Department of Transportation 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Eurocopter France (ECF) helicopters. This proposed AD results from a mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) AD issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community. The superseding MCAI AD states that several engine flameouts have involved failure of the 41-tooth pinion in the engine accessory gearbox. Each affected helicopter had a starter-generator manufactured by one company. Investigation revealed the torque damping system of the starter- generator was inoperative due to incorrect adjustment and caused bending stresses on the 41-tooth pinion. Failure of the pinion causes the engine fuel pump to stop operating and results in an engine flameout. The EASA AD requires a new adjustment procedure to optimize the performance of the specified starter-generator damping assembly. These proposed AD actions are intended to prevent failure of a pinion and a fuel pump, engine flameout, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of 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 FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, the State Route 2 Freeway Terminus Improvement project from approximately 0.5 miles south of Braden Street (PM 13.5) to the Interstate 5(I-5)/SR-2 interchange (PM 15.2) in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposes to restrict the use of hand-held mobile telephones, including hand-held cell phones, by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) while operating in interstate commerce. The Agency proposes new driver disqualification sanctions for interstate drivers of CMVs who fail to comply with this Federal restriction and new driver disqualification sanctions for commercial driver's license (CDL) holders who have multiple convictions for violating a State or local law or ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones. Additionally, interstate motor carriers would be prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to engage in the use of a hand-held mobile telephone while operating in interstate commerce. This rulemaking would improve safety on the Nation's highways by reducing the prevalence of distracted driving-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of CMVs.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the following information collection: Charter Service Operations.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to the products listed above. The existing AD currently requires replacement of the power control relays in the P91 and P92 power distribution panels for the fuel boost and override pumps with new, improved relays having a ground fault interrupter (GFI) feature, or installation and maintenance of universal fault interrupters (UFIs) using a certain supplemental type certificate. Since we issued that AD, we have determined that we need to clarify which relays may be replaced by installation of UFIs. This proposed AD would continue to require the actions of the existing AD and also specify which relays may be replaced by GFIs or UFIs. We are proposing this AD to prevent pump housing burn-through due to electrical arcing, which could create a potential ignition source inside a fuel tank. This condition, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

This action amends Class E surface airspace, and airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface, and removes Class E airspace designated as an extension to Class D surface area at Vero Beach Municipal Airport, Vero Beach, FL. The Vero Beach Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) has been decommissioned and new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) have been developed for the airport. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of the St. Lucie County International Airport to aid in the navigation of our National Airspace System.

This action establishes Class E Airspace at Crewe, VA, to accommodate the additional airspace needed for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) developed for Crewe Municipal Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt 16 individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The exemptions will enable these individuals to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the prescribed vision standard. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these CMV drivers.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 12 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary (OST), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) announces the opportunity for; (1) business centered community- based organizations; (2) transportation-related trade associations; (3) colleges and universities; (4) community colleges or; (5) chambers of commerce, registered with the Internal Revenue Service as 501 C(6) or 501 C(3) tax-exempt organizations, to compete for participation in OSDBU's Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SBTRC) program in the Northeast and Northwest Regions. The Mid Atlantic, South Atlantic, Mid South Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, Central, West Central, Gulf, and Southwest Regions have been previously competed in Fiscal Year 2010. OSDBU will enter into Cooperative Agreements with these organizations to outreach to the small business community in their designated region and provide financial and technical assistance, business training programs, such as, business assessment, management training, counseling, technical assistance, marketing and outreach, and the dissemination of information, to encourage and assist small businesses to become better prepared to compete for, obtain, and manage DOT funded transportation-related contracts and subcontracts at the federal, state and local levels. Throughout this notice, the term ``small business'' will refer to: 8(a), small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE), women owned small businesses (WOSB), HubZone, service disabled veteran owned businesses (SDVOB), and veteran owned small businesses (VOSB). Throughout this notice, ``transportation-related'' is defined as the maintenance, rehabilitation, restructuring, improvement, or revitalization of any of the nation's modes of transportation. Funding Opportunity Number: USDOT-OST-OSDBU-SBTRC2011-1. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 20.910 Assistance to small and disadvantaged businesses. Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement Grant. Award Ceiling: $224,000. Award Floor: $127,000. Program Authority: DOT is authorized under 49 U.S.C. 332(b)(4), (5) & (7) to design and carry out programs to assist small disadvantaged businesses in getting transportation-related contracts and subcontracts; develop support mechanisms, including management and technical services, that will enable small disadvantaged businesses to take advantage of those business opportunities; and to make arrangements to carry out the above purposes.

