Department of Transportation March 22, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

On October 16, 2012, Tongue River Railroad Company, Inc. (TRRC) filed a revised application with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10901 in Docket No. FD 30186. TRRC intended to construct and operate \1\ an approximately 83-mile rail line between Miles City, Montana, and two ending points, one near the site of the previously planned Montco Mine near Ashland, Montana, and another at the proposed Otter Creek Mine in the Otter Creek area east of Ashland, Montana. On November 1, 2012, the Board issued a decision requesting additional information from TRRC. On December 17, 2012, TRRC filed a supplemental application that supersedes the October 16, 2012 application. As discussed in the supplemental application, TRRC modified its proposal by identifying its preferred routing for the proposed line as the Colstrip Alterative between Colstrip, Montana, and Ashland/Otter Creek, Montana. On January 8, 2013, the Board issued a decision accepting TRRC's supplemental application and later denied a request to reconsider that decision and reject the supplemental application in a decision served on February 26, 2013. The purpose of the proposed line is to transport low sulfur, sub-bituminous coal from proposed mine sites in Rosebud and Powder River Counties, Montana. Because the construction and operation of this project has the potential to result in significant environmental impacts, the Board's Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has determined that the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is appropriate pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

FMCSA renews Greyhound Lines, Inc.'s (Greyhound) exemption which allows the placement of video event recorders at the top of the windshields on its buses. Greyhound may continue to use the video event recorders to increase safety through (1) Identification and remediation of risky driving behaviors such as distracted driving and drowsiness; (2) enhanced monitoring of passenger behavior; and (3) enhanced collision review and analysis. The Agency has concluded that granting this exemption renewal will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption. However, the Agency requests comments on this issue, especially from anyone who believes this standard will not be maintained.

FMCSA announces that its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee will meet from Monday-Wednesday, April 8-10, 2013, in Alexandria, VA. On Monday and Tuesday, April 8 and 9, 2013, the MCSAC will complete its deliberations on Task 13-1 concerning entry-level driver training (ELDT). The MCSAC will receive a briefing from its Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) subcommittee concerning the subcommittee's preliminary work, to date. The MCSAC will also receive briefings from the Agency on its Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program and the requirements for States to adopt and enforce compatible regulations and FMCSA exemptions allowing motor carriers to use windshield-mounted driver video monitoring systems. On Wednesday, April 10, 2013, the MCSAC's CSA Subcommittee will convene. Meetings are open to the public for their entirety and there will be a public comment period at the end of each day. Times and Dates: The meeting will be held Monday-Tuesday, April 8- 9, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (E.D.T.), and on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., E.D.T. The meetings will be held at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town, 1767 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 in the Washington and Jefferson Rooms on the 2nd floor. The Hilton Alexandria Old Town is located across the street from the King Street Metro station. Copies of all MCSAC Task Statements and an agenda for the entire meeting will be made available in advance of the meeting at https:// mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. (Bell), Model 412 and 412EP helicopters. This AD requires establishing a lower life limit on certain swashplate outer ring assemblies (outer ring), revising the retirement life on the components' history card or equivalent record, and revising the maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA). This AD also prohibits installing these outer rings on any helicopter. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking in the outer rings. The actions are intended to prevent failure of an outer ring because of cracking, which could lead to the loss of main rotor (M/R) blade pitch control and subsequent loss of helicopter control.