Department of Transportation March 17, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below.

The DOT has extended the contracting initiative pilot program for a period of 1 year until March 6, 2017.

FRA announces the twentieth anniversary and fifty-fifth meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), a Federal Advisory Committee that develops railroad safety regulations through a consensus process. The RSAC meeting topics will include opening remarks from the FRA Administrator and the Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer. Status reports will be provided by the Remote Control Locomotive, Track Standards, Hazardous Materials Issues, and Rail Integrity Working Groups. A status report will also be provided by the Engineering Task Force. This agenda is subject to change, including the possible addition of further proposed tasks.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) of Canada, under international agreement, jointly publish and presently administer the St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls in their respective jurisdictions. The Tariff sets forth the level of tolls assessed on all commodities and vessels transiting the facilities operated by the SLSDC and the SLSMC. The SLSDC is revising its regulations to reflect the fees and charges levied by the SLSMC in Canada starting in the 2016 navigation season, which are effective only in Canada. An amendment to increase the minimum charge per lock for those vessels that are not pleasure craft or subject in Canada to tolls under items 1 and 2 of the Tariff for full or partial transit of the Seaway will apply in the U.S. (See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.)

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2003-25- 07 for certain Airbus Model A319 and A320 series airplanes; and AD 2005-13-39 for certain Airbus Model A321 series airplanes. AD 2003-25- 07 currently requires a revision to the airplane flight manual (AFM) and replacement of both elevator aileron computers (ELACs) having L80 standards with new ELACs having L81 standards. AD 2005-13-39 currently requires a revision to the AFM, replacement of existing ELACs with ELACs having either L83 or L91 standards, as applicable; and a concurrent action. Since we issued AD 2003-25-07 and AD 2005-13-39, we have determined that new ELAC standards must be incorporated. The ELAC standards have been upgraded to version L97+, which implements enhanced angle-of-attack (AOA) monitoring to better detect AOA blockage, including multiple AOA blockages. This proposed AD would require replacing existing ELACs with new ELACs having L97+ standards or revising the software in an existing ELAC to the L97+ standards, as applicable, which would terminate the requirements of AD 2003-25-07 and AD 2005-13-39. This proposed AD would also add Airbus Model A318 series airplanes to the applicability. We are proposing this AD to prevent inadvertent activation of the AOA protections. Inadvertent activation of the AOA protections could result in a continuous nose down pitch rate that could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR part 107, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the applications described herein. This notice is abbreviated to expedite docketing and public notice. Because the sections affected, modes of transportation, and the nature of application have been shown in earlier Federal Register publications, they are not repeated here. Requests for modification of special permits (e.g. to provide for additional hazardous materials, packaging design changes, additional mode of transportation, etc.) are described in footnotes to the application number. Application numbers with the suffix ``M'' denote a modification request. These applications have been separated from the new application for special permits to facilitate processing.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR part 107, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.