Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 26, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 44457 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), the information collection or 

recordkeeping requirements included in 

this rule have been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under OMB control number 

0579–0366. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. A new § 319.56–51 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–51 Shepherd’s purse with roots 

from the Republic of Korea. 

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursapastoris (L.) Medick) with roots from the 

Republic of Korea may be imported only 

under the following conditions: 

(a) The shepherd’s purse with roots 

must be grown in a pest-free place of 

production that is registered with the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of the Republic of Korea. Fields 

must be certified free of the quarantine 

nematodes Hemicycliophora koreana, 

Paratylenchus pandus, Rotylenchus 

orientalis, and Rotylenchus pini by 

sampling and microscopic inspection of 

the samples by the NPPO of the 

Republic of Korea. The sampling and 

inspection protocol must be 

preapproved by APHIS. 

(b) The shepherd’s purse with roots 

must be free from soil. 

(c) The shepherd’s purse with roots 

must be imported in commercial 

shipments only. 

(d) Each consignment of shepherd’s 

purse with roots must be accompanied 

by a phytosanitary certificate of 

inspection issued by the NPPO of the 

Republic of Korea stating that the 

shipment has been inspected and found 

free of quarantine pests with an 

additional declaration stating that the 

shepherd’s purse with roots has been 

produced and inspected in accordance 

with the requirements of 7 CFR 319.56– 

51. 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0579–0366) 

Done in Washington, DC this 20th day of 

July 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–18851 Filed 7–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 34 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–0746] 

Application of Regulations on Fuel 

Venting 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Policy determination. 

SUMMARY: This document advises the 

public of a recent decision by the 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

concerning the application of certain 

provisions of the regulations regarding 

fuel venting requirements. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

by August 25, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: This is a notice of a policy 

determination only. You may send 

comments identified by Docket Number 

FAA–2011–0746 using any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 of the West Building 

Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

Privacy: The FAA will post all 

comments it receives, without change, 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information the 

commenter provides. Using the search 

function of the docket Web site, anyone 

can find and read the electronic form of 

all comments received into any FAA 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement can be 

found in the Federal Register published 

on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–19478), 

as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or go to Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Curtis Holsclaw, Office of Environment 

and Energy (AEE–2), FAA, 800 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20591; e-mail 

Curtis.holsclaw@faa.gov, facsimile (202) 

267–5594, telephone (202) 267–3575. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title 14 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (14 

CFR), part 34, § 34.11 is the regulation 

that prohibits fuel venting, the 

intentional discharge to the atmosphere 

of fuel drained from fuel nozzle 

manifolds after engines are shut down. 

By its terms, the regulation does not 

apply to normal fuel seepage from shaft 

seals, joints, and fittings. 

During a recent aircraft certification, 

the FAA became aware of difficulties in 

applying the language of § 34.11 to the 

newest designs of aircraft engines. The 

Boeing Models 747–8, 747–8F, and 787 

series airplanes incorporate new 

General Electric (GE) Model GEnx-2B 

and GEnx-1B engines, respectively. 

These GE engines include an advanced 

technology fuel system that significantly 

reduces fuel consumption and 

emissions. This technology incorporates 

the use of a larger, complex fuel 

manifold and a new fuel nozzle design 

that also uses check valves as an 

alternative to a fuel manifold drainage 

collection tank as a means to prevent 

release of fuel after shutdown. While 

this design reduces overall emissions, 

flight tests revealed an intermittent, 

inadvertent release of a small amount of 


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44458 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 26, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

fuel after the engines were shut down. 

This release of fuel is caused by 

unexpected elevated fuel manifold 

pressures that result in the release of 

fuel from the fuel nozzles. Under certain 

atmospheric conditions this release of 

fuel results in a visible vapor. This 

event was not observed during the GEnx 

engine’s certification testing under 14 

CFR part 33, but only after it was 

installed and operated on the subject 

airplanes. 

Following these observations, the 

FAA reconsidered how the provisions of 

§ 34.11 should be applied under the 

circumstances of these certifications. A 

review of the history of the section 

found that it was promulgated in 1973 

in response to short-sighted 

environmental practices of the time, 

including the routine dumping of up to 

a gallon of raw fuel onto the ground 

after engines were shut down. The 

general prohibition in § 34.11 is stated 

in the first sentence of that section, that 

‘‘[n]o fuel venting emissions shall be 

discharged into the atmosphere from 

any new or in-use aircraft gas turbine 

engine subject to the subpart.’’ The 

second sentence appears to condition 

this prohibition, stating that ‘‘[t]his 

paragraph is directed at the elimination 

of intentional discharge to the 

atmosphere of fuel drained from fuel 

nozzle manifolds after engines are shut 

down and does not apply to normal fuel 

seepage from shaft seals, joints, and 

fittings.’’ The language of the second 

sentence presents a unique situation in 

aircraft certification by introducing the 

concept of intent, without clearly 

referencing where the intent attaches. 

