Department of Transportation 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document extends the comment period on planned guidelines for the safe deployment and operation of automated vehicles. The intent of the operational guidance is to encourage innovative and safe deployment of automated vehicle technologies. Written statements and supporting information submitted during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments and supporting information presented at the public meetings. The comment due date was May 9, 2016. Comments continue to come in and requests have been made to extend the period to provide comments on this important topic. This document grants that request and extends the comment due date for the planned Guidelines to May 31, 2016.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on March 21, 2016 (Federal Register/Vol. 81, No. 54/pp.15147- 15148).

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued Safety Advisory 16-2 regarding contact rail system hazards on rail fixed guideway public transportation systems (RFGPTSs). A letter to the Managers of State Safety Oversight (SSO) programs with RFGPTSs that use a contact rail system, was also issued requesting data and information on contact rail system hazards occurring during calendar year 2015. Safety Advisory 16-2 and the accompanying letter are available in their entirety on the FTA public Web site at https://www.fta.dot.gov/tso.html.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the use of non-domestic motor and machinery brakes (maximum torque 100 ft-lb, wheel size 8 inches) for the rehabilitation of a bascule bridge in Port Clinton, Ohio.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a formal request from the Pace Suburban Bus Division of the Regional Transportation Authority (Pace) for a Buy America non-availability waiver to purchase 188 Dodge Caravan minivans for its vanpool program. Minivans are considered rolling stock and are subject to the Buy America waiver set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(C), which requires that minivans (i) contain more than 60 percent domestic content, and (ii) final assembly of the vehicles occurs in the United States. Although initially Pace sought only a waiver of the requirement that final assembly take place in the United States, Pace now seeks a waiver of both requirements. Because FTA is aware of at least four manufacturers that can meet the final assembly requirement, however, FTA is proposing a waiver of only the domestic content requirement for non-ADA-accessible minivans. This waiver would apply to all procurements of non-ADA-accessible minivans by any FTA grantee and would be limited to contracts entered into before September 30, 2019 or until a fully compliant domestic source becomes available, whichever is earlier. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA is providing notice of this proposed waiver and seeks public and industry comment on whether FTA should grant the waiver.

These special conditions are issued for the Cessna Aircraft Company, Models 208 and 208B Caravan airplanes. This airplane, as modified by Peregrine, will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with the use of a replacement option of a lithium battery instead of nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) and lead-acid rechargeable batteries. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the Tenth RTCA Special Committee 231 meeting.

On March 15, 2016, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require establishing minimum requirements for the size of train crew staffs depending on the type of operation. FRA is announcing an extension to the comment period and that it will schedule a public hearing in a future notice to provide interested persons an opportunity to comment on the proposal and to discuss further development of the regulation. When FRA schedules the public hearing in a future notice, it will also reopen the comment period for this proceeding to allow additional time for interested parties to submit written comments in response to views or information provided at the public hearing.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary (OST), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) announces the opportunity for, business centered community- based organizations, transportation-related trade associations, colleges and universities, community colleges, or chambers of commerce, registered with the Internal Revenue Service as 501C(6) or 501C(3) tax- exempt organizations, to compete for participation in OSDBU's Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SBTRC) program in the Mid- South Atlantic Region (Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee). OSDBU will enter into Cooperative Agreements with these organizations to provide outreach to the small business community in their designated region and provide financial and technical assistance, business training programs, business assessment, management training, counseling, marketing and outreach, and the dissemination of information, to encourage and assist small businesses to become better prepared to compete for, obtain, and manage DOT funded transportation- related contracts and subcontracts at the federal, state and local levels. Throughout this notice, the term ``small business'' will refer to: 8(a), small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE), women owned small businesses (WOSB), HubZone, service disabled veteran owned businesses (SDVOB), and veteran owned small businesses (VOSB). Throughout this notice, ``transportation- related'' is defined as the maintenance, rehabilitation, restructuring, improvement, or revitalization of any of the nation's modes of transportation. Funding Opportunity Number: USDOT-OST-OSDBU/SBTRCMIDSOUTHATLANTIC- 2016-1. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 20.910 Assistance to Small and Disadvantaged Businesses. Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement Grant. Award Ceiling: $170,000. Award Floor: $155,000. Program Authority: DOT is authorized under 49 U.S.C. 332(b)(4), (5) & (7) to design and carry out programs to assist small disadvantaged businesses in getting transportation-related contracts and subcontracts; develop support mechanisms, including management and technical services, that will enable small disadvantaged businesses to take advantage of those business opportunities; and to make arrangements to carry out the above purposes.

