Department of Transportation August 23, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Grain Car Council (NGCC), pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2 10(a)(2).

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that we are rescinding the Notice of Intent (NOI) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed freeway improvements along Interstate 17 (I-17) from the I-10/Maricopa Traffic Interchange to State Route (SR) 101L (Loop 101) within Maricopa County, Arizona. A NOI to prepare an EIS for the I-17 Corridor Improvement Study was published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2010.

This action establishes Class E Airspace at Umatilla, FL, to accommodate the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Umatilla Municipal Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System.

This action amends Class E Airspace at Plattsburg, NY, as the Clinton County Airport has closed and controlled airspace removed. New Class E Airspace at Plattsburgh International Airport is created to accommodate standard instrument approach procedures developed at the airport. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary for the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

The FMCSA amends its regulations to require interstate motor carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), hazardous materials safety permit (HMSP) applicants, and cargo tank facilities under FMCSA jurisdiction to submit required registration and biennial update information to the Agency via a new electronic on-line Unified Registration System (URS). FMCSA establishes fees for the registration system, discloses the cumulative information to be collected in the URS, and provides a centralized cross-reference to existing safety and commercial regulations necessary for compliance with the registration requirements. The final rule implements statutory provisions in the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 2005 (SAFETEA-LU). The URS will streamline the registration process and serve as a clearinghouse and depository of information on, and identification of, motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, IEPs, HMSP applicants, and cargo tank facilities required to register with FMCSA.

This notice announces the Twenty First Public Meeting of members of the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network. CIREN is a collaborative effort to conduct research on crashes and injuries at six Level I Trauma Centers across the United States linked by a computer network. The current CIREN model utilizes two types of centers, medical and engineering. Medical centers are based at Level I Trauma Centers that admit large numbers of people injured in motor vehicle crashes. These teams are led by trauma surgeons and emergency physicians and also include a crash investigator and project coordinator. Engineering centers are based at academic engineering laboratories that have experience in motor vehicle crash and human injury research. Engineering teams partner with trauma centers to enroll crash victims into the CIREN program. Engineering teams are led by mechanical engineers, typically trained in the area of impact biomechanics. Engineering teams also include trauma/emergency physicians, a crash investigator, and a project coordinator. Either type of team typically includes additional physicians and/or engineers, epidemiologists, nurses, and other researchers.The CIREN process combines prospective data collection with professional multidisciplinary analysis of medical and engineering evidence to determine injury causation in every crash investigation conducted. Researchers can review data and share expertise, which may lead to a better understanding of crash injury mechanisms and the design of safer vehicles.The six centers will give presentations on current research based on CIREN data. Topics include: Understanding Brain Injury Mechanisms: Integrating Real World Lesions, Anthropomorphic Test Device Response, and Finite Element Modeling; Evaluating the Benefits for Advanced Automatic Crash Notification; Vehicle Seat Bottom Influence on Spine Loads in Frontal Impacts; Rib Fractures in Older Occupants; Changes Over Time in Injury and Crash Characteristics; and Determination of Seat Belt Use and Positioning with Three-Dimensional CT Scans. The final agenda will be posted to the CIREN Web site that can be accessed by going to https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ciren. The agenda will be posted one week prior to the meeting. Date and Time: The meeting is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2013.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 727, 727C, 727-100, 727-100C, 727-200, and 727- 200F series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a structural re- evaluation by the manufacturer, which identified elements within the wing trailing edge flap area that qualify as structural significant items (SSIs). This AD requires revising the maintenance inspection program to include inspections that will give no less than the required damage tolerance rating (DTR) for certain SSIs, and repairing any cracked structure. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the wing trailing edge structure, which could result in compromised structural integrity of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for ECD Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters. This AD requires inspecting the rigging of the power-boosted control system and, if there is a nonparallel gap between the rigging wedges and the inner sleeves, performing a rigging procedure. This AD was prompted by the discovery, during rigging of the main rotor controls, of movement of the longitudinal main rotor actuator piston after shut-down of the external pump drive. Such movement could cause incorrect rigging results. The actions of this AD are intended to prevent incorrect rigging results, which could impair freedom of movement of the upper controls and subsequent reduced control of the helicopter.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model EC120B and EC130B4 helicopters with a certain emergency flotation gear (float) installed. This AD requires inspecting the float for chafing of the fabric covering and adding protectors to the float installation to prevent contact between the float and the protruding sections of the installation. This AD was prompted by a report of a float that would not inflate during overhaul because one of the float compartments was punctured due to chafing. The actions of this AD are intended to prevent failure of float and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter during an emergency water landing.