Department of Transportation May 28, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces that the FHWA and the Utah Department of Transportation (State) plan to renew and amend an existing MOU established pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 326 under which the FHWA has assigned to the State the FHWA's responsibility for determining whether a project is categorically excluded from preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (NEPA) and for carrying out certain other responsibilities for conducting environmental reviews, consultations, and related activities for Federal-aid highway projects. The proposed amendments include removal of language referring to existing programmatic agreements between the State and FHWA concerning categorical exclusions. This change is proposed to make the processing of these documents more clearly defined. The public is invited to comment on any aspect of the proposed MOU, including the scope of environmental review, consultation, and other activities which are assigned.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2010-03- 05, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 747-200C and -200F series airplanes. AD 2010-03-05 currently requires, for section 41 upper deck floor beam upper chords, an inspection for cracks of certain fastener holes, and corrective action if necessary; and repetitive replacements of the upper chords, straps (or angles), and radius fillers of certain upper deck floor beams and, for any replacement that is done, inspections for cracks, and corrective actions if necessary. Since we issued AD 2010-03-05, we have determined that the upper deck floor beams are subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD), the existing inspection program is not sufficient to maintain an acceptable level of safety, and section 42 upper deck floor beam upper chords are subject to the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would add post- replacement inspections for section 41 and reduce certain compliance times. This proposed AD would also require repetitive inspections of section 42 upper deck floor beam upper chords, repetitive replacements of the upper chords, post-replacement inspections, and corrective action if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the upper chords and straps (or angles) of the floor beams, which could lead to failure of the floor beams and consequent loss of controllability, rapid decompression, and loss of structural integrity of the airplane.

We propose to rescind airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-26-15, which applies to certain Honeywell International Inc. air data pressure transducers as installed on various aircraft. AD 2012-26-15 requires doing various tests or checks of equipment having certain air data pressure transducers, removing equipment if necessary, and reporting the results of the tests or checks. As an option to the tests or checks, AD 2012-26-15 allows removal of affected equipment having certain air data pressure transducers. We issued AD 2012-26-15 to detect and correct inaccuracies of the pressure sensors, which could result in altitude, computed airspeed, true airspeed, and Mach computation errors. AD 2012-26-15 reported that these errors could reduce the ability of the flightcrew to maintain the safe flight of the aircraft and could result in consequent loss of control of the aircraft. Since we issued AD 2012-26-15, we have received new data indicating that the safety risk is lower than originally estimated.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. The NPRM proposed to supersede AD 2011-14-06 and proposed revising the maintenance program. The NPRM was prompted by the determination that more restrictive limitations are necessary. This action revises the NPRM by revising the maintenance program to incorporate new limitations. We are proposing this AD to prevent fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in principal structural elements, and possible failure of certain life limited parts, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane. Since these actions impose an additional burden over that proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

This notice is to advise interested persons that on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, PHMSA will conduct a public meeting to discuss proposals in preparation for the 45th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) to be held June 23 to July 2, 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland. During the public meeting, PHMSA is also soliciting comments relative to potential new work items which may be considered for inclusion in its international agenda. Also, on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administartion (OSHA) will conduct a public meeting (See Docket No. OSHA-H022k-2006-0062) to discuss proposals in preparation for the 27th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) to be held July 2 to 4, 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland.

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.

The FHWA is extending the comment period for a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and request for comments, which was published on March 28, 2014. The original comment period is set to close on May 27, 2014. The extension is based on concern expressed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) that the May 27 closing date does not provide sufficient time to review and provide comprehensive comments on the HSIP NPRM, considering all related rulemaking activities including the FHWA/FTA Statewide and Nonmetropolitan Transportation Planning; Metropolitan Transportation Planning NPRM (FHWA RIN 2125-AF52; FTA RIN 2132-AB10). The FHWA recognizes that others interested in commenting may have similar concerns and agrees that the comment period should be extended. Therefore, the closing date for comments is changed to June 30, 2014, which will provide AASHTO and others interested in commenting additional time to discuss, evaluate, and submit responses to the docket.