Department of Transportation March 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Notice solicits comments on the merits of a petition for rulemaking filed by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM). The NASFM petitioned PHMSA to classify Polyurethane Foam and certain finished products containing Polyurethane Foam (PU) as hazardous materials in transportation in commerce, as a matter of safety for emergency responders and the public.

The FAA is revising an earlier NPRM for certain EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, - 145MP, and -145EP airplanes. The original NPRM would have required replacing the metallic tubes enclosing the vent and pilot valve wires in the left- and right-hand wing fuel tanks with non-conductive hoses. The original NPRM resulted from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. This action revises the original NPRM by adding airplanes to the applicability. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent an ignition source inside the fuel tank that could ignite fuel vapor and cause a fuel tank explosion and loss of the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this notice to advise the public that the Notice of Intent published on December 7, 2005 to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed extension of State Route 357 in Sullivan County, Tennessee, is being rescinded.

On June 9, 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) was enacted requiring the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to establish the Clean Fuels Formula Grant Program (the program). The program was developed to assist non-attainment and maintenance areas in achieving or maintaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and carbon monoxide (CO). Additionally, the program supports emerging clean fuel and advanced propulsion technologies for transit buses and markets for those technologies. Although the program was authorized as a formula grant program from its inception, Congress did not fund the program. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) changed the grant program from a formula-based to a discretionary grant program. The program, however, retains its initial purpose. FTA is publishing this final rule to revise the existing regulations to reflect the amendments made by SAFETEA-LU.

