Department of Transportation August 5, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document corrects an interim final rule with request for comment that intended to extend the expiration date of the rule requiring pilots operating civil helicopters under Visual Flight Rules to use the New York North Shore Helicopter Route when operating along the northern shoreline of Long Island, New York. This correction effectuates that extension.

This Notice announces the public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC), to be held virtually on the topic of airline ticket refunds and related consumer protection matters.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) requests public comment on how its regulations for conducting workplace drug and alcohol testing for the federally regulated transportation industry could be amended to allow electronic signatures on documents required to be created and utilized under the regulations, to be able to use electronic versions of forms, and to electronically store forms and data. The regulatory changes would apply to DOT-regulated employers and their contractors (``service agents'') who administer their DOT- regulated drug and alcohol testing programs. Currently, employers and their service agents must use, sign and store paper documents exclusively, unless the employer is utilizing a laboratory's electronic Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (electronic CCF) system that has been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). DOT is required by statute to amend its regulations to authorize, to the extent practicable, the use of electronic signatures or digital signatures executed to electronic forms instead of traditional handwritten signatures executed on paper forms. This rulemaking also responds to an April 2, 2020, petition for rulemaking from DISA Global Solutions, Inc. (DISA), requesting that part 40 be amended to allow the use of an electronic version of the alcohol testing form (ATF) for DOT-authorized alcohol testing. The information received in response to this ANPRM will assist DOT in the development of proposed regulatory amendments intended to provide additional flexibility and reduced costs for the industry while maintaining the integrity and confidentiality requirements of the drug and alcohol testing regulations.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created several new programs at the US Department of Transportation (DOT) that allow local governments, non-profit organizations, tribal governments, and other political subdivisions of state or local governments to apply directly for DOT discretionary grant funding. In response to President Biden's Executive Orders, ``Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,'' and ``Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,'' DOT has included criteria in its notices of funding opportunity to prioritize the needs of disadvantaged communities for many of these new programs. Through this Request for Information (RFI) for the newly created Thriving Communities Initiative, DOT is looking to gain information on the technical assistance, planning, and capacity building needs faced by disadvantaged communities that are seeking to advance local transportation projects within the existing Federal, state, and regional transportation planning and project delivery methods including to access innovative finance programs offered through DOT.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Federal Aviation Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion nor omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.