Department of Transportation August 16, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These special conditions are issued for the Textron Model 560XL airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is hydrophobic windshield coatings to maintain a clear view. 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.

On September 28, 2022, the FAA published a Policy Statement in the Federal Register that described policy changes to the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program as well as clarification or restatement of prior policy to "enhance engagement with civil aviation authorities (CAAs) through pre- and post-IASA assessment and to promote greater transparency." After receiving inquiries and questions about the changes described in that policy statement, the FAA is suspending implementation of the September 28, 2022, Policy Statement while the agency reassesses the policy. The policy statement published March 8, 2013, remains active.

This rule is being issued pursuant to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to extend the period of time manufacturers of motor vehicles, child restraint systems, and tires must retain records concerning malfunctions that may be related to motor vehicle safety under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). Section 24403 of the FAST Act directs the Secretary to issue a rule increasing the record retention period to not less than 10 years, instead of 5 years, as presently required under the regulatory provisions. Pursuant to its delegated authority, NHTSA is updating its regulations in accordance with this mandate to extend the time that manufacturers are required to retain certain records that may be related to motor vehicle safety to 10 years.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announce the extension of the comment period for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Texas GulfLink LLC (GulfLink) deepwater port license application for the export of oil from the United States to nations abroad. The GulfLink deepwater port license application describes a project that would be located approximately 26.2 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. Publication of this notice extends the current comment period for the GulfLink FEIS to end on Friday, August 30, 2024, requests public participation in the final environmental impact review process, provides information on how to participate in the final environmental impact review process and announces a virtual final public hearing.

The FAA is correcting a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 18, 2024. The final rule amended Class D airspace extending upward from the surface for Fort Liberty, NC. This action corrects errors in the Class D legal description.