3614 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices

meeting, providing name, affiliation,

date of birth and social security number,

to arrange for pre-clearance. One of the

following valid photo ID’s is required

for admittance: U.S. driver’s license

with picture, passport, government ID

(company ID’s are not accepted). Enter

from the ‘‘C’’ Street Main Lobby.

Dated: January 12, 1998.

William J. Kirsch,

Chairman, ITAC–T Sector.

[FR Doc. 98–1573 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–45–M

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2669]

Proposed Unidroit Convention and Its

Aircraft Protocol Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice is hereby given of an

Advisory Committee meeting to be held

on Thursday, February 26 starting at

9:00 a.m. in the Civil Aeromedical

Institute auditorium, Room 254, located

at 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma

City, Oklahoma. The meeting will end at

or before 1:00 p.m. on February 26.

There may be an afternoon session from

2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for further

discussion.

Attendance: The meeting is open to

the public, free of charge, and is limited

to available seating. It may be of interest

to persons associated with the selling,

leasing, and financing of aircraft and

aircraft engines, including persons who

search title, give title opinions, submit

conveyances for recordation to the FAA

Aircraft Registry, or otherwise

participate in aircraft financing.

Nature: The meeting is intended only

to provide information. No formal

record will be made. No written

comments will be accepted from the

audience.

Agenda:

(1) Introductory remarks

(2) Purpose of UNIDROIT Convention

(3) Status of actions taken (UNIDROIT

Convention and Aircraft Protocol)

(4) Summary of UNIDROIT Convention

with emphasis on registration of

international interests

(5) Summary of Aircraft Protocol

(6) Relationship of UNIDROIT

Convention to existing laws and

treaties

(7) Question and Answer Period

Background: The United States

Government, through the United States

Department of State, has been

participating with other nations in

studying a proposed multilateral

convention (UNIDROIT Convention) to

protect international secured interests in

mobile equipment, including aircraft.

A preliminary draft of the UNIDROIT

Convention will be submitted to the

UNIDROIT Governing Council in early

1998. Thereafter, it is expected that the

draft will be circulated to States to

determine whether to proceed to

intergovernmental negotiations to

conclude the Convention.

As proposed, the UNIDROIT

Convention would not take effect unless

a protocol has been adopted for a

specific category of mobile objects. In

that regard, UNIDROIT’s Aircraft

Equipment Protocol Group has

completed a preliminary draft protocol

which would pertain to certain large

airframes and large helicopters, and jet

and turbine engines.

The UNIDROIT Convention and

Aircraft Equipment Protocol together,

when and if adopted and enacted into

law by contracting states would provide

a comprehensive international system to

protect leasing and financing interests.

Significant features might include

default remedies, priorities, and

establishment of an international

registration system to register (record)

international consensual interests, nonconsensual interests, assignments,

prospective assignments, and

subordinations.

It is anticipated that the international

registration system would be primarily

an electronic notice system. As

proposed, the international registration

system is not intended to interfere with

countries’ existing national registration

and recordation systems (e.g., Parts 47

and 49 of the Federal Aviation

Regulations).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph R. Standell, Aeronautical Center

Counsel, Federal Aviation

Administration, P.O. Box 25082,

Oklahoma City, OK 73125, telephone

number (405) 954–3296; fax number

(405) 954–4676.

Dated: December 17, 1997.

Harold S. Burman,

Executive Director, Secretary of State’s

Advisory Committee on Private International

Law, United States Department of State.

[FR Doc. 98–1631 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4701–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee—New Task

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of a new task assignment

for the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC).

SUMMARY: Notice is given of a new task

assigned to and accepted by the

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC). This notice informs

the public of the activities of ARC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph A. Hawkins, Director, Office of

Rulemaking, ARM–1, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;

telephone (202) 267–9677 or fax (202)

267–5075.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The FAA has established an Aviation

Rulemaking Advisory Committee to

provide advice and recommendations to

the FAA Administrator, through the

Associate Administrator for Regulation

and Certification, on the full range of

the FAA’s rulemaking activities with

respect to aviation-related issues. This

includes obtaining advice and

recommendations on the FAA’s

commitment to harmonize its Federal

Aviation Regulation (FAR) and practices

with its trading partners in Europe and

Canada.

The Task

This notice is to inform the public

that the FAA has asked ARAC to

provide advice and recommendation on

the following harmonization task:

Prevention of Fuel Tank Explosions

Prepare a report to the FAA/JAA that

provides specific recommendations and

proposed regulatory text that will

eliminate or significantly reduce the

hazards associated with explosive

vapors in transport category airplane

fuel tanks. Proposed regulatory text

should ensure that new type designs, inproduction airplanes and the existing

fleet of transport airplanes are designed

and operated so that during normal

operation (up to maximum certified

operating temperatures) the presence of

explosive fuel air vapors in all fuel

tanks is eliminated, significantly

reduced or controlled to the extent that

there could not be a catastrophic event.

(This task addresses means of reducing

explosion hazards by eliminating or

controlling explosive fuel vapors. The

FAA is also engaged in a separate

activity to evaluate whether additional

actions should be taken to ensure that

ignition sources are not present within

fuel tanks. Therefore, control of ignition

sources is not within the scope of this

task.) In developing recommendations
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices 3615

to the authorities, a report should be

generated that includes the following:

(1) An analysis of the threat of fuel

tank explosion due to internal and

external tank ignition sources for the

major fuel system designs making up

the transport fleet, including transport

airplanes with heat sources adjacent to

or within the fuel tanks. The SAFER

data presented to the FAA in 1978,

which includes evaluation of fuel tank

safety in both operational and post crash

conditions, should be used as a starting

point for determining the level of safety.

