Department of Transportation March 8, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action temporarily authorizes variances from existing standards related to the provisioning of supplemental oxygen inside lavatories. This action is necessitated by other mandatory actions that temporarily render such oxygen systems inoperative.

This document announces the completion and availability of a supplemental regulatory flexibility determination for a previously published final rule. That final rule amended the FAA regulations governing drug and alcohol testing to clarify that each person who performs a safety-sensitive function for a regulated employer by contract, including bysubcontract at any tier, is subject to testing.

This action amends the using agency of Restricted Areas R-2203 A, B, & C; Eagle River, AK, and R-2205, Stuart Creek, AK. These changes reflect the U.S. Army's current organization in Alaska. There are no changes to the boundaries, designated altitudes, time of designation, or activities conducted within the affected restricted areas.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 (as amended), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500 to 1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (Final EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Pegasus Launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Final EA was prepared to address the potential environmental impacts of the FAA's Proposed Action for issuing or renewing Launch Operator Licenses to operate Pegasus launch vehicles at CCAFS. Activities addressed in the Final EA include carrier aircraft takeoff and landing from a CCAFS runway and launch of Pegasus vehicle at an altitude of 40,000 feet and approximately 90 nautical miles offshore over the Atlantic Ocean. The Final EA tiers from the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Licensing Launches (2001 PEIS) and focuses on localized and site-specific effects of FAA issuing or renewing Launch Operator Licenses to operate Pegasus expendable launch vehicles at CCAFS. The 2001 PEIS, evaluated the launch impacts associated with four vehicle categories (small, medium, intermediate, and heavy-payload capacities); three propellant types (solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant); and three launch scenarios (land, air, and sea). The Pegasus launch vehicle falls within the parameters of the small-payload capacity vehicle using solid propellant to launch from the air. The 2001 PEIS evaluated the impacts of launching 72 small capacity rockets, including the Pegasus launch vehicle family, over a 10-year period. The estimated annual number of launches ranged from four to nine launches, with an average of seven annual launches. The rate of Pegasus launches at CCAFS under the FAA's Proposed Action would not be expected to exceed the rate of launches analyzed in the 2001 PEIS. The only alternative to the Proposed Action is the No Action Alternative. Under this Alternative, the FAA would not issue or renew Launch Operator Licenses to operate Pegasus launch vehicles at CCAFS. Resource areas were considered to provide a context for understanding and assessing the potential environmental effects of the Proposed Action, with attention focused on key issues. The resources areas considered in the Final EA included air quality; biological resources (including fish, wildlife, and plants); compatible land use; Department of Transportation Section 4(f) resources; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and solid waste; historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources; noise; socioeconomic impacts; and water quality (including floodplains and wetlands). Potential cumulative impacts of the Proposed Action were also addressed in the Final EA. After careful and thorough consideration of available data and information on existing conditions and potential impacts, the FAA has determined that there will be no significant short-term, long-term, or cumulative impacts to the environment or surrounding populations from the issuance or renewal of Launch Operator Licenses to operate Pegasus launch vehicles at CCAFS. The proposed Federal action is consistent with existing national environmental policies and objectives as set forth in Section 101 of NEPA and other applicable environmental requirements and will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Action is not required and the FAA issued a FONSI. The FAA has posted the Final EA and FONSI on the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation Web site at https://www.faa.gov/about/ officeorg/headquartersoffices/ast/environmental/review/launch /.

In accordance 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 is forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on December 8, 2010 (Citation 75 FR 76518). No comments were received from that notice.

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:

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. 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:

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 777-200 and -300 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require removing the electrical system control panel, changing the wiring, installing a new electrical power control panel, and installing new operational software for the electrical load management system and configuration database. This proposed AD results from an in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems review. We are proposing this AD to ensure that the flightcrew is able to turn off electrical power to the IFE system and other non-essential electrical systems through a switch in the flight compartment in the event of smoke or flames. In the event of smoke or flames in the airplane flight deck or passenger cabin, the flightcrew's inability to turn off electrical power to the IFE system and other non-essential electrical systems could result in the inability to control smoke or flames in the airplane flight deck or passenger cabin during a non-normal or emergency situation.

This document grants in full the petition of General Motors Corporation's (GM) petition for an exemption of the Chevrolet Sonic vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard (49 CFR part 541).