The DOT is withdrawing a previously published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would have replaced the Orders limiting scheduled operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) with longer-term limits on scheduled and unscheduled operations at JFK, EWR, and LGA, and requested comment on options to establish a secondary market for the purchase, sale, lease, or trade of slots at these airports, as well as procedures that would codify the review of slot transactions arising from the secondary market for public interest and anti-competitive effects.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of cracked antenna support channels, skin cracking underneath the number 2 very high frequency (VHF) antenna, and cracking in the frames attached to the internal support structure. This AD requires repetitive inspections to determine the condition of the skin and the internal support structure, and follow-on actions including corrective action as necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct skin cracking of the fuselage. Such cracking could result in separation of the number 2 VHF antenna from the airplane and rapid depressurization of the cabin.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on proposed revisions to the following incident and accident report forms and associated instructions currently under OMB Control No. 2137-0522: PHMSA F 7100.1 Incident ReportGas Distribution System. PHMSA F 7100.2 Incident ReportNatural and Other Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems. PHMSA F 7100.3 Incident ReportLiquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Facilities. PHMSA also intends to request a new Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number to cover the collection of these forms. PHMSA also proposes revisions be made to the following form currently under OMB Control No. 2137-0047; Accident ReportHazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems.

On April 8, 2016, (81 FR 20722) PHMSA published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled: ``Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipelines'' seeking comments on changes to the pipeline safety regulations for gas transmission and gathering pipelines. PHMSA has received several requests to extend the comment period. PHMSA is granting these requests and extending the comment period from June 7, 2016, to July 7, 2016.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2012-16- 07, which applies to certain Boeing Model 737-500 series airplanes. AD 2012-16-07 currently requires inspections of the fuselage skin at the chem-milled steps, and repair if necessary. Since we issued AD 2012-16- 07, an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) indicates that the fuselage skin is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD), and we have received reports of cracks at the chem-milled steps in the fuselage skin. This proposed AD would add new fuselage skin inspections for cracking, inspections to detect missing or loose fasteners and any disbonding or cracking of bonded doublers, permanent repairs of time- limited repairs, related investigative and corrective actions if necessary, and skin panel replacement. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking on the aft lower lobe fuselage skins, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Saab AB, Saab Aeronautics Model SAAB 2000 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that on some airplanes, during the paint removal process for repainting the airplane, the basic corrosion protection (anodizing and primer) coating was sanded down to bare metal on the aluminum skin panels and the bare metal might not have been treated correctly for corrosion prevention. This proposed AD would require an inspection of structural components of the airplane for any damaged protective coating; inspections of those areas for pitting corrosion, if necessary; a thickness measurement to determine if there is reduced skin thickness, if necessary; and repair, if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct damaged protective coatings. This condition could result in pitting corrosion damage; and reduced metal thickness, which could result in reduced static and fatigue strength of the airplane's structural parts.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-400 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) which indicates that the aft fuselage skin is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD) and reports of aft fuselage skin cracking. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections to detect cracking of the aft fuselage skin, inspections to detect missing or loose fasteners and any disbonding or cracking of bonded doublers, permanent repairs of time- limited repairs, related investigative and corrective actions if necessary, and skin panel replacement. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the aft fuselage skin along the longitudinal edges of the bonded skin doubler, which could result in possible rapid decompression and reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2013-19- 04, which applies to certain The Boeing Company Model 737-600, -700, - 700C, -800, and -900 series airplanes. AD 2013-19-04 currently requires repetitive detailed and high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections for cracking of the skin around the eight fasteners common to the ends of the station (STA) 540 bulkhead chords between stringers S-22 and S- 23, left and right sides; related investigative actions and corrective actions, if necessary; and provides an optional terminating modification. Since we issued AD 2013-19-04, we have received reports of additional cracks that are larger and initiated sooner than previously predicted. This proposed AD would reduce the inspection threshold and repetitive inspection intervals. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking in the fuselage skin around the eight fasteners securing the STA 540 bulkhead chords. Such cracking can result in rapid decompression of the cabin.

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.

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 has assigned the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) a new task to provide recommendations regarding the certification of persons engaged in operations involving the loading of special cargo. Assignment of this task is in response to National Transportation Safety Board Recommendation A-15-014 which recommended that the FAA create a certification for personnel responsible for the loading, restraint, and documentation of special cargo loads on transport-category airplanes. This notice informs the public of the new ARAC activity and solicits membership for the new Loadmaster Certification Working Group.