The second sentence also specifies three 

locations where ‘‘seepage’’ is considered 

normal and acceptable. 

Historically, application of § 34.11 has 

not been an issue. Aircraft engines 

designed since promulgation of the rule 

have not included any means by which 

fuel is collected and dispersed outside 

the engine after shutdown. The GEnx 

engines at issue do not release fuel from 

the three locations noted in the 

regulation—shaft seals, joints, or 

fittings. Nor does the amount of fuel or 

the manner in which it is being released 

rise to the level of historical fuel 

dumping that prompted the adoption of 

the regulation in 1973. Yet, small 

quantities of fuel (up to 5.5 ounces) are 

being released intermittently under 

certain conditions, and the fuel is being 

vaporized on contact with hot surfaces 

inside the engine, resulting in the 

visible fuel vapors that have been 

observed when they emit from either the 

inlet or exit plane of the engine. 

The new engines incorporate 

technological advances and 

environmental performance 

improvements that were never 

envisioned when the original regulation 

was adopted in 1973. These factors have 

made it more difficult to reconcile the 

design and function of these engines in 

a certification context with a 38-year-old 

regulation that was aimed at a different 

set of circumstances. Application of the 

current regulation has become less clear 

in this context. 

With the cooperation of the 

equipment manufacturers, the FAA 

investigated the safety and 

environmental effects of the fuel release 

and vaporization. The FAA consulted 

with the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) on the local air quality 

impacts. While we were satisfied that no 

safety and minimal environmental 

effects are evident, we remain 

concerned about compliance with the 

intent of the current regulation, and the 

inability of the current regulation to be 

unambiguously applied to the 

certification situation. 

The FAA has determined that the best 

course of action is to allow the current 

certification of these engine/airframe 

combinations. The certification basis 

includes requirements that the 

manufacturers develop and install 

modifications that will eliminate these 

intermittent fuel releases and observed 

vapors that have been experienced 

during certification testing. These 

modifications will apply to newly 

manufactured airplanes by December 

31, 2012, and in-use airplanes by 

December 31, 2014. 

The technological advances 

incorporated in these engines allow 

them to more than exceed the separate 

regulatory requirements for emissions 

that are the focus of current 

environmental compliance efforts. The 

FAA will re-examine the language of the 

fuel venting regulation and its 

application during certification to 

determine whether it needs to be 

changed to address issues associated 

with newer technologies. We may 

consult with the EPA on whether to 

propose changes to § 34.11 and its 

companion regulation at 40 CFR 87.11. 

We will also consider whether more 

flexibility in application of the 

regulation is appropriate based on the 

experience gained during this 

certification. The decision to proceed 

with certification of the subject 

airframe/engine combinations is an 

effort to acknowledge the lack of clarity 

in the application of the regulation to 

the specific circumstances encountered. 

The requirement to modify the aircraft 

is intended to prevent any retrenchment 

from the original regulatory intent. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 14, 

2011. 

Lourdes Q. Maurice, 

Executive Director, Office of Environment and 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–18191 Filed 7–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0402; Directorate 

Identifier 2007–NM–165–AD; Amendment 

39–16760; AD 2011–16–02] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Model 747 Airplanes and 

Model 767 Airplanes Equipped With 

General Electric Model CF6–80C2 or 

CF6–80A Series Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This AD requires 

revising the airplane flight manual 

(AFM) to advise the flightcrew to use 

certain procedures during descent in 

certain icing conditions. This AD was 

prompted by reports of several in-flight 

engine flameouts, including multiple 

dual engine flameout events and one 

total power loss event, in ice-crystal 

icing conditions. We are issuing this AD 

to ensure that the flightcrew has the 

proper procedures to follow in certain 

icing conditions. These certain icing 

conditions could cause a multiple 

engine flameout during flight with the 

potential inability to restart the engines, 

and consequent forced landing of the 

airplane. 

DATES: This AD is effective August 30, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES:

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Management Facility between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 

docket contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The address for the 

Docket Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is 

Document Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 


wreier-aviles on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with RULES