Department of Transportation July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company (Tuscarora) requests a waiver of the pipeline safety regulation on valve spacing from PHMSA. The pipeline safety regulation requires each point on a pipeline in a Class 1 location be within 10 miles of a block valve. This document grants Tuscarora's request for waiver.

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), PHMSA is publishing the following list of special permit applications that have been in process for 180 days or more. The reasons(s) for delay and the expected completion date for action on each application is provided in association with each identified application.

This amendment amends Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, addition of new obstacles, or changes in 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.

Pursuant to section 5208 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), is developing a 5-year transportation research and development strategic plan. The purpose of this notice is to invite interested parties to review and submit comments on the draft Strategic Research, Development and Technology Plan of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The plan can be found by using the above docket number at https://dms.dot.gov.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Bombardier Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes. The existing AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracks, sealant damage, and corrosion of the main fittings of the main landing gear (MLG), and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would reduce the compliance times for inspecting certain low-utilization airplanes, and provide a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD results from a report of a cracked main fitting of the MLG. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the main fitting of the MLG and consequent failure of the main fitting, which could result in the collapse of the MLG.

This document revises an earlier supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), applicable to all Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model G-159 airplanes, that would have required repetitive non-destructive testing inspections to detect corrosion of the skin of certain structural assemblies, and corrective action if necessary. The first supplemental NPRM also would have required x-ray and ultrasonic inspections to detect corrosion and cracking of the splicing of certain structural assemblies, and repair if necessary. This new action revises the proposed rule by limiting the time certain repetitive inspections may be repeated before corrective action must be taken. The actions specified by this new proposed supplemental AD are intended to detect and correct corrosion and cracking of the lower wing plank splices and spot-welded skins of certain structural assemblies, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.

In order to facilitate notification to consumers of defective or nonconforming tires, our tire recordkeeping regulation sets forth, among other things, the methods by which independent tire dealers and distributors record, on standard registration forms, their names and addresses and the identification number of the tires sold to consumers, and provide these forms to the consumers for reporting their names to the tire manufacturers. One of the figures related to tire registration forms had been inadvertently deleted through an administrative error. This document corrects this inadvertent removal.

In accordance with the procedures of 49 CFR part 555, Saleen, Inc. (Saleen) has applied for an extension of a Temporary Exemption from the automatic restraint requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, and an additional exemption from the advanced air bag requirements of that standard, both for the Saleen S7. The basis of the application is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard.\1\

This notice proposes to modify the Class E airspace area at Honolulu International Airport, HI. The establishment of an Area Navigation (RNAV) Required Navigation Performance (RNP) Instrument Approach Procedures (IAP) to Runway (RWY) 08L and 26L at Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, HI has made this proposal necessary. Additional controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth is needed to contain aircraft executing the RNAV (RNP) IAP to RWY 08L/26L at Honolulu International Airport. The intended effect of this proposal is to provide adequate controlled airspace for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, HI.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a current information collection. FOQA is a voluntary program for the routine collection and analysis of digital flight data from airplane operations. The purpose is to enable early corrective action for potential threats to safety.

The Department is directing all interested persons to show cause why it should not issue an order withdrawing its approval under 49 U.S.C. 41309 for an International Air Transport Association (``IATA'') agreement, the Provisions for the Conduct of the IATA Traffic Conferences, insofar as that agreement establishes conferences whereby IATA's member carriers discuss and agree upon passenger fares and cargo rates for U.S.-Australia/Europe markets. If the Department withdraws its approval for the agreement, the agreement will no longer have immunity from the antitrust laws under 49 U.S.C. 41308 for conference discussions of fares and rates for the U.S.-Australia/Europe markets.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) Dart 528, 529, 532, 535, 542, and 555 series turbofan engines. This proposed AD would require a dimensional inspection of the intermediate pressure turbine (IPT) disk or an ultrasonic inspection of the seal arm contact between the high pressure turbine (HPT) and the IPT disk seal arm and rework or replacement of the IPT disk if wear outside acceptable limits is found. This proposed AD results from reports of a number of HPT disk failures, some of which resulted in portions of the HPT disk being released. We are proposing this AD to prevent HPT disk failure, which can result in an uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

