Department of Transportation May 19, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In September 2006, the FAA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for actions associated with the proposed relocation of the Panama City- Bay County International Airport (PFN) in Bay County, Florida. The FAA's ROD was based on information and analysis contained in the FAA's 2006 FEIS for the project. The new airport approved in the 2006 ROD was named the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), and began operations at the new site in May 2010. The FAA noted in the 2006 FEIS that further federal action would be necessary to decommission and dispose of the existing airport property from aeronautical use, and that additional environmental review would be necessary due to the preliminary nature of the redevelopment information. In April 2010, the Airport Sponsor requested full release of the old airport property from federal grant obligations. Subsequent to this request, the FAA published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) in August 2010, regarding the intent to rule on the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Sponsor) request to release airport property at PFN. The Federal Action addressed in the written reevaluation is FAA approval of the disposal (closure) of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport (PFN) property and release of PFN's grant obligations. Based on the best information currently available regarding reuse of the PFN site, the written reevaluation assessed the continuing validity of the environmental analysis contained in the 2006 FEIS with regard to the disposal and release actions requested by the Airport Sponsor. After the written reevaluation was completed and based on information contained therein, the FAA signed a ROD environmentally approving disposal of the property and release of grant obligations on May 5, 2011. This is not, however, the final step in the disposal and release process. Upon FAA's final approval of the disposal of the property, the Airport Sponsor will be released from their grant obligations over the property known as PFN.

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.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is hosting a conference call to address issues concerning its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the calculation of average passenger weights and test vehicle weights. The purpose of this conference call is to allow the public to ask questions and to clarify any misunderstandings regarding the NPRM published on March 14, 2011 (76 FR 13580). Furthermore, due to the complexity of the issues proposed in the NPRM, FTA is extending the comment period to June 15, 2011, to allow interested parties time to carefully review the actual changes proposed in the NPRM and the information presented during the conference call.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR part 107, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the applications described herein. This notice is abbreviated to expedite docketing and public notice. Because the sections affected, modes of transportation, and the nature of application have been shown in earlier Federal Register publications, they are not repeated here. Requests for modification of special permits (e.g. to provide for additional hazardous materials, packaging design changes, additional mode of transportation, etc.) are described in footnotes to the application number. Application numbers with the suffix ``M'' denote a modification request. These applications have been separated from the new application for special permits to facilitate processing.

This action removes Class E airspace at Ozark, MO. Abandonment of the former Air Park South Airport and cancellation of all Standard Instrument Approach Procedures has eliminated the need for controlled airspace in the Ozark, MO area. The FAA is taking this action to ensure the efficient use of airspace within the National Airspace System.