However, for purposes of this Safety
Advisory, FRA would expect cooperation from the entity who controls the
usage of the car in day to day operations, from the lessee/shipper, and
from the title holder of the car. Although FRA does not see the need
for further regulatory or enforcement action at this time, FRA will
continue to monitor the status of ACF-200 tank cars in the hazardous
materials industry and will take any necessary regulatory or
enforcement action to ensure the highest level of safety on the
nation's railroads.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2006.
Jo Strang,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. E6-6873 Filed 5-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P