Department of Transportation 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

This notice advises the public that PHMSA has recently confirmed an undetermined number of certain (aluminum) cylinders were improperly marked and represented as DOT specification 3AL cylinders. The cylinders were neither marked nor certified by an authorized independent inspection agency (IIA) with its official mark and date, in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements. Therefore, the cylinders are unauthorized for hazardous materials service. Prior to filling these cylinders, a person must verify that the IIA's official mark is stamped between the month and year manufactured. The evidence suggests that if the cylinder is marked with a period (.) rather than the official IIA mark, the cylinder did not undergo the complete series of safety tests and inspections required by the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) and may not possess the structural integrity to safely contain its contents under pressure during normal transportation and use. Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could result from a rupture of the cylinder. Individuals who identify a cylinder marked with only a period (.) between the month and year are advised to remove these cylinders from service and contact PHMSA directly at the below address for further instructions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 10, 2011, vol. 76, no. 47, pages 13263-13264. The respondents supply information through the AC 8050-135 to the FAA Civil Aviation Registry's Aircraft Registration Branch in order to obtain an authorization code for access to the International Registry.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace at Forsyth, MT. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Tillitt Field Airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport.

In this final rule, PHMSA, in coordination with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), is approving the use of the National Fire Protection Association Standard (NFPA) 498Standard for Safe Havens and Interchange Lots for Vehicles Transporting Explosives (2010 Edition) for the construction and maintenance of safe havens used for unattended storage of Division 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 explosives.

FMCSA issues regulatory guidance concerning the applicability of the term ``driver'' to ``tillerman,'' a person who controls the steerable rear axle on a commercial motor vehicle. The term ``driver'' is used in FMCSA's commercial driver's license requirements and in the Agency's general safety rules. This notice provides Federal and State enforcement personnel, and the motor carrier industry, with uniform guidance as to when certain Federal rules concerning driver licensing and qualifications are applicable to tillermen.

FMCSA announces that MCSAC will hold a committee meeting from Monday, June 20 through Wednesday, June 22, 2011. The meeting will be open to the public for its duration. The MCSAC will complete action on Task 11-01, regarding Patterns of Safety Violations by Motor Carrier Management and will begin work on Tasks 11-02, regarding Roadside violation severity weightings in the Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) in FMCSA's Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, and 11-03, regarding Oversight of the Agency's Long-Haul Cross Border Trucking Pilot Program.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.

The Department of Transportation is seeking comment on whether or not the prohibition against using the seat-strapping method (placing a wheelchair across a row of seats using a strap kit with safety- approval from the Federal Aviation Administration or applicable foreign government) to transport a passenger's wheelchair in the cabin of newer aircraft as set forth in DOT regulations should be deleted, modified, or remain as written.

The FAA has decided that it is in the best interests of the United States Government and the general public to modify Section 9 of the June 1, 2006 MOA for Industry Access to Aircraft Situation Display (ASDI) and National Airspace System Status Information (NASSI) data, between the FAA and Direct Subscribers to ASDI and NASSI data-feeds. In recognition of the fact that the Privacy Act does not protect general aviation operators and on-demand air charter aircraft operating under 14 CFR part 135 (``on-demand aircraft'') from public knowledge of their flight information, the FAA will require Direct Subscribers (as a condition of signing the MOA) and Indirect Subscribers (as a condition of signing agreements with Direct Subscribers) to block from ASDI and NASSI data-feeds available to the public any general aviation aircraft or on-demand aircraft the registration number for which a Certified Security Concern has been provided to the FAA by electronic mail at CertifiedSecurityConcern@faa.gov or by regular mail at FAA Certified Security Concern, ATO System Operations Services; Room 1002, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. The FAA will no longer accommodate any ASDI- or NASSI-related security or privacy requests, except such Certified Security Concern.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 17, 2011, and comments were due by May 16, 2011. No comments were received.

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified fire extinguishers. This action requires replacing each unairworthy portable fire extinguisher with an airworthy portable fire extinguisher. This amendment is prompted by an ongoing investigation that has established that unapproved Halon 1211 has been used to fill L'Hotellier portable fire extinguishers that are likely to be onboard various model helicopters. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent using contaminated gas that may reduce fire suppression and release toxic fumes that would endanger the safety of the helicopter and its occupants.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 18 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.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 19 individuals for exemption from the prohibition against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals with ITDM to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

This action amends Class D airspace within the Corpus Christi, TX, area by updating the geographic coordinates for Cabaniss Navy Outlying Field (NOLF). This action does not change the boundaries or operating requirements of the airspace.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the Sikorsky Model S-92A helicopters. This AD requires a nondestructive inspection (NDI), eddy current or fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI), of each main gearbox (MGB) upper housing assembly rib on the left, right, and forward MGB mounting foot at specified intervals based on the MGB upper housing assembly hours time-in-service (TIS). If there is a crack, this AD requires replacing the MGB upper housing assembly with an airworthy MGB upper housing assembly. This AD is prompted by a report of a crack found on the MGB upper housing assembly left mounting foot forward rib that cannot be detected visually. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of the MGB and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD requires determining if affected seats and seating systems and their components are compliant with certain FAA regulations, and removing those seats, seating systems, and their components that are shown to be unsafe from the affected fleet. This AD was prompted by a determination that the affected seats and seating systems may not meet certain flammability, static strength, and dynamic strength criteria. Failure to meet static and dynamic strength criteria could result in injuries to the flightcrew and passengers during emergency landing conditions. In the event of an in-flight or post- emergency landing fire, failure to meet flammability criteria could result in an accelerated fire. We are issuing this AD to prevent accelerated fires and injuries to the flightcrew and passengers.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 28, 2011, vol. 76, no. 59, pages 17181-17182. The FAA's Fuel Tank Flammability rule requires manufacturers to report to the FAA every six months for up to 5 years after the flammability reduction system is incorporated into the fleet. The data is needed to assure system performance meets that predicted at the time of certification.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace at Rutherfordton, NC, to accommodate the additional airspace needed for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) developed for Rutherford County Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that 11 States have rescinded Notices of Intent (NOIs) to prepare 21 Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for proposed highway projects. The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State departments of transportation (State DOTs), determined that six projects were no longer viable and have formally cancelled the projects. No further Federal resources will be expended on these projects; the environmental review process has been terminated. Seven projects have been reduced in scope or found not to have significant impacts and now meet the criteria for an Environmental Assessment (EA) or a Categorical Exclusion (CE). Six projects are currently undergoing re-scoping. After additional study, two individual projects were combined into a new single corridor project and a new EIS will be prepared.