Department of Transportation November 29, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces its decision to grant an exemption to allow commercial motor vehicle operators to use trailer-mounted electric brake controllers which monitor and actuate electric trailer brakes based on inertial forces developed in response to the braking action of the towing vehicle. FMCSA believes that the use of trailer-mounted electric brake controllers will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption.

FMCSA announces and requests public comment on data and information concerning the Pre-Authorization Safety Audits (PASAs) for motor carriers that have 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 municipalities in the United States on the United States-Mexico international border or the commercial zones of such municipalities. This action is required by the ``U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007'' and all subsequent appropriations.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICR) abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on these collections of information was published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2011 [76 FR 56872] under Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0223 (Notice No. 11-9).

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.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Honeywell International Inc. ALF502L-2C, ALF502R-3, ALF502R-3A, ALF502R-5, LF507-1F, and LF507-IH turbofan engines. This AD requires removing from service certain second stage high pressure compressor (HPC2) discs. This AD was prompted by a report of cracks found in an HPC2 disc during routine inspection. We are issuing this AD to prevent the affected discs from fracturing before reaching the currently published life limit. A disc fracture could result in an uncontained failure of the disc and damage to the airplane.

This action establishes Class E airspace for Nashville, AR, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Howard County Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace for Winters, TX. Decommissioning of the Winters non-directional beacon (NDB) and cancellation of the NDB Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Winters Municipal Airport, Winters, TX, as well as the addition of new area navigation (RNAV) SIAPs, has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace for Ardmore, OK. Decommissioning of the Arbuckle non-directional beacon (NDB) and cancellation of the NDB Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Ardmore Municipal Airport, Ardmore, OK, as well as the addition of new area navigation (RNAV) SIAPs, has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of the airport.

The FHWA is issuing this rescinded notice to advise the public that the FHWA will not be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project involving approximately 3.8 miles of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), Interstate 278 (I-278) in Kings County, New York (Project Identification Number X729.94). This segment of the BQE referred to as the Gowanus Expressway, extends from Sixth Avenue to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and contains 23 structures with a total deck area of approximately 2,000,000 square feet. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register in November 1996.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. This 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 are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GV and GV-SP airplanes. This AD was prompted by notification from the airplane manufacturer that the third fire extinguisher bottle is mounted in a small-fragment impact zone. This AD requires inspecting to determine whether a third Halon fire extinguisher bottle is installed in the auxiliary power unit (APU) fragment impact zone, revising the limitations section of the airplane flight manual to add restrictions for APU usage for certain airplanes having a third fire extinguisher bottle, and removing the third fire extinguisher bottle from certain airplanes. We are issuing this AD to prevent penetration of the bottle by fragments released due to a failure of the APU rotor system. The bottle could rupture and cause substantial damage to primary airframe structure and primary flight controls.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all BAE SYSTEMS (Operations) Limited Model BAe 146- 100A, -200A, and -300A airplanes; and Model Avro 146-RJ70A, 146-RJ85A, and 146-RJ100A airplanes. This 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 are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model DC-10-10, DC-10-10F, and MD-10-10F airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of three instances of fuel leaks in the lower cap splice of the wing rear spar at station Xors=409. Investigation revealed the fuel leak was due to a crack in the lower cap. If not corrected, this condition could result in fuel leaks or cracking of the lower wing skin and structure, causing possible inability of the structure to sustain the limit load and adversely affecting the structural integrity of the airplane. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking on the lower cap of the rear spar of the left and right wings between stations Xors=417 and the outboard edge of the lower cap splice of the wing rear spar at station Xors=400; temporary and permanent repairs if necessary; and repetitive inspections of repaired areas, and corrective actions if necessary. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.