PHMSA is seeking comment on its intent to clarify its fireworks approvals policy whereby the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), Approvals and Permits Division will only accept fireworks approvals applications from manufacturers and grant approvals only to manufacturers of fireworks devices.

The FAA publishes a monthly notice, as appropriate, of PFC approvals and disapprovals under the provisions of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L. 101-508) and Part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 158). This notice is published pursuant to paragraph d of Sec. 158.29.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this Notice to advise that FAA has developed draft guidance modifying its policy requiring benefit cost analyses (BCA) for capacity projects when applying for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants for capacity projects at the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation. This modification proposes to raise the threshold at which BCAs are required, from $5 million to $10 million in AIP Discretionary funds. FAA invites airport sponsors and other interested parties to comment on the draft guidance. FAA will consider these comments in promulgating final BCA guidance for airport sponsors.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. That AD currently requires fabricating and installing a placard incorporating information that limits operation when there is known or forecast icing and requires replacing a section of the pneumatic supply tube for the tail deice system with a new tube of a different material. This AD requires fabricating and installing a placard incorporating information that limits operation when there is known or forecast icing and requires replacing the entire length of the pneumatic supply tube for the tail deice system with a new tube of a different material. This AD was prompted by reports of two failures of the pneumatic supply tube for the tail deice system outside the area covered by AD 2008-07-10. We are issuing this AD to prevent collapsed pneumatic supply tubes, which could result in failure of the tail deice boots to operate. This failure could lead to loss of control in icing conditions.

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), PHMSA is publishing the following list of special permit applications that have been in process for 180 days or more. The reason(s) for delay and the expected completion date for action on each application is provided in association with each identified application.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD requires adding two new indicator lights on a certain panel to inform the captain and first officer of a low pressure condition in the left and right override/jettison pumps of the center wing tanks. This AD also requires replacing the left and right override/jettison switches on the M154 fuel control module on the P4 panel with improved switches and doing the associated wiring changes. This AD also requires, for certain airplanes, installation of a mounting bracket for the new indicator lights. This AD also requires a revision to the maintenance program to incorporate airworthiness limitation No. 28-AWL-22. This AD also requires a revision to the airplane flight manual to advise the flightcrew what to do in the event that the pump low pressure light on the flight engineer's panel does not illuminate when the pump is selected off. This AD was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are issuing this AD to prevent uncommanded operation of the override/jettison pumps of the center wing tanks, and failure to manually shut off the override/ jettison pumps at the correct time, either of which could lead to an ignition source inside the center wing tank. This condition, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a center fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD would require installing a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) backup battery, replacing the supplement pilot's operating handbook and FAA approved airplane flight manual, and replacing the FADEC backup battery every 12 calendar months. This proposed AD was prompted by an incident where an airplane experienced an in-flight engine shutdown caused by a momentary loss of electrical power to the FADEC. We are proposing this AD to prevent interruption of electrical power to the FADEC, which could result in an uncommanded engine shutdown. This failure could lead to a loss of engine power.

This notice is to rescind the FHWA's Buy America waiver for the use of non-domestic steel pipe; A53 Grade B, 26'' OD, 0.375'' wall for the construction of a Recovery Act project on SR 60, Section A40, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Maritime Administration's (MARAD's) intention to request extension of approval for three years of a currently approved information collection.