Department of Transportation October 14, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On September 12 and 14, 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced and requested public comment on data and information concerning the Pre-Authorization Safety Audits (PASAs) for two motor carriers that applied to participate in the Agency's long-haul pilot program to test and demonstrate the ability of Mexico- domiciled motor carriers to operate safely in the United States beyond the commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border. This action is required by the ``U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007'' and all subsequent appropriations. The Agency received responses to the PASA notices from 11 commenters. The purpose of this notice is to respond to those comments that were in the scope of the PASA notice.

On August 24, 2011, FRA published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would remove regulatory provisions requiring railroads to either conduct further analyses or meet certain risk-based criteria in order to avoid positive train control (PTC) system implementation on track segments that do not transport poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (PIH) hazardous materials traffic and are not used for intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation as of December 31, 2015. FRA is announcing a public hearing to provide interested persons an opportunity to provide comments on the proposal and to discuss further development of the regulation. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires the implementation of PTC systems. FRA is also extending the comment period for this proceeding to allow time for interested parties to submit comments after the public hearing.

These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace LP (GALP) model G280 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with engine torque loads imposed by sudden engine stoppage. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This action proposes special conditions for the Learjet Model LJ-200-1A10 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with hydrophobic windshield coatings in lieu of windshield wipers. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.