Department of Transportation February 12, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to establish Class E Airspace at Geneva, AL, to accommodate a new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) serving Geneva Municipal Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System.

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). FRA is seeking public comments on its proposal to renew its PRA clearance to participate in the OMB program ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.'' This program was created to facilitate federal agencies' efforts to streamline the process to seek public feedback on service delivery. Current FRA clearance under this program expires July 31, 2014.

The Federal Transit Agency (FTA), as the lead federal agency, the Washington County Regional Railroad Authority (WCRRA), and the Metropolitan Council intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Gateway Corridor project. The Gateway Corridor project is a planned transitway approximately 12 miles in length located in Ramsey and Washington Counties in the eastern part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota. The project is located in a corridor generally parallel to Interstate 94 (I-94) and will better connect downtown Saint Paul with its east side neighborhoods and the suburban cities of Maplewood, Landfall, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, and Woodbury. More broadly, the Gateway Corridor project will better connect the eastern Twin Cities Metropolitan Area to the regional transit network via the Union Depot multimodal hub in downtown Saint Paul. The project is also intended to serve and draw ridership from other portions of the metropolitan area, including portions of eastern Washington County and western St. Croix County (Wisconsin) to the east, Dakota County to the south, and the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County to the west. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing regulations with FTA as the lead agency. The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties of the intent to prepare the EIS; to provide information on the nature of the proposed action and possible alternatives; to invite public participation in the EIS process, including comments on the scope of the Draft EIS proposed in this notice; and to announce that public and agency scoping meetings will be conducted.

This action proposes to amend Class D and Class E Airspace, and establish Class E airspace at Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Tri- Cities, TN. Airspace reconfiguration would alleviate traffic issues in the surrounding area for Johnson City Airport and Edwards Heliport so flights could navigate in and out of their respective airports in Visual Flight Rules conditions under 700 feet. This would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations in the area.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace at Greenville, ME, as the Squaw Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) has been decommissioned, requiring airspace redesign at Greenville Municipal Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also would update the geographic coordinates of airport.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2010-17- 18 R1, which applies to certain Air Tractor, Inc. Models AT-802 and AT- 802A airplanes. AD 2010-17-18 R1 currently requires repetitively inspecting (using the eddy current method) the two outboard fastener holes in both of the wing main spar lower caps at the center splice joint for cracks; repairing or replacing any cracked spar; changing the safe life for certain serial number ranges; and sending the inspection results, only if cracks are found, to the FAA. Since we issued AD 2010- 17-18 R1, we have determined that the safe life for the wing main spar lower caps should apply to all AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes regardless of configuration or operational use. This proposed AD would retain all actions of AD 2010-17-18 R1 and expand the applicability to include all serial numbers regardless of configuration or operational use. We are proposing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

This final rule will prohibit flightcrew members in operations under part 121 from using a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer for personal use while at their duty station on the flight deck while the aircraft is being operated. This rule, which conforms FAA regulations with legislation, is intended to ensure that certain non-essential activities do not contribute to the challenge of task management on the flight deck or a loss of situational awareness due to attention to non-essential tasks.