PHMSA is granting Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. (M&N) a waiver of compliance from certain PHMSA regulations for the United States portion of its pipeline system. This waiver increases the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) for the pipeline. This waiver decision also authorizes M&N to increase the design factor for its compressor station piping, grants relief from the strength testing requirements for M&N's compressor station piping, grants relief in establishing the MAOP of pipelines operating above prescribed hoop stresses, grants relief from the capacity requirements of pressure limiting stations, and authorizes M&N to maintain the pressure rating of portions of the waiver area subject to a change in class location. Before granting the waiver, PHMSA performed a thorough technical review of M&N's application and supporting documents. PHMSA requested and received supplementary information on numerous technical aspects of M&N's design, engineering, operations, and maintenance practices. The materials are available in docket PHMSA-2006-23448 at https:// dms.dot.gov. PHMSA also sought comments from the public and received positive feedback from States along the pipeline and the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee. The waiver is subject to and conditional upon supplemental safety criteria set forth in this notice. The supplemental safety criteria address the life-cycle management of the subject pipeline and require M&N to adhere to maintenance, inspection, monitoring, control, and reporting standards exceeding existing regulatory requirements.

PHMSA is granting Rockies Express Pipeline, L.L.C. (Rockies Express) a waiver of compliance from the pipeline safety regulation that prescribes the design factor to be used in the design formula for steel pipe. This waiver allows the Rockies Express pipeline to operate at hoop stresses up to 80 percent of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) in Class 1 locations. The waiver also grants Rockies Express relief from equipment requirements for pressure relieving and limiting stations. Before granting the waiver, PHMSA performed a thorough technical review of Rockies Express's application and supporting documents. PHMSA requested and received supplementary information pertaining to numerous technical aspects of its metallurgy, pipeline design, and engineering practices. These materials are available in the docket PHMSA-2006-23998 at https://dms.dot.gov. PHMSA also sought comments from the public and received positive feedback from the impacted States along the pipeline and the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee. The waiver is subject to and conditional upon supplemental safety criteria set forth in this notice. The supplemental safety criteria address the life cycle management of the subject pipeline and require Rockies Express to adhere to maintenance, inspection, monitoring, control, and reporting standards exceeding existing regulatory requirements.

This announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed interstate facility in the south-central portion of Kentucky, between the Somerset Northern Bypass (I-66) and London, KY. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), this DEIS examines the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed build alternatives and includes the no-build alternative.

This document corrects an error that appeared in Docket No. NM317, Notice No. 25-05-12-SC, which was published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2006 (71 FR 18236). The error is in the Docket No. and the Notice No. and is being corrected herein.

These special conditions are issued for the Airbus A380-800 airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. Many of these novel or unusual design features are associated with the complex systems and the configuration of the airplane, including its full-length double deck. For these design features, the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for design roll maneuvers. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards. Additional special conditions will be issued for other novel or unusual design features of the Airbus Model A380-800 airplane.

This action extends the comment period stated in the Notice of Availability of proposed Advisory Circular (AC) 120-YY, ``Widespread Fatigue Damage on Metallic Structure,'' that was published on May 22, 2006. In that document, the FAA announced the availability of and request for comments on proposed revisions to an AC which provides guidance to design approval holders for certain transport category airplanes related to repairs and alterations to preclude widespread fatigue damage.

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was published on April 21, 2006. In that document, the FAA proposed requirements for holders of design approvals to make available to operators damage tolerance data for repairs and alterations to fatigue critical structure. This extension is a result of requests from the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA), Airbus, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Cargo Airline Association (CAA), and National Air Carrier Association, Inc. (NACA) to extend the comment period to the proposal.

On October 6, 2005, the FAA published the ``Enhanced Airworthiness Program for Airplane Systems/Fuel Tank Safety (EAPAS/ FTS)'' proposed rule. This proposal includes a discussion about our intent to coordinate the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) for fuel tank system and electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) to avoid redundancies in those ICA. It also discusses our intent to align the compliance dates for operators to include those ICA in their maintenance programs. The purpose of this document is to advise industry that while we still intend to avoid redundancies in the fuel tank system and EWIS ICA, it is no longer practical to align the compliance dates to incorporate those ICA into operator maintenance programs. As a result, the December 16, 2008 compliance date in the fuel tank safety operational rules remains firm, and industry should proceed with the necessary plans to meet this date.