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

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace in the Live Oak, FL area, as new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) have been developed at Suwannee County Airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the continued safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs within the Live Oak, FL, airspace area. This action would also update the geographic coordinates of Suwannee Hospital Emergency Heliport.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Mahnomen, MN. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Mahnomen County Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Colt, AR. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Delta Regional Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Harlingen, TX. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) due to the decommissioning of the Sebas locator outer marker/nondirectional radio beacon (LOM/NDB) at Valley International Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport.

By Federal Register notice (See 77 FR 27835-27836, May 11, 2012, 77 FR 48201-48202, August 13, 2012, and 78 FR 5242-5243, January 24, 2013) the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) invited interested persons to apply to fill one opening on the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group (NPOAG) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to fill a vacancy representing environmental concerns due to the incumbent member's completion of a three-year term appointment on October 9, 2012. By Federal Register notice (See 78 FR 5242-5243, January 24, 2013) NPS and FAA also invited interested persons to apply to fill one opening on the NPOAG ARC to fill a vacancy representing commercial air tour operator interests due to the incumbent member's completion of a three-year term on May 19, 2013. This notice informs the public of the persons selected to fill these two vacancies on the NPOAG ARC.

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 has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on January 11, 2013.

This notice announces the availability of funding for Indian tribal governments for Tribal Transportation Program Safety Funds (TTPSF) authorized within the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The FHWA will distribute these funds as described in this notice on a competitive basis in a manner consistent with the eligibilities of this program. In addition, this notice proposes criteria FHWA will use to identify projects for funding and describes application procedures. The FHWA requests comments on the content of this notice. The FHWA will take all comments into consideration and publish a final notice of funding availability. The FHWA will solicit grant applications through the government- wide electronic grants Web site at https://www.grants.gov and will publish a solicitation memo on the FHWA Web site at https:// flh.fhwa.dot.gov.

This action proposes to establish two new low-altitude RNAV routes, designated T-287 and T-299, in the Washington, DC area. The new routes would enhance the flow of air traffic to the west of the Washington-Dulles International Airport.

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 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 February 15, 2013, vol. 78, no. 32, pages 11264-11265. NFDC Web Portal forms are used to collect aeronautical information, detailing the physical description and operational status of all components of the National Airspace System (NAS). This submission includes the additional public burden for the Special Flight Area processing tool.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), announces that it will no longer prepare an Air Tour Management Plan (ATMP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for commercial air tour operations over Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The FAA and NPS have stopped work on preparation of the ATMP and EA based upon a provision included in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-141) that exempted parks with 50 or fewer annual commercial air tour operations from the provisions of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 (NPATMA) (Pub. L. 106-181).

The FAA is correcting an airworthiness directive (AD) that published in the Federal Register. That AD applies to all Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) Models 190, 195 (L-126A,B,C), 195A, and 195B airplanes that are equipped with certain inboard aileron hinge brackets. The AD docket number in the preamble section and the rule portion of the AD is incorrect. Also, the statement that no comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) were received is incorrect. This document corrects these errors. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

The NHTSA announces a meeting of NEMSAC to be held in the Metropolitan Washington, DC, area. This notice announces the date, time, and location of the meeting, which will be open to the public, as well as opportunities for public input to the NEMSAC. The purpose of NEMSAC, a nationally recognized council of emergency medical services representatives and consumers, is to advise and consult with DOT and the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS) on matters relating to emergency medical services (EMS).

FMCSA amends its commercial driver's license (CDL) rules to eliminate the requirement for drivers to notify the State licensing agency that issued their commercial learner's permit (CLP) or CDL of out-of-State traffic convictions when those convictions occur in States that have a certified CDL program in substantial compliance with FMCSA's rules. Current regulations require both CDL holders and States with certified CDL programs to report a CDL holder's out-of-State traffic conviction to the driver's State of licensure. This final rule amends the CDL rules to eliminate this reporting redundancy for those cases in which the conviction occurs in a State that has a certified CDL program in substantial compliance with FMCSA's regulations. This change will reduce a regulatory burden on individual CLP and CDL holders and State driver licensing agencies. This rule is responsive to Executive Order (E.O.) 13563 ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued January 18, 2011.

