Department of Transportation April 1, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces a public meeting concerning implementation of the North American Standard for Protection Against Shifting or Falling Cargo. The meeting's purpose is to discuss a process for ensuring consistent interpretation of the harmonized cargo securement standards by FMCSA and the Canadian Provinces, such as interpretation issues raised by U.S. enforcement agencies and motor carriers and potential implementation issues for Canadian Provinces and motor carriers operating in Canada. On September 27, 2002, FMCSA published a final rule revising its regulations on cargo securement for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) operated in interstate commerce; and motor carriers were given until January 1, 2004 to comply with the new regulations. The agency's new standards were based on the North American Cargo Securement Standard Model Regulations, which reflected at the time the results of a multi- year comprehensive research program to evaluate U.S. and Canadian cargo securement regulations, motor carrier industry best practices, and recommendations from public meetings involving U.S. and Canadian industry experts, Federal, State, and Provincial enforcement officials, and other interested parties. Since then, Canada's Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety approved a new National Safety Code Standard for cargo securement (September 23, 2004). Full implementation of Canada's new cargo securement requirements is expected by this summer.

This notice publishes the FMCSA decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 13 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from vision standards if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

This document responds to the Rubber Manufacturers Association's (RMA) September 27, 2004 petition for reconsideration of the August 13, 2004 final rule addressing the disposal of recalled tires. RMA requested that NHTSA reconsider a statement in the preamble to the final rule that Section 7 of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act prohibits the use of recalled tires in the construction of landfills. NHTSA has decided that the TREAD Act does not prohibit the use of recalled tires in landfill construction.

This document revises an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to all Short Brothers Model SD3-60 series airplanes, that would have required performing an inspection of the shear attachment fitting for the fin-to-fuselage front spar, and of the shear cleat for the fin root rib at the aft spar location for corrosion; reporting inspection results; and performing corrective action, if necessary. This new action revises the proposed rule by adding additional inspection areas, a repetitive borescope (intrascope) inspection, and applicable corrective actions per new Short Brothers information. This new action also revises the proposed rule by deleting the inspection report. The actions specified by this new proposed AD are intended to detect and correct corrosion in the area of the main spar web fittings of the vertical stabilizer, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the vertical stabilizer. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all GROB-WERKE (GROB) Model G120A airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to replace the main landing gear front and rear spherical bearings with improved spherical bearings. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authority for Germany. We are issuing this proposed AD to replace front and rear main landing gear bearings that are exposed to high axial loads, which could result in failure of the landing gear bearing. This failure could lead to loss of control on landing.

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board is granting a petition for exemption from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323-25 for Union Pacific Railroad Company to acquire and operate approximately 3.23 miles of rail line of the Denver Terminal Railroad Company, d/b/a Denver Rock Island Railroad (DRIR), extending from DRIR milepost 0.72 near Sandown to DRIR milepost 3.95 at Belt Junction, in Denver, CO, subject to standard labor protective conditions.