Department of Transportation June 7, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) grants a petition filed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a new class exemption for emergency temporary trackage rights. The Board also proposes certain other related changes to the class exemptions for trackage rights and temporary trackage rights.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new information collection. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Support Center Case Management System (CMS) is being created to help streamline how stakeholders' questions are answered in a timely manner. Specifically, the Contact Customer Support form allows the public and other stakeholders to ask the FAA questions, as well as get the appropriate answer or information they need to operate their UAS or drone safely. The UAS Support Center has a publicly available form to submit inquiries. This form would be replacing the current web form to be used within the Salesforce solutions that allows UAS Integration Office additional technology to more efficient and streamline the UAS Support center business process. This form would allow the UAS Integration Office to collect the appropriate information about the stakeholder's name, preferred method of communications email address, phone number, zip code, type of flyer that would allow the Support Center Analysts to more efficiently answer the customer's specific question.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH Model MBB-BK 117 A-1, MBB-BK 117 A- 3, MBB-BK 117 A-4, MBB-BK 117 B-1, MBB-BK 117 B-2, and MBB-BK 117 C-1 helicopters. This AD was prompted by an analysis of the main rotor (M/ R) blade loop area. This AD requires repetitive inspections of certain M/R blade thimble areas and corrective actions if necessary, as specified in a European Aviation Safety Agency (now European Union Aviation Safety Agency) (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference (IBR). The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (AHD) Model MBB-BK 117 D-2 helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by the discovery that certain parts that are approved for installation on multiple helicopter models are life limited parts when installed on Model MBB-BK 117 D-2 helicopters and some helicopter delivery documents excluded the life limit information. This proposed AD would require determining the total hours time-in-service (TIS) of a certain part-numbered rotor mast nut and re-identifying a certain part-numbered rotor mast nut. This proposed AD would also require establishing a life limit for a certain part-numbered rotor mast nut and helical gear support, and removing each part from service before reaching its life limit. Additionally, this proposed AD would require replacing a certain part-numbered main gearbox (MGB) with a not affected MGB as specified in a European Aviation Safety Agency (now European Union Aviation Safety Agency) (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action modifies the Class D airspace at Meadows Field Airport, Bakersfield, CA. This action also modifies the Class E airspace designated as a surface area and the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Further, this action removes the Class E airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface. Additionally, this action updates the term ``Airport/Facility Directory'' to ``Chart Supplement'' in the last sentence of the Class D and Class E2 airspace descriptions. Finally, this action implements several administrative corrections to the Class D, Class E2, and Class E5 text headers.

This action modifies the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Delano Municipal Airport, Delano, CA. The airspace is designed to support instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This proceeding was initiated in February 1998, when the National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC) applied to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration \1\ (PHMSA) for a determination that the HMTA preempted certain marking and record keeping requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). PHMSA found that the HMTA preempted the NYSDEC requirements because the requirements were not substantively the same as requirements in the HMR on the marking, maintaining, repairing, or testing of a package or container that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for transporting hazardous material. NYSDEC's petition for reconsideration of that decision is dismissed on the grounds of mootness. NYSDEC has made significant revisions to its regulations, and the revised rules do not appear to impose the same requirements on regulated entities as the previous version of the rules that were challenged in this proceeding. It therefore does not appear that reconsidering PHMSA's preemption determination regarding the now- superseded NYSDEC rules would have any practical effect.