Department of Transportation July 11, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, this notice announces the Department of Transportation's (DOT) intention to request extension of a previously approved information collection.

On January 25, 2007, NHTSA published a notice announcing a public hearing and requesting comments on an agency report titled, ``The New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Suggested Approaches for Future Program Enhancements.'' This notice summarizes the comments received and provides the agency's decision on how it will improve the NCAP ratings program. For model year (MY) 2010, the agency will make changes to its existing front and side crash rating programs. For the frontal crash test program, NHTSA will maintain the 35 mph (56 kmph) full frontal barrier test protocol but will update the test dummies and associated injury criteria used to assess and assign a vehicle's frontal impact star rating. For side impact, NHTSA will maintain the current moving deformable barrier test at 38.5 mph (63 kmph) but will update that test to include new side impact test dummies and new injury criteria that are used to assign a vehicle's side impact star rating. Additionally, vehicles will also be assessed using a new pole test and a small female crash test dummy. For rollover, the agency will continue to rate vehicles for rollover propensity, but will wait to update its rollover risk model to allow for more real-world crash data of vehicles equipped with electronic stability control. Also for MY 2010, the agency will implement a new ratings program that will rate vehicles on the presence of select advanced technologies and establish a new overall Vehicle Safety Score that will combine the star ratings from the front, side, and rollover programs. Finally, for the agency's vehicle labeling program, we are announcing that the side score, rather than being based only on the moving deformable barrier test, will be based on the combination of the moving deformable barrier test and the pole test. Additionally, the agency will initiate rulemaking to include the new overall crashworthiness rating on the Monroney label.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this notice to advise the public of the approval of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on an Environmental Assessment for proposed Federal actions at Chicago/Rockford International Airport, Rockford, Illinois. The FONSI specifies that the proposed federal actions and local development projects are consistent with existing environmental policies and objectives as set forth in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and will not significantly affect the quality of the environment. A description of the proposed Federal actions is: (a) To issue an environmental finding to allow approval of the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) for the development items listed below. The items in the local airport development project are to: Acquire approximately 18 acres of vacant land, in fee simple title, in the Runway 25 Approach and Runway Protection Zone. Copies of the environmental decision and the Short Form EA are available for public information review during regular business hours at the following locations: 1. Chicago/Rockford International Airport, 60 Airport Drive, Rockford, IL 61109. 2. Division of AeronauticsIllinois Department of Transportation, One Langhorne Bond Drive, Capital Airport, Springfield, IL 62707. 3. Federal Aviation Administration, Chicago Airports District Office, 2300 East Devon Avenue, Room 320, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared and considered for the proposed extension of a runway, corresponding taxiway extension, associated levee construction and realignment of drainage, and reprogramming of the GPS Instrument Approach for the extended runway. To ensure that all significant issues related to the proposed action are identified, a public scoping meeting will be held.

This document amends NHTSA's regulations that prescribe fees authorized by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141 for various functions performed by the agency with respect to the importation of motor vehicles that are not originally manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety and bumper standards. An importer must file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a Department of Transportation (DOT) conformance bond at the time that a nonconforming motor vehicle is offered for importation into the United States, or in lieu of such a bond, the importer may post cash deposits or obligations of the United States to ensure that the vehicle will be brought into conformance with all applicable standards within 120 days from the date of importation, or will be exported from, or abandoned to, the United States. To avoid the costs of a DOT conformance bond, some importers have attempted to post cash deposits, which would relieve the importers of the bonding costs, but cause the agency to expend considerable resources. The amendments adopted today establish a fee of $459.00 that will permit the government to recover all the direct and indirect costs incurred by the agency in processing cash deposits or obligations of the United States that are furnished in lieu of a DOT conformance bond.