Department of Transportation June 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 5 U.S.C. App. 2), notice is hereby given of a teleconference of the Operations Working Group (OWG) of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). The teleconference will take place on Tuesday, July 17, 2012, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Individuals who plan to participate should contact Susan Lender, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), (the Contact Person listed below) by phone or email for the teleconference call in number. The proposed agenda for this teleconference is to follow up on issues raised during the May 10, 2012, OWG meeting. These issues include: Discussing the question of on-orbit authority for the FAA and the jurisdiction and regulation aspects of this question; and Examining possible next steps for the white paper that discussed possible revisions to the requirements for launch site licensing. Interested members of the public may submit relevant written statements for the COMSTAC working group members to consider under the advisory process. Statements may concern the issues and agenda items mentioned above or additional issues that may be relevant for the U.S. commercial space transportation industry. Interested parties wishing to submit written statements should contact Susan Lender, DFO, (the Contact Person listed below) in writing (mail or email) by July 10, 2012, so that the information can be made available to COMSTAC members for their review and consideration before the July 17, 2012, teleconference. Written statements should be supplied in the following formats: one hard copy with original signature or one electronic copy via email. An agenda will be posted on the FAA Web site at https://www.faa.gov/ go/ast. Individuals who plan to participate and need special assistance should inform the Contact Person listed below in advance of the meeting.

This notice provides clarification to owners and operators of gas distribution pipeline facilities when completing the Mechanical Fitting Failure Report Form, PHMSA F 7100.1-2. Initial reviews of reports submitted for calendar year 2011 failures have identified a need for PHMSA to issue this notice to provide operators with additional guidance for reporting the apparent cause. PHMSA has also enhanced the online submittal process and plans to implement further improvements.

Under existing guidance, FMCSA must use a form of arbitration known as ``Night Baseball'' for its civil penalty forfeiture proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be resolved are the amount of the civil penalty owed and/or the length of time in which to pay it. On March 21, 2011, FMCSA proposed to revise the Guidance to eliminate the ``Night Baseball'' format, and to replace it with a format in which the Arbitrator determines the final civil penalty and the amount of time in which to pay it. The Arbitrator would no longer be bound by the closest suggested penalty submission of the parties. The Notice provided the public with 30 days to comment on the proposal. The Agency received no comments and is therefore revising the Guidance by eliminating the ``Night Baseball'' format. The Agency is also revising the Guidance to incorporate typographical and other minor changes.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA, NMFS, and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, Newberg Dundee Bypass Project, in Yamhill and Washington Counties, Oregon. This action grants approval for the project.

This action amends seventeen Domestic, Alaskan, and Hawaiian compulsory reporting points previously updated in the FAA aeronautical database without accompanying regulatory action being taken. The FAA is taking this action to correct the compulsory reporting point information contained in part 71 to ensure it matches the information contained in the FAA's aeronautical database and to ensure the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS).

This action amends Class D and Class E airspace at Leesburg, FL, changing the airport's name to Leesburg International Airport. The FAAs Aeronautical Products office requested the change to reflect the airport's current name.

This action amends Class E Airspace in the Tallahassee, FL area. Tallahassee Commercial Airport has been abandoned and controlled airspace is no longer needed. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary for the continued safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the Tallahassee, FL airspace area.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) are jointly sponsoring a public meeting on Implementing Integrity Management of Gas Distribution Pipelines. The meeting will be held on June 27, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. At the meeting, PHMSA/ NAPSR will discuss observations from initial inspections of operators' implementation of integrity management requirements for gas distribution pipelines and current regulatory topics affecting distribution pipeline operators. The meeting will also include panel and breakout session discussions involving gas distribution pipeline industry representatives on topics relating to their experiences implementing the distribution integrity management regulation.

There is a NHTSA regulation that permits motor vehicle dealers and repair businesses to install retrofit on-off switches for air bags in vehicles owned by or used by persons whose request for a switch has been approved by the agency. This regulation is only available for motor vehicles manufactured before September 1, 2012. In this document, the agency proposes to extend the availability of this regulation for three additional years, so that it would apply to motor vehicles manufactured before September 1, 2015.

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the Perris Valley Line project, Riverside County, CA. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject project and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge these final environmental actions.

This action proposes to establish Class E Airspace at Arcadia, FL, to accommodate the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Arcadia Municipal Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

In compliance 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 being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for re-instatement of an expired collection. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and 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 27, 2012 (77 FR 18305). There were no comments.

The FAA publishes a monthly notice, as appropriate, of PFC approvals and disapprovals under the provisions of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L. 101-508) and Part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158). This notice is published pursuant to paragraph d of Sec. 158.29.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 767-200, -300, and -400ER series airplanes. That AD currently requires replacing the separation link assembly on the applicable entry and service doors with an improved separation link assembly, and doing related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD adds an airplane to the applicability and removes certain other airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that an additional airplane is subject to the unsafe condition. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of an entry or service door to open fully in the event of an emergency evacuation, which could impede exit from the airplane. This condition could result in injury to passengers or crewmembers.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Model ERJ 190-100 STD, -100 LR, and -100 IGW airplanes; and Model ERJ 190-200 STD, -200 LR, and -200 IGW airplanes. The existing AD currently requires revising the maintenance program to incorporate modifications in the Airworthiness Limitation Section (ALS) of the Embraer S.A. ERJ 190 Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR). Since we issued that AD, new inspection tasks and their respective thresholds and intervals have been issued. This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance program to incorporate modifications in the Airworthiness Limitation Section (ALS) of the Embraer S.A. ERJ 190 Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR) to include new inspection tasks and their respective thresholds and intervals. We are proposing this AD since failure to inspect these structural components according to the new ALS tasks, thresholds, and intervals could prevent a timely detection of fatigue cracking, which if not properly addressed, could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 22 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.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 23 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.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, and -200C series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a severed upper butt strap, and cracks in the forward skin and bonded doubler, on one airplane. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracks and a chemical spot test in the area of station (STA) 908, and related investigative and corrective actions, if necessary. For certain airplanes, this proposed AD would require an inspection and modification. We are proposing this AD to prevent cracks at the adjacent mating skins (forward and aft), which could initiate just above stringers S-4R and S-4L; and could grow and result in a decompression event.

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 a new information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on August 4, 2011, vol. 76, no. 150, page 47287-47288. The FAA intends to collect safety-related data regarding the voluntary implementation of Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) safety enhancements (SEs) from certificate holders conducting operations under 14 CFR Part 121 and Parts 121/135.

This notice is to advise interested persons that PHMSA will conduct a public meeting in preparation for the 41st session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) to be held June 25 to July 4, 2012, in Geneva, Switzerland. During this meeting, PHMSA is also soliciting comments relative to potential new work items which may be considered for inclusion in its international agenda.

This action modifies Class D and Class E airspace at Bellingham, WA, to accommodate aircraft departing and arriving under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at Bellingham International Airport. This action, initiated by the biennial review of the Bellingham airspace area, enhances the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Inc. Model CL-215-1A10 and CL-215-6B11 (CL-215T Variant) airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections to detect cracking of the lower cap of the wing front and rear spars at wing station (WS) 51.00, and the wing lower skin. Additional actions, if cracking is found, include reworking the lower cap of the front or rear spar, inspecting for cracking, and repairing any cracking. The existing AD also requires reporting inspection results. This new AD requires extending the inspection area of the rear spar lower cap from WS 51.00 to WS 49.50 and modifying the ultrasonic inspection calibration procedure. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking found outside the inspection area. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the lower caps of the wing front and rear spars, and lower wing skin, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.