October 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard announces the availability of a petition for rulemaking, and requests public comment accordingly. The petition was submitted by a river barge operator, who requests that the Coast Guard establish a special load line exemption on the Gulf of Mexico. The requested exemption would allow non-load line river barges to transit along the west coast of Florida, en route to/from Tampa Bay.

In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission amends the instructions on page 700 of FERC Form No. 6 (Form 6) to ensure that oil pipelines report interstate-only barrel and barrel-mile data on lines (11) and (12) of page 700 and not a combination of interstate and intrastate throughput. The Commission also directs pipelines that reported combined interstate and intrastate data in any field on lines (1) through (12) of page 700 of their 2010 Form 6 or page 700 of their 2011 Form 6 to file within 90 days of the final rule's publication in the Federal Register revised page 700 data containing only interstate data for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.

This final rule makes technical corrections throughout title 49 CFR subtitle B, chapter III. The Agency is making minor editorial changes to add revised delegations of authority from the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), correct errors and omissions, and improve clarity. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A340-500 and -600 series airplanes. This AD requires repetitive inspections for corrosion of the drag stay lower arm assembly of the nose landing gear (NLG), and replacement if necessary. This AD also requires eventual replacement of the drag stay lower arm assembly of the NLG with an improved assembly having corrosion protection, which terminates the repetitive inspections required by this AD. This AD was prompted by findings of corrosion traces in the lugs and on the bearing outer surface of the NLG during routine maintenance checks. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the drag stay lower arm, which could result in NLG collapse and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane during takeoff.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model DC-10-10, DC-10-10F, DC-10-15, DC- 10-30, DC-10-30F (KC-10A and KDC-10), DC-10-40, DC-10-40F, MD-10-10F, and MD-10-30F airplanes. That AD currently requires installing or replacing with improved parts, as applicable, the bonding straps between the metallic frame of the fillet and the wing leading edge ribs, on both the left and right sides of the airplane; and for certain airplanes, repositioning or replacing two bonding straps, doing a bonding-resistance check and an inspection to determine correct installation of certain bonding straps, and applicable corrective actions. This new AD adds airplanes to the applicability and, depending on the airplane configuration, requires installing new braided bonding straps, inspecting to determine if a certain strap is installed and replacing with or installing a braided bonding strap if necessary, measuring the electrical resistance of the bonding straps, verifying that brackets have an acceptable fillet seal, and doing corrective actions if necessary. This AD was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer, and our determination that additional actions are necessary to address the identified unsafe condition. We are issuing this AD to reduce the potential of ignition sources inside fuel tanks in the event of a severe lightning strike, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.