Department of Transportation October 2, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces its decision to grant the R&R Transportation Group (R&R) an exemption from the minimum 30-minute rest break requirement of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. FMCSA has analyzed the exemption application and the public comments and has determined that the exemption, subject to the terms and conditions imposed, will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption. The exemption is available only to R&R's drivers engaged in the transportation of materials that by their nature must be attended, such as radioactive materials, pharmaceuticals, and ammunition. The exemption provides these drivers the same regulatory flexibility that the HOS regulations allow drivers transporting explosives, i.e., to use 30 minutes or more of on-duty attendance time to meet the HOS rest break requirements, provided they do not perform any other work during the break.

Under the provisions of Title 49, U.S.C. Section 47153(d), notice is being given that the FAA is considering a request from the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority in Brunswick ME to waive the surplus property requirements for approximately 12.07 acres of airport property located at Brunswick Executive Airport in Brunswick, ME. The subject parcel is currently undeveloped and has been identified for commercial development on the current Airport Layout Plan. The airport will retain the land to generate long term lease revenue for the airport and thus, is requesting a release to change the property from aeronautical use to non-aeronautical use. It has been determined through study and master planning that the subject parcel will not be needed for aeronautical purposes is not contiguous to the airport proper. Full and permanent relief of the surplus property requirements on this parcel will allow the airport to generate long term revenue through lease of the land. All lease revenue will continue to be subject to the FAAs revenue-use policy and dedicated to the maintenance and operation of the Brunswick Executive Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes to rule and invites public comment on the application for a land-use change authorization effecting approximately 12.2 acres of airport property at the Elko Regional Airport, Elko, Nevada which will provide for an amendment of the Grant Agreement Assurance obligation that requires use of airport land for aeronautical purposes. Since the City of Elko, sponsor of the Elko Regional Airport, acquired the land in 1930, the property does not have an aeronautical purpose or planned to be used for an aeronautical purpose. The land-use change will authorize the release of the aeronautical-use obligation from the Grant Assurance Agreement for a proposed long term non-aeronautical commercial development. The 12.2 acres of airport land is identified as ``future commercial'' on the FAA conditionally approved Airport Layout Plan (ALP). The approximately 12.2 acres of airport property is currently zoned as ``light industrial business park'' and the land is proposed for retail mall development. The proposed developer will pay the costs to develop, manage, and improve the property for non-aeronautical commercial businesses. The City of Elko will lease the land at fair market value (FMV) to earn revenue for the airport thereby benefiting the airport and serving the interest of civil aviation. The proposed use will be compatible with the airport and will not interfere with the airport or its operation.

The FAA proposes to amend the regulations governing the curriculum and operations of FAA-certificated Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools. These amendments would modernize and reorganize the required curriculum subjects in the appendices of the current regulations. They would also remove the course content items currently located in the appendices and require that they be placed in each school's operations specifications so they could more easily be amended when necessary. The amendments are needed because the existing curriculums are outdated, do not meet current industry needs, and can be changed only through notice and comment rulemaking. These amendments would ensure that aviation maintenance technician students receive up- to-date foundational training to meet the demanding and consistently changing needs of the aviation industry.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain CFM International S.A. (CFM) CFM56-5B series turbofan engines. This proposed AD was prompted by a corrected lifing analysis by the engine manufacturer that shows the need to identify an initial and repetitive inspection threshold for certain part number (P/N) turbine rear frames (TRFs). This proposed AD would require initial and repetitive inspections of certain P/N TRFs on the low-pressure turbine (LPT) frame assembly. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the TRF on the LPT frame assembly, which could lead to engine separation, damage to the engine, and damage to the airplane.

The Department of Transportation is directing all interested persons to show cause why it should not issue an order finding Aviation Partners of Boynton Beach, LLC d/b/a Hummingbird Air fit, willing, and able, and awarding it a Commuter Air Carrier Authorization.