Department of Transportation 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Public Law No. 109-59, Sec. 4215, 119 Stat. 1144 (2005), Congress directed the Surface Transportation Board (Board) to review the current Federal regulations regarding the level of liability protection provided by motor carriers that provide transportation of household goods (HHG) and revise the regulations, if necessary, to provide enhanced protection in the case of loss or damage. The Board seeks public comment on the issue.

The FAA is requesting public comment on the City of Portland's request to swap approx. 1.44 acres of aeronautical use property with the State of Maine. The parcels are located off Brickhill Avenue, South Portland, and were once part of the Maine Youth Center. The swap will straighten the property boundary allowing for both the City and State to develop both parcels to their maximum potential. The parcel to be conveyed to the Jetport will be used for aeronautical purposes. The parcel conveyed to the State will be used for automobile parking. The property was acquired under AIP Project No. 3-23-0038-54-2003. The disposition of proceeds from the disposal of airport property will be in accordance with FAA's Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue, published in the Federal Register on February 16, 1999.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A319, A320, and A321 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires a one-time ultrasonic inspection for certain airplanes, and repetitive detailed inspections for all airplanes, for cracking in the forward lug of the support rib 5 fitting of both main landing gear (MLG), and repair if necessary. The existing AD also provides for optional terminating actions. This AD removes the requirement for the one-time ultrasonic inspection and reduces the compliance time and repetitive interval for the detailed inspection of all airplanes. This AD also adds certain Airbus Model A318 airplanes to the applicability. This AD continues to provide optional terminating action for certain airplanes, as well as other optional methods of complying with the AD's requirements. This AD results from a new crack that was found in the forward lug of the MLG support rib 5 fitting. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the forward lug of the MLG, which could result in failure of the lug and consequent collapse of the MLG during takeoff or landing.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Airbus Model A300 B4-600R and A300 F4-600R series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for damage of the center tank fuel pumps and fuel pump canisters and replacement of any damaged parts, and mandates modification of the canisters of the center tank fuel pumps, which terminates the repetitive inspections. For certain airplanes, this new AD requires a one-time inspection of the attachment bolts of the outlet flange of the canisters of the center tank fuel pumps for bolts that are too short and do not protrude through the nut, and replacement of the bolts if necessary. This AD results from several reports that the attachment bolts for the canisters, modified by the requirements in the existing AD, are too short and do not fully protrude from the nuts. We are issuing this AD to prevent damage to the fuel pump and fuel pump canister, which could result in loss of flame trap capability and could provide a fuel ignition source in the center fuel tank.

This notice announces the availability of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Final Guidance on New Starts Policies and Procedures which was initially issued for comment on January 19, 2006. This final Policy Guidance updates procedures for project planning and development to receive New Starts funding, in accordance with the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) [Pub. L. 109-59, August 10, 2005]. The guidance explains changes to the New Starts program that will become effective on May 22, 2006. This notice also announces the availability of updated Reporting Instructions for the Section 5309 New Starts Criteria, which should be followed when reporting New Starts information for evaluation during the fiscal year (FY) 2008 project rating cycle, as well as any requests to enter into preliminary engineering, final design or a full funding grant agreement, and a detailed description of the FY 2008 Evaluation and Rating Process, which is an appendix to the Reporting Instructions. Finally, this notice provides the schedule for reporting of information for FTA's FY 2008 evaluations. FTA finds that there is good cause to make this guidance effective upon publication of this notice because sponsors of projects seeking New Starts funding must have adequate time to prepare information that FTA will use to evaluate projects for inclusion in the President's FY 2008 budget request to Congress.

This notice grants the Ferrari S.p.A. and Ferrari North America (collectively, ``Ferrari'') application for a temporary exemption from the requirements of S14.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (``FMVSS'') No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. The exemption applies to the Ferrari F430 vehicle line. In accordance with 49 CFR Part 555, the basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a low-volume manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard, and the exemption would have a negligible impact on motor vehicle safety. The exemption is effective September 1, 2006 and will remain in effect until August 31, 2008. In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2), we published a notice of receipt of the application \1\ and asked for public comments.\2\ We received no comments on the application.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing a supplemental Supplement Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement containing a DOT Section 4(f)(/303(c) evaluation for a Proposed Replacement Airport for the City of St. George, Utah, published on May 12, 2006 (Volume 71 FR 277770). This supplemental notice is to advise the public that additional copies of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed replacement airport for the City of St. George, Utah, have been made available for public review at six additional locations. Other than the addition of the six locations for public review, all other information in the original notice remains the same, including the public review period, which begins May 19, 2006. The FAA will accept comments on new and/or revised/updated information and analyses disclosed in Appendices T through Y and in Chapter 6, section 6.4, Air Quality, until 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Monday, July 3, 2006, at the address listed in the section entitled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

