Department of Transportation May 12, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces its decision to grant Volvo Trucks North America, Inc's. (Volvo), application for an exemption from the Agency's requirement for drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to hold a commercial driver's license (CDL). Volvo requested an exemption for 11 Swedish engineers and technicians who will test drive CMVs in the United States (U.S.) for Volvo. All of the individuals hold a valid Swedish CDL and have been trained to drive CMVs in Sweden. The individuals normally work at Volvo in Sweden where their duties involve developing, designing, and testing engines for CMVs that will be manufactured, assembled, sold, or primarily used in the U.S. FMCSA believes the terms and conditions of the exemption will ensure that the level of safety for the drivers is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be achieved by complying with the Federal regulations. The exemption will preempt inconsistent State requirements applicable to interstate commerce.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on February 27, 2006 (71 FR 9859).

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR part 107, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

This amendment adopts miscellaneous amendments to the required IFR (instrument flight rules) altitudes and changeover points for certain Federal airways, jet routes, or direct routes for which a minimum or maximum en route authorized IFR altitude is prescribed. This regulatory action is needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace under instrument conditions in the affected areas.

The Record of Decision was prepared based on the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Horizontal Launch and Reentry of Reentry Vehicles. The FAA prepared this Record of Decision pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 United States Code 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1 E, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures. This Record of Decision contains the statement of decision, identifies the alternatives considered, and discusses the factors on which the decision was based. The PEIS considered the potential programmatic environmental effects of licensing horizontal launches of launch vehicles, reentries of reentry vehicles,\1\ as well as licensing the operation of facilities that support these activities. The PEIS considered three horizontal launch vehicle concepts and reentry vehicles with both powered and unpowered landings.

The FAA announces that an FEIS for the Proposed Relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport is available for public review. The FEIS includes the section 7 consultation with United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding the Proposed Action's impact to threatened and endangered species. An Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) and Living Marine Resources (LMR) Assessment is included in the FEIS. The FEIS discusses impacts to the base floodplain and wetlands and measures to mitigate those impacts. The FAA is seeking comments on those sections of the FEIS that have been updated and/or contain additional information not previously contained in the DEIS. Please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a listing of sections of the FEIS and associated appendices that have been updated or contain additional information. Additional information regarding potential redevelopment of the existing airport site under the West Bay Site alternatives was published following public availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). This information has been analyzed and is included in the FEIS for disclosure purposes but is not part of the Proposed Action. All comments are to be submitted to Virginia Lane of the FAA, at the address shown in the section below entitled ``For Further Information or to Submit Comments Contact.'' The USACE has requested that the FAA be the recipient of all comments regarding their actions. The USACE is a cooperating Federal agency for this FEIS, having jurisdiction by law because the proposed federal action has the potential for significant wetland impacts, and would require the USACE to approve issuance of a permit to fill wetlands under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Hamilton Sundstrand model 14RF-9 propellers. This AD requires visual, feeler gage, and tap test inspections of certain serial number (SN) propeller blades of the ``+E'' repair configuration for blade delamination, and removing the blade from service if the blade fails inspection. This AD also requires removing those serial-numbered propeller blades from service by March 1, 2007. This AD results from reports of delaminated blade fiberglass repair patches that allowed corrosion to form on the aluminum blade spar under the patch. We are issuing this AD to prevent blade failure that could result in separation of a propeller blade and loss of control of the airplane.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 747-200B, 747-200C, 747-200F, 747-300, 747-400, and 747SP series airplanes. This AD requires doing a detailed inspection of the left and right longeron extension fittings, and corrective action if necessary. This AD results from cracking found in the longeron extension fitting at body station 1480 due to accidental damage during production. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the longeron extension fitting, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane and possible in-flight breakup of the airplane fuselage.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A319-100, A320-200, A321-100, and A321-200 series airplanes. This AD requires repetitive inspections for corrosion in the inside and outside lower walls of each type A, D, E, and F lavatory wall that has at least one wall-mounted cabin attendant seat, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. The repetitive inspections may be terminated by repairing the wall with composite material, or replacing the entire wall with a new wall made of composite material. This AD results from reports of corrosion in the lower part of the lavatory walls due to water ingress. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct corrosion and damage on the lower part of the lavatory walls, which could compromise the structural integrity of the cabin attendant seat attachments, and cause injury to the cabin attendants during a crash landing.