The FAA is issuing this Notice of Availability to advise the public that a Draft EIS will be available for public review beginning March 30, 2007. The document was prepared pursuant to a proposal presented to the FAA by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, the owner and operator of FLL and identified in the Draft EIS as the Airport Sponsor, for environmental review. The FAA prepared this Draft EIS to analyze and disclose potential environmental impacts related to possible Federal actions at FLL. Numerous Federal actions would be necessary if airfield development were to be implemented. Proposed improvements include Runway 9R/27L development and extension and other airfield projects (see below). The Draft EIS presents the purpose and need for the proposed Federal action, analysis of reasonable alternatives, including the No Action alternative, discussion of impacts for each reasonable alternative, and supporting appendices. The FAA will consider all information contained in this Draft EIS and additional information that may be provided during the public comment period before issuing a Final EIS and Agency decision regarding the possible alternatives and Federal actions. The Airport Sponsor proposes to develop and extend Runway 9R/27L to an overall length of 8,000 feet and width of 150 feet (the reconstructed runway would be equipped with an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) at both runway ends); elevate Runway 9R end and Runway 27L end to provide 34.74 feet of vertical clearance over the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway; construct a new full-length parallel taxiway 75 feet wide on the north side of Runway 9R/27L with separation of 400 feet from 9R/27L; construct an outer dual parallel taxiway to be used as a temporary runway during the construction of permanent Runway 9R/27L; construct a connecting taxiway from the proposed full-length parallel taxiway to existing Taxiway E; construct a Category I Instrument Landing System (ILS) for landings on Runways 9R and 27L that includes a Medium Intensity Approach Light System with runway alignment indicator lights (MALSR), localizer, and glideslope. The Airport Sponsor also proposes to decommission Runway 13/31 and redevelop terminal gate facilities. Connected actions associated with the Airport Sponsor's proposal include closure of Airport Perimeter Road located within the approach to Runway 9R; relocation of ASR-9; acquisition of all, or a portion, of the Wyndham Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel to the extent the existing structure was within the Proposed Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) for extended Runway 9R/27L; partial displacement of the Jet Center facilities; and full displacement of the Gulfstream Airways aircraft maintenance facilities for potential use of a taxiway as a temporary runway during construction. Public Comment and Information Workshop/Public Hearing: The public comment period on the Draft EIS will start March 30, 2007 and will end on May 14, 2007. A Public Information Workshop and Public Hearing will be held on May 1, 2007 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316; Telephone: (954) 765-5900. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to afford the public and other interested parties the opportunity to comment on the economic, social, and environmental effects of the location and location's consistency with the objectives of any planning that the community has carried out. The Public Information Workshop will be held in Ballroom D from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Public Hearing will be held in Ballroom A beginning at 6 p.m. and conclude when the last registered speaker submits comments for the record. For those unable to attend the Public Hearing, the public will be able to submit written comments or register to give oral comments to a court reporter between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Public Information Workshop. Oral Comments will be limited to 3 minutes. Comments can only be accepted with the full name and address of the individual commenting. Mail and fax comments are to be submitted to Ms. Virginia Lane of the FAA, at the address shown in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. E-mail comments should be sent to FLL- EIScomments@landrum-brown.com). All comments must be postmarked, faxed or e-mailed by no later than midnight, Monday, May 14, 2007. The Draft EIS may be reviewed for comment during regular business hours at the following locations: 1. Broward County Governmental Center, 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (Telephone: 954-357-7000). 2. Broward County LibraryMain Branch, 100 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (Telephone: 954-354-7444). 3. Broward County LibraryFort Lauderdale Branch, 1300 E. Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (Telephone: 954-765-4263). 4. Broward County LibraryHollywood Branch, 2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33304 (Telephone: 954-926-2430). 5. Broward County LibraryDania Beach DeMaio Branch, 255 E. Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania Beach, FL 33004 (Telephone: 954-926-2420). 6. Broward County LibraryDavie/Cooper City Branch, 4600 SW 82nd Avenue, Davie, FL 33328 (Telephone: 954-680-0050). 7. Broward County LibraryLauderhill Town Centre, 6399 W. Oakland Park Boulevard, Lauderhill, FL 33313 (Telephone: 954-497-1630). 8. Broward County LibraryStirling Road Branch, 3151 Stirling Road, Hollywood, FL 33021 (Telephone: 954-985-2689). 9. Broward County LibraryPembroke Pines/Walter C. Young Branch, 955 NW 129th Avenue, Pembroke Pines, FL 33025 (Telephone: 954-437- 2635). 10. Broward County LibraryWest Regional Branch, 8601 W. Boulevard, Plantation, FL 33324 (Telephone: 954-831-3300). 11. Broward County LibrarySunrise Dan Pearl Branch, 10500 W. Oakland Park Boulevard, Sunrise, FL 33351 (Telephone: 954-749-2521). 12. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Public Outreach Trailer, Broward County Aviation Department, 550 Northwest 10th Street, Dania Beach, FL 33315 (Telephone: 954-359-6977). 13. Broward County Administration Office, Broward County Governmental Center, 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 409, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (Telephone: 954-357-7000). 14. Broward County Aviation Department, 320 Terminal Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 (Telephone: 954-359-6118). A CD version of the Draft EIS document will also be available at the following public locations. Broward County will be providing an electronic copy of the Draft EIS on the Broward County Web site at https://www.broward.org/airport/. 15. City of Lauderhill, Lauderhill City Hall, 2000 City Hall Drive, Lauderhill, FL 33313 (Telephone: 954-739-0100). 16. City of Pembroke Pines, Pembroke Pines City Hall, 10100 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33025 (Telephone: 954-431-4500). 17. City of Cooper City, Cooper City Hall, 9090 S.W. 50th Place, Cooper City, FL 33328 (Telephone: 954-434-4300). 18. City of Sunrise, 10770 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise FL 33351 (Telephone: 954-741-2580). 19. City of Fort Lauderdale, 100 N. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (Telephone: 954-761-5000). 20. City of Plantation, Plantation City Hall, 400 N.W. 73rd Avenue, Plantation, FL 33317 (Telephone: 954-797-2221). 21. City of Hollywood, Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33020 (Telephone: 954-921-3473). 22. City of Dania Beach, Dania Beach City Hall, 100 W. Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania Beach, FL 33004 (Telephone: 954-924-3600). 23. Town of Davie, Davie Town Hall, 6591 SW., 45th Street, Davie, FL 33314 (Telephone: 954-797-1000).

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-100, DHC-8-200, and DHC-8-300 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require, for certain airplanes, modification of the upper bearing of the main landing gear (MLG) shock strut. This proposed AD would also require, for certain airplanes, revising the DHC-8 Maintenance Program Manual to include the MLG shock strut servicing task. This proposed AD results from reports of over-extension of the MLG shock strut piston, which allows the torque links to go over-center and rest on the piston. We are proposing this AD to prevent loss in shock absorption during touchdown and failure of the shock strut housing, which could result in a subsequent loss of directional control.

