[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43878-43881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18593]



[[Page 43877]]

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Part V

Department of Transportation

14 CFR Part 399



Policy Statement Amendment and Withdrawal and Termination of Rulemaking 
Action; Final Rule and Notice



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Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 21, 36, et al.



Disposition of Comments to Final Rules and Withdrawal of Proposed Rules 
and Policy Statement; Final Rule, Proposed Rule, and Notice



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Federal Highway Administration

23 CFR Part 945



Dedicated Short Range Communications in Intelligent Transportation 
Systems (ITS) Commercial Vehicle Operations; Proposed Rule



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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 391, 393, 395, and 396



Motor Carrier Safety Standards--Withdrawal of Proposed Rulemaking; 
Proposed Rules



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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 571 and 583



Motor Vehicle Safety Standards--Termination of Proposed Rulemaking; 
Proposed Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2003 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. OST-2003-15243]


Withdrawal and Termination Actions

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary.

ACTION: Notice of withdrawal and termination of rulemaking actions.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) is announcing its 
decision to withdraw certain proposed rulemakings, a policy statement, 
and an interim final rule that it had published in the Federal Register 
and is also announcing its decision to terminate a number of rulemaking 
actions previously listed in its semiannual Regulatory Agenda for which 
no proposed rules have been published. These actions are part of a 
Secretarial initiative to move forward with decisions on long-pending 
regulatory proposals, either bringing them to completion or eliminating 
them from DOT's Regulatory Agenda if no further regulatory action is 
presently contemplated. They include both significant and 
nonsignificant rulemaking actions of various modal administrations 
within DOT and the Office of the Secretary. Most of the withdrawals are 
published separately in today's Federal Register; for those that are 
not, we have provided the Federal Register citations for those already 
published and the expected publication date for those to be published 
in the near future. We also have identified in this notice those 
actions that are being terminated and provided the reason for the 
termination.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Abdul-Wali, Office of the 
General Counsel, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 
366-4723; fax: (202) 366-9313; E-mail: [email protected].

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of this notice from the DOT public 
docket through the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, docket number OST-
03-15243. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may obtain a 
copy of the notice by United States mail from the Docket Management 
System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. You must identify docket number OST-
03-15243 and request a copy of the notice entitled ``Notice of 
Withdrawal, Termination, and Deferral of Rulemaking Actions.'' You may 
also review the public docket in person in the Docket office between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The 
Docket office is on the plaza level of the Department of 
Transportation. Additionally, you can also get a copy of this document 
from the Federal Register Web site at www.gpo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    At the Department of Transportation, we have been engaged in a 
comprehensive effort to overhaul and expedite the Department's 
rulemaking process and to move long-pending rulemaking projects to 
completion. It is in the public interest for the Department to develop 
high quality rulemaking documents in a timely manner. Without 
compromising the numerous substantive and procedural legal requirements 
that must be addressed, and while stressing the importance of 
justifying the approach taken with a well-reasoned analysis, we have 
also emphasized that all rulemakings must be completed in a timely 
manner.
    To achieve these goals, we have taken a number of steps. For 
example, we have created an effective tracking system for DOT's 
significant rulemakings to ensure that rules are either completed in a 
timely manner or that delays are identified and fixed. Through this 
tracking system, we have been able to prepare a monthly, internet-
accessible report for the public providing the current status of these 
significant rulemakings. This not only provides the public with 
valuable information concerning our important rulemaking activity, but 
also provides them with the information necessary to evaluate the 
Department's progress in meeting its goal of completing rulemakings in 
a timely manner.
    Our senior staff has also conducted a review of the current status 
of all rulemakings pending within the Department. This review helped to 
identify and resolve problems that have delayed older rulemakings, and 
has resulted in a significant increase in our rulemaking productivity.
    We also identified a number of rulemaking proceedings on the 
Department's Regulatory Agenda for which it was clear, as a result of 
the review, that no further action was presently contemplated. Many of 
these were proceedings for which no action has been taken in many 
years. The reasons for inaction varied. We decided to make a concerted 
effort to ``clean up'' the Department's Regulatory Agenda by 
withdrawing or terminating those proceedings for which no further 
action is intended.
    As a result, 53 DOT rulemaking actions, many of them long-pending 
proceedings, have been or are being withdrawn or terminated. For 
withdrawals of proposed rules and other actions on which we asked for 
public comment, we have prepared, or will prepare, separate documents 
that respond to the public comments that we received and explain why 
the actions are being withdrawn. Each of those withdrawals is 
identified in this notice, and we provide information on when the 
withdrawal was or will be published. Most are being published in 
today's Federal Register. This notice also identifies those previously 
anticipated actions that were announced in a DOT semi-annual Regulatory 
Agenda, but which never resulted in a proposed rule. This notice 
announces that those actions have been, or will be, terminated, and 
provides a short explanation for the termination. All of this 
information is provided in the tables below:
    1. The following twelve (12) proposed rulemakings, one (1) policy 
statement, and one (1) interim final rule (IFR) are withdrawn by 
separate actions in today's Federal Register. For each one, we have 
provided the DOT agency, the regulation identification number (RIN), 
the title, the action being withdrawn, and the Federal Register 
citation and date for the action being withdrawn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Agency--RIN                   Title                Action                Federal Register cite
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OST--2105-AA46.................  Policy statement on  Interim final rule.  44 FR 9948, 02/15/79.
                                  airline preemption.
FAA--2120-AA09.................  Objects affecting    Notice of proposed   55 FR 31722, 08/03/90.
                                  navigable airspace.  rulemaking.
FAA--2120-AA50.................  Miscellaneous        Notice of proposed   48 FR 45214, 10/03/83.
                                  amendments.          rulemaking.
FAA--2120-AC72.................  Improved water       Notice of proposed   53 FR 24890, 06/30/88.
                                  survival equipment.  rulemaking.
FAA--2120-AE41.................  Type certificates    Notice of proposed   59 FR 19114, 04/21/94.
                                  for some surplus     rulemaking.
                                  aircraft of the
                                  armed forces.
FAA--2120-AG16.................  Revised precision    Policy statement...  54 FR 53231, 12/27/89.
                                  approach landing
                                  systems policy.

