Department of Transportation October 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.

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 FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of Twelfth RTCA SC-228 Minimum Performance Standards (MPS) for UAS Focused-Topic Plenary.

This notice is to inform interested persons that PHMSA will conduct a public meeting on Tuesday, November 15, 2016, in preparation for the 50th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) to be held in Geneva, Switzerland from November 28 to December 6, 2016. During this public meeting, PHMSA will be requesting comments relative to potential new work items that may be considered for inclusion in the international agenda.

Section 5334(h) of the Federal Transit Laws, as codified, 49 U.S.C. 5301, et seq., permits the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to authorize a recipient of FTA funds to transfer land or a facility to a public body for any public purpose with no further obligation to the Federal Government if, among other things, no Federal agency is interested in acquiring the asset for Federal use. Accordingly, FTA is issuing this Notice to advise Federal agencies that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) intends to transfer property located at 415 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Port of New Orleans, a political subdivision of the State of Louisiana. LaDOTD used the property, building, and improvements for a ferry terminal until September 2009. The property is no longer being used to support ferry service. The Port of New Orleans (Port) intends to use the property for administrative purposes to support its activities. The transfer will provide benefits to the Port by providing space for Port personnel to carry out administrative functions. The transfer will support efforts by the Port to expand container terminal capacity to address and capitalize projected growth in container traffic. In addition, Port ownership of the property and building will maintain a position of security in location and afford continuous visibility of the river from Port property. The Port plans to use the property and building for a minimum of 5 years.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. 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.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A330-200 Freighter, -200, and -300 series airplanes; and Airbus Model A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of fuel leaking through fuel pump electrical connectors and of fuel pump electrical connector damage caused by the build-up of moisture behind the electrical connectors. This AD requires an inspection of the fuel pumps to identify their part numbers and replacement of affected pumps. We are issuing this AD to prevent a potential ignition source and a fuel leak through damaged fuel pump electrical connectors, which creates a flammability risk in an area adjacent to the fuel tank.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 767-200, -300, and -400ER series airplanes. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) indicating that the skin lap splice is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD). This AD requires repetitive external detailed and surface high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the outer skin for cracking around fastener heads common to the inboard fastener row of the skin lap splice and corrective action. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the skin lap splice, which could grow and result in possible rapid decompression and reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE-FALCON 50, MYSTERE-FALCON 900, FALCON 900EX, FALCON 2000, and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of an in-flight lightning strike to the WHELEN anti- collision light located on the top of the vertical fin tip that caused severe damage and resulted in the loss of some airplane functions. This AD requires modification of the anti-collision light bonding. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of electrical power and essential airplane functions, and possible reduced control of the airplane.

The FAA is correcting a final special conditions; request for comments document published in the Federal Register on October 31, 2013 (78 FR 65155). In that document the special conditions number was incorrect and this document now posts the correct special conditions number. Also, a typographical error occurred in the wording of one of the headings paragraphs of the document. This document now posts the correct headings wording.

The Board will host a roundtable discussion among noted economists on an independent report that assesses the Board's rate reasonableness methodologies, including the stand-alone cost methodology, and possible alternatives.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions of three individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

The FAA is proposing to revise its rules for pilot compartment view to allow ground tests to demonstrate compliance for night operations. The current regulations require night flight testing to demonstrate compliance, which is not necessary in every case. The proposed rule would relieve the burden of performing a night flight test under certain conditions.

The Department of Transportation is revising its regulations by removing chapter 63 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and amending 49 CFR part 6. These revisions result from our ongoing efforts to review and improve our regulations, and will harmonize the CFR with Departmental restructuring required by statutory changes.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions of four individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti- seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 125 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Unified Registration System'' (78 FR 52608 dated August 23, 2013) required those entities that are subject to the FMCSA's licensing, registration and certification regulations to use a new application Form MCSA-1 titled, ``FMCSA Registration/Update(s).''

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions of two individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces a joint meeting of its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and Medical Review Board (MRB) on Monday, October 24, 2016. Together, the MCSAC and MRB will receive an update on the Driver Health and Wellness Initiative, a non-regulatory public- private partnership of stakeholders to improve drivers' health, and a preview of its Web page. The MRB will report on its revised recommendations on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on its evaluation of the comments from the joint Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that the Agency issued with the Federal Railroad Administration. Additionally, the MCSAC will discuss how the implementation of these recommendations may impact current and future populations of drivers. On October 25, the MCSAC will meet separately to complete its review of the Agency's regulatory guidance and the MRB will meet to discuss how to incorporate recently issued warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on narcotics and benzodiazepines. The meetings are open to the public for their entirety.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions of four individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration corrects an inadvertent error in the October 4, 2016 final rule ``General Technical, Organizational, Conforming, and Correcting Amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.'' Due to an error, the rule unintentionally did not include the word ``and'' at the end of the next to last condition for a farm vehicle driver to take advantage of the farm vehicle driver exceptions to commercial driver's license standards and alcohol and drug testing requirements. Today's correction makes it clear that all four conditions in each farm vehicle driver exception must be met in order for the exception to be used.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its decision to adopt the Department of the Navy's (DoN) Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Military Readiness Activities at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman, Oregon, EIS No. 20150355. In accordance with Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (``NEPA''), the Council on Environmental Quality's (``CEQ'') regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and other applicable authorities, including The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, paragraph 8-2, and FAA Order JO 7400.2K, ``Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters,'' paragraph 32-2-3, the FAA has conducted an independent review and evaluation of the DoN's Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Military Readiness Activities at the at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF) Boardman, Oregon, dated December 2015. As a cooperating agency with responsibility for approving special use airspace under 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(3)(A), the FAA provided subject matter expertise and closely coordinated with the DoN during the environmental review process, including preparation of the Draft EIS and the Final EIS. Based on its independent review and evaluation, the FAA has determined the Final EIS, including its supporting documentation, as incorporated by reference, adequately assesses and discloses the environmental impacts of the for Military Readiness Activities at the at NWSTF Boardman, Oregon, and that adoption of the Final EIS by the FAA is authorized under 40 CFR 1506.3, Adoption. Accordingly, the FAA adopts the FEIS, and takes full responsibility for the scope and content that addresses the proposed changes to special use airspace for NWSTF Boardman.

The FAST Act included a provision that requires each State that receives funding under the National Highway Freight Program to develop a State Freight Plan that provides a comprehensive plan for the immediate and long-range planning activities and investments of the State with respect to freight and meets all the required plan contents listed in the Act. This guidance provides the minimum required elements that State Freight Plans must meet, provides a template that reflects those statutory requirements, and suggests recommended, but optional elements, that States may include in their State Freight Plans. It also provides suggestions for establishing State Freight Advisory Committees that will benefit State freight planning. This notice also responds to comments submitted in response to interim guidance on State Freight Plans and State Freight Advisory Committees published by DOT on October 15, 2012.