This notice announces the availability of funding and requests proposals for the Department of Transportation's National Infrastructure Investments. This notice is addressed to organizations that are interested in applying and provides guidance on selection criteria and application requirements for the National Infrastructure Investments. Title VIII of The Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Division F of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, Public Law 113-6, March 26, 2013) (``FY 2013 Appropriations Act'') appropriated $473.847 million to be awarded by the Department of Transportation (``DOT'') for National Infrastructure Investments. DOT will continue to refer to the program as ``TIGER Discretionary Grants,'' as this is the title with which most stakeholders are familiar. As with previous rounds of TIGER, funds for the FY 2013 TIGER program are to be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area or a region. Through this notice, DOT is soliciting applications for TIGER Discretionary Grants. In the event that this solicitation does not result in the award and obligation of all available funds, DOT may decide to publish an additional solicitation(s) or provide additional funds to selected projects.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned about the effects of distraction on motor vehicle safety due to drivers' use of electronic devices. Consequently, NHTSA is issuing nonbinding, voluntary Driver Distraction Guidelines (NHTSA Guidelines) to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of excessively distracting devices in vehicles. This notice announces the issuance of the final version of the first phase of the NHTSA Guidelines. This first phase applies to original equipment (OE) in-vehicle electronic devices used by the driver to perform secondary tasks (communications, entertainment, information gathering, navigation tasks, etc. are considered secondary tasks) through visual-manual means (i.e., the driver looks at a device, manipulates a device-related control with his or her hand, and/or watches for visual feedback). The NHTSA Guidelines list certain secondary tasks believed by the agency to interfere inherently with a driver's ability to safely control the vehicle. The NHTSA Guidelines recommend that in-vehicle devices be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver to perform these inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving. For all other visual-manual secondary tasks, the NHTSA Guidelines specify a test method for measuring eye glance behavior during those tasks. Eye glance metrics are compared to acceptance criteria to evaluate whether a task interferes too much with driver attention, rendering it unsuitable for a driver to perform while driving. If a task does not meet the acceptance criteria, the NHTSA Guidelines recommend that the task be made inaccessible for performance by the driver while driving. In addition, the NHTSA Guidelines contain several recommendations to limit and reduce the potential for distraction associated with the use of OE in-vehicle electronic devices.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the proposed Aroostook County Transportation Study Tier II Presque Isle Bypass FEIS located in the Town of Presque Isle, Aroostook County, Maine. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

We are revising the proposals in an earlier notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for certain Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) Model S-61A, D, E, L, N, NM (serial number 61454), R, and V; Croman Corporation Model SH-3H, Carson Helicopters, Inc., Model S-61L; Glacier Helicopters, Inc. Model CH-3E; Robinson Air Crane, Inc. Model CH-3E, CH-3C, HH-3C, and HH-3E; and Siller Helicopters Model CH-3E and SH-3A helicopters. The NPRM proposed superseding an existing AD but retaining some requirements of that AD, removing certain dowel pin bores, expanding the applicability to include additional helicopters, and implementing a new retirement life for each main rotor shaft (MRS) based on a reevaluation of the MRS service life. This SNPRM is prompted by the comments received in response to the NPRM and a reevaluation of the relevant data. The proposed actions are intended to prevent MRS structural failure, loss of power to the main rotor, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

On April 2, 2013, Ballard Terminal Railroad Company, L.L.C. (Ballard), a Class III rail carrier, filed a petition under 49 U.S.C. 10502 for exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 10902 to acquire the residual common carrier rights and obligations, including the right to reinstitute rail service, and the physical trackage assets on a line of railroad currently owned by the City of Kirkland (City) and the Port of Seattle (Port) in King County, Wash. (the Line), and currently subject to railbanking/interim trail use under the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). Ballard also seeks the right to provide common carrier rail service over the Line, and requests that the Board order the transfer of all the rail materials to Ballard at their net liquidation value. Ballard states that it has no objection to shared use of the right-of-way as both a rail line and a trail. The Line consists of a portion of the former BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) Woodinville Subdivision extending between milepost 23.8 at Woodinville, Wash., and milepost 12.6 at Bellevue, Wash.\1\ The petition for exemption was filed concurrently with a Ballard petition to partially vacate the NITU issued in Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 465X) for the Woodinville Subdivision (extending from milepost 23.8 to milepost 11.25). That NITU permitted railbanking/interim trail use negotiations under 16 U.S.C. 1247(d).\2\ The Board seeks comments from interested persons on Ballard's request to resume rail service and partially vacate the NITU.

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that 2011 Thule 3008BL boat trailers that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because they have safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all such standards.