[[Page 43879]]

 
FAA--2120-AH60.................  Procedures for       Notice of proposed   66 FR 66238, 12/21/01.
                                  reimbursement of     rulemaking.
                                  airports, on-
                                  airport parking
                                  lots, and vendors
                                  of on-airfield
                                  direct services to
                                  air carriers for
                                  security mandates.
FHWA--2125-AE63................  Standards for        Notice of proposed   64 FR 73674, 12/30/99.
                                  dedicated short-     rulemaking.
                                  range
                                  communications
                                  (DSRC)
                                  applications for
                                  use by commercial
                                  vehicles in
                                  intelligent
                                  transportation
                                  systems projects.
FMCSA--2126-AA12...............  Parts and            Advance notice of    59 FR 1706, 01/12/94.
                                  accessories          proposed
                                  necessary for safe   rulemaking.
                                  operation; sleeper
                                  berths on motor
                                  coaches.
FMCSA--2126-AA19...............  Parts and            Notice of proposed   61 FR 14733, 04/03/96.
                                  accessories          rulemaking.
                                  necessary for safe
                                  operation;
                                  television
                                  receivers and data
                                  display units.
FMCSA--2126-AA31...............  English language     Advance notice of    62 FR 45200, 08/26/97.
                                  requirement;         proposed
                                  qualification of     rulemaking.
                                  drivers.
FMCSA--2126-AA36...............  Out-of-service       Advance notice of    63 FR 38791, 07/20/98.
                                  criteria.            proposed
                                                       rulemaking.
NHTSA--2127-AA03...............  Crashworthiness      Notice of proposed   46 FR 7025, 01/22/81.
                                  ratings.             rulemaking.
NHTSA--2127-AA44...............  Flammability of      Advance notice of    53 FR 44627, 11/04/88.
                                  interior             proposed
                                  materials; school    rulemaking.
                                  buses.
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    2. The following two (2) proposed rules were recently withdrawn 
through separate actions in the Federal Register. In addition to the 
information provided under table 1, we have also provided the Federal 
Register citation and date for the withdrawal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Federal Register cite
          Agency--RIN                   Title                Action        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          (Proposal)                            (Withdrawal)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRA--2130-AA60................  Local rail freight    Notice of proposed    55 FR 49648, 11/30/92                  68 FR 16753, 04/07/03.
                                 assistance to         rulemaking.
                                 states.
FTA--2132-AA68................  Buy America           Advance notice of     64 FR 54855, 10/08/99                  68 FR 9801, 02/28/03.
                                 requirements;         proposed rulemaking.
                                 permanent waiver
                                 for microcomputers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. The following thirty-five (35) rulemaking actions have recently 
been terminated. For each one, we have provided the DOT agency, the 
RIN, the title, and the reason for the termination.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Agency--RIN                             Title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OST--2105-AA73....................  Direct flights.
                                    Reason: Petition denied.
OST--2105-AC79....................  Electronic filing option in DOT
                                     proceeding.
                                    Reason: This action was
                                     inadvertently placed in the agenda.
FAA--2120-AF80....................  Bird strike.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--120-AH33.....................  Design requirements for
                                     pressurization and pneumatic
                                     systems installed on transport
                                     category airplanes.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--2120-AH35....................  Reverse thrust and propeller pitch
                                     settings below the flight regime.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--2120-AH48....................  Modification of the dimensions of
                                     the Grand Canyon National Park
                                     special flight rules area and
                                     flight free zones.
                                    Reason: Environmental issues raised
                                     by National Park Service.
FAA--2120-AH71....................  Revised checked pitching maneuver
                                     for transport airplanes.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--2120-AH73....................  Revised requirements for gust and
                                     continuous turbulence design loads.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--2120-AH74....................  Harmonization of airworthiness
                                     standards flight rules, static
                                     lateral-directional stability, and
                                     speed increase and recovery
                                     characteristics.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.
FAA--2120-AH80....................  Airworthiness standards; fire
                                     protection.
                                    Reason: Relative ability to improve
                                     safety and need to realize the
                                     greatest benefit from our limited
                                     resources.