This action reconfigures Restricted Areas R-3007A, B, C, and D, and revokes Restricted Area R-3007E, Townsend, GA, by reducing the lateral size, increasing the vertical limits, and by increasing the time of designation of the restricted airspace by six hours per day. The FAA is taking this action to better accommodate Department of Defense (DOD) training requirements and to eliminate restricted airspace that is no longer needed by the military. Additionally, the name of the using agency for all R-3007 subareas is changed to reflect the current organizational title. This action also makes a minor correction to the latitude/longitude positions of two points in the descriptions of R-3007B and R-3007C.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to evaluate proposed public transportation improvements in the Houston metropolitan area. The area being studied, known as the University Corridor, extends approximately ten miles from the vicinity of the University of HoustonCentral Campus to the Uptown/Galleria area in southwest Houston. METRO is proposing to construct an electric-powered light rail transit line on one of several possible alignments in the corridor. The EIS will examine and evaluate a number of transit alternatives including a Transportation Systems Management Alternative and various Build Alternatives, consisting of light rail vehicles powered from overhead wires, by an internal diesel-electric system, or by an alternative fuel hybrid-electric system and alignment options within the corridor; and any additional alternatives generated by the scoping process. The location and design of needed ancillary facilities, such as maintenance facilities, will also be considered. Scoping of the EIS will be accomplished through a series of public meetings and stakeholder meetings, through correspondence with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies, and through posting a scoping information packet on the internet and distributing the packet in hardcopy upon request.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge, L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port license application. The application describes a project that would be located in Federal waters of Massachusetts Bay, in Block 125, approximately 13 miles south-southeast of Gloucester, MA. The Coast Guard and MARAD request public comments on the DEIS. Publication of this notice begins a 45 day comment period and provides information on how to participate in the process. As a point of clarification, there is another deepwater port application by Neptune LNG, L.L.C. in the same vicinity. These applications are being processed and reviewed independently.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon Aircraft Company (Raytheon) Model B300 airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to modify the cabin passenger seats by installing a modification kit on each passenger seat, removing the existing technical standard order (TSO) label, and re-identifying each modified passenger seat assembly with a new part number. This proposed AD results from the seats not meeting the ultimate load requirements of 14 CFR part 23 during structural testing of the seat with design changes. We are issuing this proposed AD to prevent the passenger seats from failing during emergency landing conditions when high inertial loadings occur. Passenger seat failure may result in occupant injury.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on March 15, 2006 (71 FR 13452)

This document makes a correction to Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2006-10-07. That AD applies to Hamilton Sundstrand Model 14RF-9 propellers. We published AD 2006-10-07 in the Federal Register on May 12, 2006 (71 FR 27600). An incorrect phrase was used in the compliance section, which impacts the intent of the compliance. This document corrects that phrase. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330, A340-200, and A340-300 airplanes. This proposed AD would require replacing the attachment landing assemblies of certain blow-down panels of the wing leading edges with new, improved landing assemblies. This proposed AD results from several reports of full or partial loss of certain blow-down panels of the wing leading edges during flight. We are proposing this AD to prevent damage to the airplane and hazards to persons or property on the ground.

The FAA is revising an earlier NPRM for an airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Airbus Model A300 B4-600, B4-600R, and F4-600R series airplanes, and Model C4-605R Variant F airplanes (collectively called A300-600 series airplanes); and A310-200 and -300 series airplanes. The original NPRM would have required a one-time inspection of the trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator (THSA), corrective actions if necessary, and follow-on repetitive tasks. The original NPRM resulted from reports of THSAs that have reached their design operational life. This operational life can be extended provided an initial inspection and follow-on repetitive tasks are accomplished. This action revises the original NPRM by revising the initial compliance time. It also allows the component maintenance manual as an alternative repair method. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to extend the operational life of the THSA to prevent a possible failure of high-time THSAs, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt Mr. Thomas Deke from its rule prohibiting persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) from operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. The exemption will enable Mr. Deke to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Federal Highway Administration has submitted the following request for emergency processing of a public information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.) This notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to OMB for review, comment and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden. Comments: Comments should be directed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Highway Administration. Type of Request: New.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for proposed transportation improvements in Davis County, Utah.

These special conditions are issued to Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S), 720 Pennsylvania Drive, Exton, PA 19341-1129, for a Supplemental Type Certificate for the Pilatus PC-12, PC-12/45, and PC- 12/47 airplanes. These airplanes will have novel and unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisaged in the applicable airworthiness standards. These novel and unusual design features include the installation of two 12'' x 9'' Integrated Flat Panel Display (IFPD) Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS), manufactured by IS&S, and components associated with this display system. The applicable regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate airworthiness standards for the protection of these systems from the effects of high intensity radiated fields (HIRF). These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to the airworthiness standards applicable to these airplanes.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its findings on the noise compatibility program submitted by the City of Vero Beach, Florida under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. (the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act, hereinafter referred to as ``the Act'') and 14 CFR part 150. These findings are made in recognition of the description of Federal and nonfederal responsibilities in Senate Report No. 96-52 (1980). On October 28, 2003, the FAA determined that the noise exposure maps submitted by the City of Vero Beach, Florida under part 150 were in compliance with applicable requirements. On April 28, 2006, the FAA approved the Vero Beach Municipal Airport noise compatibility program. Most of the recommendations of the program were approved.