(2) An analysis of various means of

reducing or eliminating exposure to

operation of transport airplane fuel

tanks with explosive fuel air mixtures

(e.g. inerting, cooling of lower center

tank surfaces, combination of cooling

and modified fuel properties, etc.) or

eliminating the resultant hazard if

ignition does occur (installation of

selective/voided/full tank reticulating

foam, explosion suppression systems).

Technical discussion of the feasibility,

including cost/benefit analysis, of

implementing each of the options on a

fleet retrofit, current production, and

new type design airplanes should also

be provided.

(3) An analysis of the cost/benefit of

modified fuel properties that reduce

exposure to explosive vapors within

fuel tanks. The FAA has asked industry

through the American Petroleum

Institute to provide pertinent

information on fuel properties. The

degree of modification to fuel properties

necessary to eliminate or significantly

reduce exposure to explosive fuel tank

ullage spaces in fleet operation must be

determined by the group. Factors that

may enhance the benefits of modified

fuels, such as cooling provisions

incorporated to reduce fuel tank

temperatures, should be considered.

Cost information for the various options

should be developed. Information

regarding the effects of modified fuel

properties on airplane operations, such

as engine air/ground starting at low

temperatures, maintenance impact,

emissions and fuel freeze point, should

be analyzed by the group and be

provided.

(4) Review comments to the April 3,

1997, Federal register notice (62 FR

16014) and any additional information

such that validated cost benefit data of

a certifiable system is provided for the

various options proposed by

commenters. This information will be

used in preparing regulatory action.

Note: In many cases specific cost data

provided in the comments to the notice was

competition sensitive; therefore the ARAC

group should contact commenters directly

and request participation in the group.

(5) Recommended objective regulatory

actions that will eliminate, significantly

reduce or control the hazards associated

with explosive fuel air mixtures in all

transport airplane fuel tanks to the

extent that there could not be a

catastrophic event.

In addition to the above task, the

working group should support the FAA

in evaluation of application of the

proposed regulation to the various types

of transport airplanes (turbopropeller,

business jets, large transports, and other

turbine-powered aircraft types which

may be affected by a change in fuel

properties/availability) and any impact

on small businesses.

This activity will be tasked for a 6-

month time limit to complete the task

defined above. The FAA will consider

the recommendations produced by

ARAC and initiate future FAA

regulatory action. However, if the group

is unable to provide the FAA with

proposed regulatory language within

this time period, the FAA will initiate

rulemaking independently. Participants

of the ARAC should be prepared to

participate on a full-time basis for a 6-

month period if necessary.

ARAC Acceptance of Task

ARAC has accepted this task and has

chosen to assign it to a new Fuel Tank

Harmonization Working Group. The

new working group will serve as staff to

the ARAC Executive Committee to assist

ARAC in the analysis of the assigned

task. Working group recommendations

must be reviewed and approved by

ARAC. If ARAC accepts the working

group’s recommendations, it will

forward them to the FAA as ARAC

recommendations.

The Fuel Tank Harmonization

Working Group should coordinate with

other harmonization working groups,

organizations, and specialists as

appropriate. The working group will

identify to ARAC the need for

additional new working groups when

existing groups do not have the

appropriate expertise to address certain

tasks.

Working Group Activity

The Fuel Tank Harmonization

Working Group is expected to comply

with the procedures adopted by ARAC.

As part of the procedures, the working

group is expected to:

1. Recommend a work plan for

completion of the task, including the

rationale supporting such a plan, for

consideration at the ARAC Executive

Committee meeting held following

publication of this notice.

2. Give a detailed conceptual

presentation of the proposed

recommendations, prior to proceeding

with the work stated in item 3 below.

3. Draft a report and/or any other

collateral documents the working group

determines to be appropriate.

4. Provide a status report at each

meeting of the ARAC Executive

Committee.

Participation in the Working Group

The Fuel Tank Harmonization

Working Group will be composed of

experts having an interest in the

assigned task. A working group member

need not be a representative of a

member of the full committee.

An individual who has expertise in

the subject matter and wishes to become

a member of the working group should

write to the person listed under the

caption FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT expressing that desire,

describing his or her interest in the

tasks, and stating the expertise he or she

would bring to the working group. All

requests to participate must be received

no later than February 2, 1998. The

requests will be reviewed by the ARAC

chair, the executive director, and the

working group chair, and the

individuals will be advised whether or

not the request can be accommodated.

The Secretary of Transportation has

determined that the formation and use

of ARAC are necessary and in the public

interest in connection with the

performance of duties imposed on the

FAA by law.

Meetings of the ARAC Executive

Committee will be open to the public.

Meetings of the Fuel Tank

Harmonization Working Group will not

be open to the public, except to the

extent that individuals with an interest

and expertise are selected to participate.

No public announcement of working

group meetings will be made.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 20,

1998.

Joseph A. Hawkins,

Executive Director, Aviation Rulemaking

Advisory Committee.

[FR Doc. 98–1743 Filed 1–21–98; 1:48 pm]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33540]

Blue Mountain Railroad, Inc.—

Trackage Rights Exemption—Union

Pacific Railroad Company

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP)

will agree to grant local trackage rights

to Blue Mountain Railroad, Inc. (BMR)

between: (1) UP milepost 210.0 at