[[Page 43880]]

 
FHWA--2125-AE91...................  Debt financing.
                                    Reason: Impact of reauthorization of
                                     the surface transportation program.
FMCSA--2126-AA24..................  Electronic filing of surety bonds,
                                     trust fund agreements, insurance
                                     certificates; cancellations.
                                    Reason: Optional electronic filing
                                     capability makes this rulemaking no
                                     longer necessary.
FMCSA--2126-AA39..................  Federal motor carrier safety
                                     regulations; zero-base revision.
                                    Reason: Regulatory changes would
                                     have been burdensome.
FMCSA--2126-AA50..................  Post-accident controlled substances
                                     and alcohol test results; reporting
                                     requirements for fatality analysis
                                     reporting system.
                                    Reason: Regulatory changes would
                                     have been burdensome.
FMCSA--2126-AA63..................  Rules of practice for administrative
                                     proceedings.
                                    Reason: Merging into RIN 2126-AA15.
NHTSA--2127-AB79..................  Procedures for considering
                                     environmental impacts.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AG79..................  Hybrid III 95th percentile male.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH00..................  Political subdivision participation
                                     in state highway safety programs
                                     and state highway safety agency.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH27..................  Metric conversion--phase III.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH56..................  Use of universal child seats in
                                     aircraft.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH58..................  Exemption for inconsequential defect
                                     or noncompliance.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH63..................  Compliance and enforcement.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH89..................  Defect reporting and notification.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AH97..................  Guidelines for states on enforcement
                                     of light transmission.
                                    Reason: Any action by NHTSA will not
                                     lead to a regulation.
NHTSA--2127-AI36..................  Seat belt fit.
                                    Reason: Rulemaking unnecessary
                                     because many vehicles have belts
                                     long enough to fit almost all users
                                     and optional longer belts or seat
                                     belt extenders are available for
                                     87.5 percent of the fleet.
                                     Requiring manufacturers to provide
                                     longer belts or belt extenders may
                                     have negative safety consequences.
NHTSA--2127-AI40..................  Voluntarily installed seat belt
                                     assembly anchorages.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
NHTSA--2127-AI78..................  Exemption for inconsequential defect
                                     or noncompliance.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
FRA--2130-AB27....................  Crane safety standards.
                                    Reason: Under review by the Rail
                                     Safety Advisory Committee.
FRA--2130-AB30....................  Annual adjustment of monetary
                                     threshold for reporting rail
                                     equipment accidents/incidents.
                                    Reason: Related rulemaking issued
                                     under 2130-AB57.
FRA--2130-AB35....................  Revision to railroad safety
                                     enforcement procedures.
                                    Reason: Limited resources.
FRA--2130-AB36....................  Rules of practice.
                                    Reason: Limited resources.
FRA--2130-AB46....................  Minimum standards for temperature in
                                     the locomotive cab.
                                    Reason: Not cost effective.
RSPA--2137-AD57...................  Hazardous materials; frangible discs
                                     on tank cars.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
RSPA--2137-AD75...................  Hazardous materials; transportation
                                     of division 1.5 explosives
                                     (blasting agents) and ammonium
                                     nitrate mixtures in bulk.
                                    Reason: Other higher priorities.
BTS--2139-AA01....................  Modernizing the passenger origin-
                                     destination survey.
                                    Reason: Will merge with RIN 2105-
                                     AC71.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. The following is a future withdrawal action that will be 
published in the Federal Register. For this item, we have provided the 
DOT agency, the RIN, the title, and the projected withdrawal date, the 
action being withdrawn, and the Federal Register citation and date for 
the action being withdrawn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Title--projected
              RIN                 date of withdrawal          Action                Federal Register cite
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OST--2105-AC45.................  Overbooking of        Notice of proposed   61 FR 27818, 06/03/96.
                                  flights:              rulemaking.
                                  elimination of
                                  airport notice
                                  signs--07/03.
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    5. The following is a future termination action. For this item, we 
have provided the DOT agency, the RIN, the title, the reason for the 
termination, and a projected termination date.

[[Page 43881]]



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                                                                                                     Projected
                      RIN                                             Title                         termination
                                                                                                       date
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NHTSA--2127-AG16..............................  Door latch exemption for vehicles equipped with        06/00/03.
                                                 wheelchair lifts and ramps.
                                                Reason: Recent changes in technology have
                                                 eliminated the necessity for these
                                                 modifications.
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    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2003.
Norman Y. Mineta,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 03-18593 Filed 7-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P