Department of Transportation May 30, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), in cooperation with the Southwest Regional Planning Agency and Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on proposed commuter rail transit service and infrastructure improvements along the New Haven Line, Danbury Branch Rail Line in Connecticut. The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro North Railroad operates the New Haven Rail Line service for ConnDOT and is a cooperating agency in the EIS process. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its implementing regulations by the Council on the Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and FTA/FHWA (23 CFR 771), as well as provisions of section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The Draft EIS will be combined with the planning Alternatives Analysis required by Federal Transit law [49 U.S.C. 5309(a)] for projects proposed for New Starts or Small Starts funding. The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties regarding the intent to prepare the EIS, to provide and solicit information on the nature of the proposed project and possible alternatives, to invite public participation in the NEPA process (including providing comments on the scope of the EIS), and to announce that three public scoping meetings will be conducted.

The Federal Government has an important role to play in facilitating and accelerating transportation-related capacity and operational improvements at international land border crossings that will improve border travel times and help reduce associated national and regional economic costs. To fulfill this role and to encourage the greater use of non-traditional transportation project finance, delivery, and facility operation mechanisms at the Nation's critical international land border crossings, the DOT is soliciting applications from interested international land border States, bridge and tunnel operators, and private entities to participate in the Transportation Border Congestion Relief (TBCR) Program. The goal of the TBCR Program is to identify and assist international land border States with implementing innovative solutions to help address land border travel time delay and facilitate trade and travel without compromising the vital mission of securing America's borders. The DOT intends to select two or more surface transportation projects, a minimum of one on the U.S./Mexico border and one on the U.S./Canada border, which can help improve border travel times.

This action revises Class E airspace at St. Mary's, AK, to provide adequate controlled airspace to contain aircraft executing Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs). Two new SIAPs are being developed for the St. Mary's Airport. Additionally, four SIAPs are being amended. This action revises existing Class E airspace upward from the surface and from 700 feet (ft.) above the surface at St. Mary's Airport, St. Mary's, AK.

This action establishes four low altitude Area Navigation (RNAV) T-routes, designated T-257, T-259, T-261 and T-263, in the Sacramento and San Francisco, CA, terminal areas. T-routes are low altitude Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes, based on RNAV, for use by aircraft having instrument flight rules (IFR)-approved Global Positioning System (GPS)/Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment. The FAA is taking this action to enhance safety and improve the efficient use of the navigable airspace in the Sacramento and San Francisco, CA, terminal areas.

On February 27, 2003, Southwest Gulf Railroad Company (SGR) filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502 for authority to construct and operate a rail line approximately seven miles long from a Vulcan Construction Materials, LP (VCM) proposed limestone quarry to a Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) rail line near Dunlay, Texas. SGR proposed construction and operation of the rail line to transport limestone aggregate from VCM's proposed quarry to the UP rail line. SGR anticipates operating approximately four trains per day (comprising two inbound empty and two outbound loaded trains). Each train would consist of 100 railcars. The Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has prepared the FEIS was pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 4231 et seq. Under NEPA, the Board must consider the environmental impacts of actions requiring Board authorization and complete its environmental review before making a final decision on a proposed action. SEA is the office within the Board that carries out the Board's responsibilities and related environmental laws and regulations, including the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA at 40 CFR Part 1500; the Board's environmental regulations at 49 CFR Part 1105; and the Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) process.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for RR RB211 Trent 553-61, 553A2-61, 556-61, 556A2-61, 556B-61, 556B2-61, 560-61, and 560A2-61 turbofan engines. That AD currently requires removing certain serial-numbered intermediate pressure compressor (IPC) drums, part number (P/N) FK30102. This AD requires removing those same IPC drums, and requires a new reduced life limit for all other IPC drums, P/N FK30102. This AD results from an RR engineering assessment that it is necessary to reduce the cyclic lives of the other drums with the same P/N. We are issuing this AD to prevent uncontained loss of IPC stage 1 blades, which could result in damage to the airplane.