Department of Transportation August 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for 13 individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

General Motors, LLC (GM) has determined that certain model year (MY) 2016-2017 Cadillac CT6 motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. GM filed a noncompliance report dated October 26, 2016. GM also petitioned NHTSA on November 18, 2016, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

This action amends Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Tuscaloosa National Airport, Tuscaloosa, AL. The FAA is taking this action as a result of an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the CRIMSON Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range collocated with TACAN (VORTAC). This action also updates the name of Tuscaloosa National Airport, (formerly Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport) AL. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) in the area.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPS) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure procedures (ODPs) for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This action amends the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Scott City Municipal Airport, Scott City, KS. This action is the result of an airspace review due to the decommissioning of the Scott City non-directional beacon (NDB). The geographical coordinates of the airport are also updated to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 747-100, -100B, -100B SUD, -200B, -200C, - 200F, -300, -400, -400D, -400F, 747SR, and 747SP airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of cracks found in the front spar shear tie and at the intercostal lug fitting at certain locations. This AD requires repetitive detailed and surface high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the front spar shear tie and intercostal lug fitting at certain locations for any cracking, and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus SAS Model A321-211, -231, and -232 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of false drill starts found around the latch hook mounting holes of certain door frames of the fuselage due to erroneous manufacturing processes. This AD requires a one-time inspection of the area around the latch hook mounting holes of the forward and aft door frames to detect damage from false drill starts, and repair if necessary, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

FAA is announcing the availability of PFC Update 75-21 that makes rail lines that do not exclusively serve the airport PFC eligible, and provides several methodologies for calculating the PFC- eligible costs.

The FAA is withdrawing the NPRM published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2021, to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Palestine Municipal Airport, Palestine, TX. Upon further consideration, the FAA has determined that an operational requirement for the airspace still exists; therefore, withdrawal of the proposed rule is warranted.

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 to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 16, 2021. The FAA collects information from U.S. and foreign air carriers holding or requesting a slot at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia Airport (LGA); operating or requesting scheduled flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO); and conducting unscheduled operations at DCA and LGA. The information collected is necessary to support the advance management of air traffic demand by the FAA Slot Administration in an effort to reduce potential delays. The FAA proposes renaming this information collection to ``FAA Runway Slot Administration and Schedule Analysis'' to more accurately reflect the collection of information related to multiple airports subject to different FAA regulatory and voluntary processes under this program.

The Federal Transit Administration, as lead Federal agency, and the Niagara Frontier Transit Metro System, Inc. (Metro), as local project sponsor and joint lead agency intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential benefits and impacts of the NFTA proposed Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda Corridor Transit Expansion project (the Proposed Project). The Proposed Project to be evaluated in the EIS would expand high quality transit service in Buffalo, New York to Tonawanda and Amherst, New York. FTA, in coordination with Metro will prepare the EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), and the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations (SEQR). This Notice of Intent (NOI) initiates public scoping for the EIS, and provides information on the Proposed Project, the Project's purpose and need and the alternatives being considered for evaluation in the EIS. This NOI invites public comments on environmental impacts that may be associated with the Proposed Project and alternatives. Interested members of the public, tribes, and agencies are invited to submit comments on the proposed scope of the EIS, Metro's purpose and need, the identification of alternatives to be considered, the environmental benefits and impacts to be evaluated, and any other project-related issues or analysis. In consideration of the Federal Government's COVID-19 Emergency Declaration dated March 13, 2020, FTA has determined that virtual public meetings and hearings are a permissible and useful tool to provide for public involvement in the NEPA process.

In accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements, Polaris Industries Inc. and Goupil Industrie SA (collectively, ``petitioners''), have petitioned NHTSA for an exemption of the ``Picnic-G6,'' an all-electric truck that the petitioners state will be used as part of a grocery delivery service. The petitioners seek exemption from nine Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) on the basis that an exemption would make the development or field evaluation of a low-emission vehicle easier and would not unreasonably lower the safety or impact protection level of that vehicle. NHTSA is publishing this document in accordance with statutory and administrative provisions, and requests comments on the petition. NHTSA has made no judgment at this time on the merits of the petition.

This document announces the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) receipt of a petition for a decision that model year (MY) 2019 Schuler Spezialfahrzeuge GmbH trailers that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS), are eligible for importation into the United States because they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

This action proposes to amend United States Area Navigation route (RNAV) Q-15 in order to safely segregate overflight, arrival and departure traffic, and military operations in the high altitude airspace between Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to announce actions taken that are final Federal agency actions. The final agency actions relate to a proposed highway project, along United States Highway (US) 51 in Dane County, Wisconsin between Interstate 39/90 east of the city of Stoughton and US 12/18 in the city of Madison. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

FMCSA incorporates by reference in its regulations the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) ``Operational Policy 4: Inspector Training and Certification,'' as required by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). The CVSA policy provides the current policy and practices for FMCSA employees, State or local government employees, and contractors to obtain and maintain certification for conducting driver or vehicle inspections. It has been Attachment A to FMCSA's ``Certification Policy for Employees Who Perform Inspections, Investigations, and Safety Audits.'' Consistent with the requirements of the FAST Act, this rule substitutes the most recent version of the CVSA policy, reflecting revisions to the version referenced in the July 8, 2019 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The revisions include availability of inspector certification extensions under declared emergency situations adopted in response to the COVID-19 National emergency. This rule also replaces an interim final rule (IFR) in place since 2002.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the new Information Collection Request (ICR) discussed below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and an emergency approval of a new information collection. FMCSA would collect this information from motor carriers engaged in providing direct assistance in response to certain emergency declarations issued by the Agency to provide regulatory relief for such carriers in continued support of the Nation's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery efforts. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and their expected paperwork burdens. FMCSA requests that OMB approve this collection within 7 days.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Stemme AG Model Stemme S 12 gliders. This proposed AD was prompted by mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as an airspeed indicator (ASI) with speed markings inconsistent with the approved and published values. This proposed AD would require inspecting the ASI markings and, depending on findings, either replacing the ASI or amending the existing aircraft flight manual (AFM) until the ASI is replaced. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for various airplanes modified with certain configurations of Garmin G3X Touch Electronic Flight Instrument System installed per Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) No. SA01899WI or Garmin GI 275 Multi-Function Display System (MFDS) installed per STC No. SA02658SE. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a fuel quantity disparity between the amount of fuel indicated and the actual amount of fuel. This proposed AD would require modifying the resistive fuel probe interface. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Textron Inc., Model 412, 412EP, and 412CF helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by evaluation results showing flight loads that impact the collective lever fatigue life. This proposed AD would require adding a permanent life penalty for certain collective levers and prohibit installing those collective levers unless the permanent life penalty has been added. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes noise certification standards that would apply only to the Matternet model M2 quadcopter unmanned aircraft because there are currently no generally applicable noise certification standards for this aircraft.

This document grants in full the Ford Motor Company (Ford) petition for exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (theft prevention standard) for its confidential vehicle line beginning in model year (MY) 2022. The petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the theft prevention standard. Ford also requested confidential treatment for specific information in its petition. Therefore, no confidential information provided for purposes of this notice has been disclosed.

This document grants in full the American Honda Motor Co., Inc.'s (Honda) petition for exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (theft prevention standard) for its Acura RDX vehicle line beginning in model year (MY) 2022. The petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the theft prevention standard.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and its expected burden. On May 17, 2021, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR.