Department of Transportation December 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on September 23, 2008. No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on October 22, 2008 [73 FR 63049]. This is a request for a new collection.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on September 23, 2008. No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on October 15, 2008. No comments were received.

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below. The complete application is given in DOT docket MARAD-2008-0115 at https://www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may comment on the effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag vessels. If MARAD determines, in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR part 388 (68 FR 23084; April 30, 2003), that the issuance of the waiver will have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in that business, a waiver will not be granted. Comments should refer to the docket number of this notice and the vessel name in order for MARAD to properly consider the comments. Comments should also state the commenter's interest in the waiver application, and address the waiver criteria given in Sec. 388.4 of MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388.

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below. The complete application is given in DOT docket MARAD-2008-0112 at https://www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may comment on the effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag vessels. If MARAD determines, in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388 (68 FR 23084; April 30, 2003), that the issuance of the waiver will have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in that business, a waiver will not be granted. Comments should refer to the docket number of this notice and the vessel name in order for MARAD to properly consider the comments. Comments should also state the commenter's interest in the waiver application, and address the waiver criteria given in Sec. 388.4 of MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388.

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below. The complete application is given in DOT docket MARAD-2008-0114 at https://www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may comment on the effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag vessels. If MARAD determines, in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388 (68 FR 23084; April 30, 2003), that the issuance of the waiver will have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in that business, a waiver will not be granted. Comments should refer to the docket number of this notice and the vessel name in order for MARAD to properly consider the comments. Comments should also state the commenter's interest in the waiver application, and address the waiver criteria given in Sec. 388.4 of MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on October 14, 2008. No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), this notice announces that new information collections requirements (ICRs) listed below have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These new ICRs pertain to 49 CFR Parts 214, 217, 218, 225, 232, 238, 260, and 262. Additionally, FRA hereby announces that other ICRs listed below have been re-approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These ICRs pertain to Parts 214, 220, 224, 225, 229, 234, 236, 238, 240, and 244. The OMB approval numbers, titles, and expiration dates are included herein under supplementary information.

In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of the ROD for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, New Mexico. The ROD provides the FAA's final environmental determination and approval to support the issuance of a Launch Site Operator License to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) to operate Spaceport America, as proposed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) published in November 2008. The ROD provides a description of the applicant's Proposed Action and reasonable alternatives, and identifies the FAA's preferred and the environmentally preferred alternative. It includes a discussion of environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action in each resource area, as analyzed in the Final EIS. The ROD summarizes the mitigation and enforcement actions that would be made the subject of the terms and conditions of the Launch Site Operator License issued to NMSA, as well as other conservation and enhancement measures described in the Final EIS and presented for consideration. The Final EIS, prepared by the FAA for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, serves as the primary reference and basis for preparation of the ROD. The Final EIS documents the analysis of environmental consequences associated with the construction and operation of Spaceport America and reasonable alternatives to the Proposed Action. The FAA is the lead Federal agency responsible for the preparation of the EIS and ROD for the proposed Spaceport America. Cooperating agencies include the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The EIS and ROD were prepared pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures. The FAA has posted the ROD on the FAA Web site at https:// ast.faa.gov. In addition, paper copies of the ROD will be sent out with the signed Programmatic Agreement to persons and agencies on the distribution list (found in Chapter 8 of the Final EIS). The Programmatic Agreement addresses significant impacts to Historical, Architectural, Archaeological, and Cultural Resources from the Proposed Action. Additional Information: Under the Proposed Action, and the alternative selected by the FAA for implementation, the FAA would issue a Launch Site Operator License to NMSA that would allow the State to operate the proposed Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site. The EIS analyzed launching both horizontal and vertical launch vehicle (LV) launches. Horizontal LVs would launch and land at the proposed Spaceport America airfield. Vertical LVs would launch from Spaceport America and either land at Spaceport America or at WSMR. Rocket-powered vertical landing vehicles would land on either the Spaceport America airfield or a vertical launch/landing pad. In addition, the Proposed Action includes construction of facilities needed to support the licensed launch activities at the proposed launch site. Development of Spaceport America infrastructure would occur in two phases. The total area of land disturbed by construction would be approximately 970 acres; the total area of the final facilities footprint would be approximately 145 acres. The proposed Spaceport America boundary would encompass approximately 26 square miles. This area currently contains both State and private land. Operational activities in support of the Proposed Action would begin as soon as the phased construction activities related to the Proposed Action were completed. The operational activities that may have environmental consequences and would support, either directly or indirectly, licensed launches include:

This notice is to advise the public that FRA and the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly prepare a project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the San Francisco to San Jose section of the Authority's proposed California High-Speed Train (HST) System in compliance with relevant state and federal laws, in particular the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In 2001, the Authority and FRA started a tiered environmental review process for the HST system and in 2005, completed the first tier California High Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and approved the statewide HST system for intercity travel in California between the major metropolitan centers of Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in the north, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in the south. The approved HST system would be about 800-miles long, with electric propulsion and steel-wheel-on-steel-rail trains capable of maximum operating speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on a mostly dedicated system of fully grade-separated, access-controlled steel tracks and with state-of-the-art safety, signaling, communication, and automated train control systems. In 2008, the Authority and FRA completed a second program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments and station locations within the broad corridor between and including the Altamont Pass and the Pacheco Pass to connect the Bay Area and Central Valley portions of the HST system. The Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco PassSan Francisco and San Jose termini network alternative, as well as preferred corridor alignments and station location options. The selected alignment uses the Caltrain rail right-of-way, between San Francisco and San Jose along the San Francisco Peninsula, and the Pacheco Pass via Henry Miller Road, between San Jose and the Central Valley. The preparation of the San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/ EIS will involve development of preliminary engineering designs and assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including track, ancillary facilities and stations, along the Caltrain corridor from San Francisco to San Jose.

This action delays the effective date for the establishment of the low altitude Area Navigation (RNAV) T-route, designated T-254, in the vicinity of the Houston, TX, terminal area until March 12, 2009. The FAA is taking this action to allow additional time for processing and charting.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tentatively determined that it is necessary to amend further its December 12, 2006 Order that temporarily caps scheduled operations at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LaGuardia), pending the implementation of a longer- term regulation to manage congestion at the airport. In particular, we now propose to accept from air carriers voluntary reductions in scheduled operations at the airport to a targeted average of 71 hourly scheduled operations for the duration of the Order. This proposed reduction in flight operations at LaGuardia would not affect the number of unscheduled operations at the airport. The FAA is separately extending the Order's expiration until 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on October 24, 2009.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of currently approved collections. The ICR describes 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 collection of information was published on October 7, 2008 (73 FR 58708).

FMCSA announces the rejection of a petition for preemption of California laws and regulations requiring employers to provide employees with meal and rest breaks. The petition does not satisfy the threshold requirement for preemption under 49 U.S.C. 31141(c) because the provisions at issue are not ``laws and regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety,'' but rather laws and regulations applied generally to California employers.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 216: Aeronautical Systems Security.

This final rule amends the design factor and design pressure limits for natural gas pipelines made from new Polyamide-11 (PA-11) thermoplastic pipe. Together, these two changes in the regulations allow pipeline operators to operate certain pipelines constructed of new PA-11 pipe at higher operating pressures than is currently allowed for other plastic pipe materials.

This notice provides guidance concerning best practices to be followed by importers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to reduce the likelihood of importing products that contain defects related to motor vehicle safety or do not comply with applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.