Department of Transportation July 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it is rescinding its Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the I-270/U.S. 15 Multi-Modal Corridor Study in Montgomery County and Frederick County, Maryland. The NOI was published in the Federal Register on December 10, 1997. This rescission is based on no plans to advance this study.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is soliciting proposals under the agency's Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program to select an entity to administer a National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP). The National RTAP will carry out activities to design and implement training and technical assistance projects and other support services tailored to meet the specific needs of transit operators in rural areas, including Indian Country. Primary activities will include the development of information and materials for use by local operators and State administering agencies, and supporting research and technical assistance projects of national interest.

The Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirements of the coastwise trade laws to allow the carriage of no more than twelve passengers for hire on vessels, which are three years old or more. 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 proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A330-243, -243F, -341, -342, and -343 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that cracks can develop on the ripple damper weld of the hydraulic pressure tube assembly and reports of failure of the ripple damper of the hydraulic pressure tube assembly. This proposed AD would require replacement of the affected hydraulic pressure tube assembly or modification of both engines, as specified in a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, this final rule provides the 2019 inflation adjustment to civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of certain DOT regulations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on an information collection that is due to expire on March 31, 2020. PHMSA will request a renewal with no change for the information collection identified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 2137-0631.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the information collections and their expected burden. On May 30, 2019, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICRs.

This notice rescinds the Notice of Intent for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed highway in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The project study area includes U.S. Route 322 (U.S. 322), Pennsylvania State Route 144 (PA 144), Pennsylvania State Route 45 (PA 45) in College Township, Harris Township, Spring Township, Benner Township, Potter Township, and Centre Hall Borough, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comments on a request for a special permit seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to either grant or deny the special permit request.

The FMCSA proposes to allow driver applicants to take the commercial driver's license (CDL) general and specialized knowledge tests in a State (the testing State) other than the applicant's State of domicile. Under this proposed rule, a State would not be required to offer the knowledge tests to out-of-State applicants. However, if the testing State elects to offer the knowledge tests to these applicants, it would transmit the results to the State of domicile, which would be required to accept the results. Because this proposal would not change the existing standards for administration of the knowledge tests, the Agency concludes it would have no detrimental impact on safety.

FMCSA announces its decision to grant WestRock's request for renewal of its exemption from the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations that prohibit drivers from operating property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) after the 14th hour after coming on duty and require 10 hours off-duty before driving. FMCSA renews this limited exemption for WestRock's shipping department employees and occasional substitute commercial driver's license (CDL) holders who transport paper mill products short distances between its shipping and receiving locations on a public road. The exemption is restricted to a specific route in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This exemption will allow these individuals to occasionally work up to 16 consecutive hours and be allowed to return to work with less than the mandatory 10 consecutive hours off duty. The Agency previously determined that the CMV operations of WestRock's drivers under this exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption.

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 its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR entitled ``Designation of Agents, Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight Forwarders,'' which is used to provide registered motor carriers, property brokers, and freight forwarders a means of meeting process agent requirements.

This action removes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Meyers-Divers' Airport, and Tecumseh Products Airport, Tecumseh, MI. This action is due to the cancellation of the instrument procedures; and the airspace is no longer required.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Walden-Jackson County Airport, Walden, CO, to accommodate a new area navigation (RNAV) procedure at the airport. Additionally, this action proposes to remove Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within 4 miles each side of the 342[deg] bearing extending from the 5 mile radius to V-524 northwest of the airport. This action would ensure the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. Additionally, this action proposes to update the geographic coordinates of the airport to match the FAA's data base.

The FAA proposes to rule and invites public comment on the release of land at the Ottumwa Regional Airport, Ottumwa, Iowa.

The OSDBU invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The collection involves ``SBTRC Regional Field Offices Intake Form (DOT F 4500)'' with OMB Control Number 2105- 0554. A 60-day notice was published on May 23, 2019 (84 FR 23827). No comments were received.

The FHWA, on behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), is advising the public of final Federal actions taken by FHWA and other Federal Agencies that are final within the meaning of Federal law. These actions relate to proposed highway improvement project on the United States (U.S.) 90/State Road (S.R.) 10 corridor from Glover Lane in the City of Milton to S.R. 87N/Stewart Street, from S.R. 87N to Ward Basin Road, from Ward Basin Road to S.R. 87S, Federal Project Number: T129-348-R, in Santa Rosa County, State of Florida. These actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

This final rule confirms the determination NHTSA announced in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act or 2015 Act) does not apply to the civil penalty rate applicable to automobile manufacturers that fail to meet applicable corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards and are unable to offset such a deficit with compliance credits. In addition, this final rule is finalizing the agency's determination that even if the Inflation Adjustment Act applies, increasing the CAFE civil penalty rate would have a negative economic impact, and therefore, in accordance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), the current CAFE civil penalty rate of $5.50 should be retained, instead of increasing to $14 in model year 2019.

The Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirements of the coastwise trade laws to allow the carriage of no more than twelve passengers for hire on vessels, which are three years old or more. 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 Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirements of the coastwise trade laws to allow the carriage of no more than twelve passengers for hire on vessels, which are three years old or more. 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 Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirements of the coastwise trade laws to allow the carriage of no more than twelve passengers for hire on vessels, which are three years old or more. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below.

Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on May 7, 2019. No comments were received.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) Model S-92A helicopters. This AD was prompted by fatigue analysis indicating stress concentrations, as well as the discovery of a helicopter with a crack in the station (STA) 362 frame and skin. This AD requires inspecting the main transmission forward and aft frame assemblies and adjacent skins for a crack and loose fasteners, and establishing life limits for certain frame assemblies. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on May 3, 2019. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.