Department of Transportation January 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-100, 747-200B, 747-200C, 747-200F, 747- 300, 747-400, 747-400F, and 747SR series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of broken and damaged latch pin retention bolts and subsequent migration of the latch pins of the main deck side cargo door (MDSCD). This AD requires various repetitive inspections of the MDSCD latch pin fittings, measuring the latch pin, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also requires modifying the latch pin fittings and installing new latch pins and latch pin fasteners. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of the cargo door and rapid depressurization of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-300, 737-400, 737-500, and 757-200 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of damage caused by electrical arcing to the wires that connect seat electronics boxes (SEBs). This AD requires installing a new relay and doing certain wiring changes of the entertainment control switch. We are issuing this AD to prevent power from being supplied to passenger seats when the entertainment control switch is in the OFF position, which could cause an electrical shock hazard resulting in serious or fatal injury to maintenance personnel.

This final rule amends Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 109, New pneumatic and certain specialty tires, to change the test pressure for the physical dimensions test for T-type tires (temporary use spare tires) from 52 pounds per square inch (psi) to 60 psi. This increase in test pressure for the physical dimensions test will marginally increase the stringency of the test and will align FMVSS No. 109 with international and voluntary consensus standards.

The Federal Aviation Administration is requesting public comment on the proposed release of 154.0957 acres of land currently owned by the Raleigh County Commission, Sponsor for the Raleigh County Memorial Airport, Beckley, West Virginia. The parcel is located off the north end of the airport and descends in to ``Piney Creek Gorge'' to a depth in excess of 600ft below the airport elevation and has no aeronautical benefit. The land is dormant, no infrastructure exists and land has no practical use. Due to terrain, no future development opportunities exist for the airport. Once released, the land will be sold and placed in a Conservation Easement, with restriction of no future development. Proposed buyer would be placing the area of request in a conservation easement for wildlife enhancement, with no adverse impact to the airport. Land will remain as compatible use to the airport. Land will be sold as surface rights only, no conveyance of mineral rights. The airport land being released is not needed for airport development as shown on the Airport Layout Plan. Fair Market Value has been determined based upon an appraisal of the Property.

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 application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), PHMSA is publishing the following list of special permit applications that have been in process for 180 days or more. The reason(s) for delay and the expected completion date for action on each application is provided in association with each identified application.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, 747-400F series airplanes, and Model 767 series airplanes, powered by General Electric (GE) CF6-80C2 engines. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of failure of the electro-mechanical brake flex shaft (short flexshaft) of the thrust reverser actuation system (TRAS). This proposed AD would require replacing the short flexshaft on each engine with a new short flexshaft, testing of the electro-mechanical brake and center drive unit (CDU) cone brake to verify the holding torque, and performing related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncommanded in-flight thrust reverser deployment and consequent loss of control of the airplane.

Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under the procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This document describes one collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 9 individuals for an exemption from the prohibition against persons with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause a loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) from operating CMVs in interstate commerce. The regulation and the associated advisory criteria published in the Code of Federal Regulations as the ``Instructions for Performing and Recording Physical Examinations'' have resulted in numerous drivers being prohibited from operating CMVs in interstate commerce based on the fact that they have had one or more seizures and are taking anti- seizure medication, rather than an individual analysis of their circumstances by a qualified medical examiner. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to operate CMVs for 2 years in interstate commerce.

This document grants in full Toyota Motor North America, Inc.'s (Toyota) petition for an exemption of the RAV4 vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard (49 CFR Part 541).

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

This action establishes Class D airspace and Class E airspace at Camp Guernsey, WY. The establishment of an air traffic control tower has made this action necessary for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Camp Guernsey Airport.

This action reopens the comment period for an NPRM that was published on October 26, 2012. In that document, the FAA proposed to modify the Las Vegas, NV, Class B airspace area to ensure the containment of large turbine-powered aircraft within Class B airspace.

FRA announces that it has revised its Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts to add seven new additions to the list of categorical exclusions (CE). Categorical exclusions are actions that FRA has determined do not individually or cumulatively have significant effects on the human environment and thus, do not require the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To consolidate the location of all of FRA's CEs, this notice reproduces all 20 original CEs and adds the seven new CEs starting with number 21.

The FAA is correcting an airworthiness directive (AD) that published in the Federal Register. That AD applies to Lycoming Engines TSIO-540-AK1A, and Continental Motors, Inc. TSIO-360-MB, TSIO-360-SB, and TSIO-360-RB reciprocating engines, with certain Hartzell Engine Technologies (HET) turbochargers, model TA0411, part number 466642- 0001; 466642-0002; 466642-0006; 466642-9001; 466642-9002; or 466642- 9006, or with certain HET model TA0411 turbochargers overhauled or repaired since August 29, 2012. The Summary paragraph and the Applicability paragraph list an incorrect engine model for Lycoming Engines. This document corrects those errors. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board is granting a petition for exemption from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323-25 for BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) to lease from Norfolk Southern Railway Company approximately 1.2 miles of rail line (the Line) located between W. 23 Street on the northern end and a point approximately 600 feet north of the Chicago SAG Canal on the southern end in Chicago, Ill. Under the lease, BNSF proposes to rehabilitate the currently inoperable Line to provide a new connection between major freight yards and main line tracks, thereby reducing congestion and delays and adding capacity to the Chicago area freight rail infrastructure. The lease exemption is subject to standard labor protective conditions.

As required by the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (PSEA) of 2010 this rule proposes to establish a Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) setting minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles. This new standard would require hybrid and electric passenger cars, light trucks and vans (LTVs), medium and heavy duty, trucks, and buses, low speed vehicles (LSVs), and motorcycles to produce sounds meeting the requirements of this standard. This proposed standard applies to electric vehicles (EVs) and to those hybrid vehicles (HVs) that are capable of propulsion in any forward or reverse gear without the vehicle's internal combustion engine (ICE) operating. This standard would ensure that blind, visually-impaired, and other pedestrians are able to detect and recognize nearby hybrid and electric vehicles, as required by the PSEA, by requiring that hybrid and electric vehicles emit sound that pedestrians would be able to hear in a range of ambient environments and contain acoustic signal content that pedestrians will recognize as being emitted from a vehicle. The benefit of reducing the pedestrian injury rate per registered vehicle of HVs to ICE vehicles when 4.1% of the fleet is HV and EV would be 2790 fewer pedestrian and pedalcyclist injuries. We also estimate that this proposal will result in 10 fewer pedestrian and pedalcyclist injuries caused by LSVs. Thus, 2800 total injured pedestrians are expected to be avoided due to this proposal representing 35 equivalent lives saved. We do not estimate any quantifiable benefits for EVs because it is our view that EV manufacturers would have installed alert sounds in their cars without passage of the PSEA and this proposed rule. Comparison of costs and benefits expected due to this rule provides a cost of $0.83 to $0.99 million per equivalent life saved across the 3 and 7 percent discount levels for the light EV and HV and LSV fleet. According to our present model, a countermeasure that allows a vehicle to meet the proposed minimum sound requirements would be cost effective compared to our comprehensive cost estimate of the value of a statistical life of $6.3 million.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is incorporated in our regulations, approved by the Federal Highway Administration, and recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices used on all streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public travel. Consistent with Executive Order 13563, and in particular its emphasis on burden-reduction and on retrospective analysis of existing rules, this document requests comments on potential formats for restructuring the MUTCD into two documents, one that would be subject to rulemaking and one that would contain supplemental information that is not subject to rulemaking. This document asks for responses to a series of questions regarding formats, types of material to be included in each document, implications on agency acceptance of the MUTCD, ease of use, and effects on future MUTCD updates.