The FAA is revising an earlier NPRM for an airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A319-100 and A320- 200 series airplanes. The original NPRM would have required repetitive inspections of the wing-tank fuel pumps, canisters, and wing fuel tanks for detached identification labels, and corrective action if necessary. The original NPRM resulted from several incidents of detached plastic identification labels found floating in the wing fuel tanks. This action revises the original NPRM by expanding the applicability and mandating modification of the fuel strainers at the fuel pump and suction bypass intakes. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent plastic identification labels being ingested into the fuel pumps and consequently entering the engine fuel feed system, which could result in an engine shutdown.

As authorized by Pub. L. 109-347, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to make determinations permitting the use of foreign-flag anchor handling vessels in certain cases (and for a limited period of time) if no U.S.-flag vessels are found to be suitable and reasonably available. A request for such a determination has been received by MARAD. If MARAD determines that U.S.-flag vessels are not suitable and reasonably available for the proposed service, a determination will be granted allowing for the conditional use of these vessels, within a set time frame. Those interested in providing the names of suitable and available vessels for the proposed service should refer to the docket number, and identify the U.S.-flag vessels available. A brief description of the proposed service of the vessels is listed below. A copy of the request may be accessed at https://dms.dot.gov under DOT docket number MARAD-2007-27710.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Airbus Model A330-200, A330-300, A340-200, and A340-300 series airplanes; and Model A340-541 and A340- 642 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires operators to revise the Airworthiness Limitations section (ALS) of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) to incorporate new information. This information includes, for all affected airplanes, decreased life limit values for certain components; and for Model A330-200 and -300 series airplanes, new inspections, compliance times, and new repetitive intervals to detect fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in certain structures. This proposed AD would revise the ALS, for all affected airplanes, by adding new Airworthiness Limitations Items (ALIs) to incorporate service life limits for certain items and inspections to detect fatigue cracking, accidental damage or corrosion in certain structures, in accordance with the revised ALS of the ICA. This proposed AD results from the issuance of new and more restrictive service life limits and structural inspections based on fatigue testing and in-service findings. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in principal structural elements, and to prevent failure of certain life-limited parts, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

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 describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burdens. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on January 17, 2007 (72 FR 2084).

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -800 and -900 series airplanes; and Model 757-200 and -300 series airplanes. This AD requires modifying the activation mechanism in the chemical oxygen generator of each passenger service unit (PSU). This AD results from several reports indicating that some chemical oxygen generators failed to activate during in-flight decompression events. These failures were due to fracture of components between the passenger oxygen mask and the release pin in the oxygen generator. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the activation mechanism in the chemical oxygen generator, which could result in the unavailability of supplemental oxygen and possible incapacitation of passengers and cabin crew during an in- flight decompression.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all McDonnell Douglas Model MD-11 and -11F airplanes. This AD requires revising the maintenance inspection program that provides for inspection of principal structural elements (PSEs) and replacement of safe-life parts, to incorporate a new revision to the MD-11 Airworthiness Limitations Instructions. The revision reduces inspection intervals for fatigue cracking of certain PSEs, and expands the inspection area for a certain other PSE. This AD results from a revised damage tolerance analysis. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of certain PSEs, which could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.

The FAA proposes to rule and invite public comment on the release of land at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field under the provisions of Section 125 of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR 21).

This special condition is issued for the Boeing Model 737- 900ER airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the interaction of systems and structures. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. This special condition contains the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) provides interested parties with the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National Transit Database (NTD) Uniform System of Accounts and Reporting System. The proposed changes will require recipients of formula grants for other than urbanized areas (Nonurbanized Area Formula Grants) to report annual transit data to the NTD. As mandated by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), this proposed rule will also require the annual reporting of rural transit data as a condition for receiving grant awards under the Nonurbanized Area Formula Program. Currently, FTA requires recipients of FTA Urbanized Area Formula Grants to provide an annual report to the Secretary of Transportation via the NTD using a uniform system of accounts and reporting system. This proposed rule will not affect existing mandatory reporting requirements for recipients of Urbanized Area Formula grants. In addition, this proposed rule makes non-substantive changes, technical corrections, and conforming amendments to 49 CFR part 630, ``Uniform System of Accounts and Reporting System.'' Technical corrections and conforming amendments are needed to update the regulation and make certain provisions clearer. These changes will have no substantive effect on the regulated public.

This notice contains a summary of petitions seeking relief from specific requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specific requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a current information collection. 49 U.S.C. Section 44718 states that the Secretary of Transportation shall require notice of structures that may affect navigable airspace, air commerce, or air capacity.