Department of Transportation December 12, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) for a Buy America public interest waiver for the procurement of equipment to replace what was damaged at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub (WTC Hub) project during Hurricane Sandy. A public interest waiver is needed because Hurricane Sandy damaged an existing construction site that receives federal funds but is not subject to FTA's Buy America requirements and the only option PANYNJ had to implement Sandy recovery work was to replace the damaged equipment with the same equipment. 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(A) and 49 CFR 661.7(b). In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA provided notice of the public interest waiver request and sought comment on whether to grant the request. FTA received one comment in support of the waiver, and no comments objecting to the waiver. Therefore, FTA is issuing a general public interest waiver for two PANYNJ Hurricane Sandy grants, NY-44-X005 and NY-44-X014. This public interest waiver is limited to the Hurricane Sandy recovery projects at the WTC Hub only and does not apply to separately funded resiliency projects.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request from the Central Puget Sound Transit Authority (Sound Transit) for a Buy America non-availability waiver for the procurement of ultrastraight rail. Sound Transit seeks to procure approximately 15,100 feet ultrastraight rail for a portion of its Northgate Link light rail extension to avoid exceedance of contractually-mandated vibration thresholds. The FTA hereby waives its Buy America requirements, finding that the materials for which the waiver is requested are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of satisfactory quality. This waiver is limited to a single procurement by Sound Transit.

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.

This action proposes to establish Class E Airspace at Louisville, GA, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) serving Louisville Municipal Airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the heliport.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model G-IV airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report indicating that the G-IV gust lock system allows more throttle travel than was intended and could allow the throttle to be advanced to reach take-off thrust. This proposed AD would require modification of the gust lock system, and a revision of the maintenance or inspection program to incorporate functional tests. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of cracking in a certain section of the secondary structure of the wing. This AD requires a one-time inspection of the trailing edge rib, and corrective action if necessary. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.