Department of Transportation April 24, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) is revising certain schedules in the Annual Report for Class I railroads (R-1 or Form R-1) and quarterly operating reports. These revisions are needed to correct certain accounting and reporting changes the Board enacted in 2016 and to better meet accounting and reporting requirements and industry needs.

These special conditions are issued for the Viking Air, Ltd., models DHC-6-100/-200/-300, Twin Otter, Turbopropeller airplanes. This airplane, as modified by Avmax Aviation Services, Inc., will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with the use of a replacement option of a lithium battery instead of nickel-cadmium 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 Maritime Administration (MARAD) is updating its regulations to reflect required annual inflation-related increases to the civil monetary penalties in its regulations, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015. This final rule adjusts civil penalty amounts for violations of procedures related to the American Fisheries Act, certain regulated transactions involving documented vessels, the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue program (AMVER) and the Defense Production Act. MARAD finds that good cause exists for immediate implementation of this final rule because prior notice and comment are unnecessary, per the specific provisions of the 2015 Act.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 10 individuals for exemption from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. They are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for various reasons. The exemptions will enable these individuals to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the prescribed vision requirement in one eye. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals to qualify as drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt 17 individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). They are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for various reasons. The exemptions will enable these individuals to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the prescribed vision requirement in one eye. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these CMV drivers.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on December 28, 2016 (Federal Register 95729, Vol. 81, No. 249).

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2017 (Volume 82, Number 12; Page 6723).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the revisions of the following information collection: Charter Service Operations.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Floyd W. Jones Airport, Lebanon, MO. This action is necessary due to the decommissioning of the Lebanon non-directional radio beacon (NDB), and cancellation of the NDB approach, and would enhance the safety and management of standard instrument approach procedures for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action modifies Class E surface area airspace, Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface, and establishes Class E en route airspace at Paso Robles Municipal Airport, Paso Robles, CA. Also, the geographic coordinates of the airport are adjusted to match the current FAA aeronautical database. These changes are necessary to support new Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) standard instrument approach procedures at the airport and en route operations where the Federal airway structure is inadequate.

This action amends Class D and E airspace at Elmira, NY, as the ERINN Outer Marker (OM) has been decommissioned requiring airspace reconfiguration at Elmira/Corning Regional Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of the airport, and eliminates the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status of the Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D surface area. Also, the FAA found the Class E airspace designated as an extension to a class D surface area description was inaccurate. This action corrects the error.

We are superseding airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-04-01 for all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-Trent 800 model turbofan engines. AD 2012-04-01 required removal from service of certain critical engine rotating parts based on reduced life limits. This AD makes additional revisions to the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. This AD was prompted by RR further revising the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A300 series airplanes; Model A300 B4-600, B4-600R, and F4- 600R series airplanes, and Model A300 C4-605R Variant F airplanes (collectively called Model A300-600 series airplanes); and Model A310 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report indicating that during inspections to detect corrosion of the bulk cargo doors, several cracks were discovered. This AD requires inspections of the bulk cargo door frame to identify any structural repairs and cracking, and corrective actions if necessary. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.