12754 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

was to bring more broad-based producer 

support to the Beef Checkoff program 

through a discussion of issues regarding 

Beef Checkoff administration and to 

provide the Secretary with 

recommendations that would enhance 

support for the Beef Checkoff. Many 

major Beef Checkoff industry 

stakeholders attended, including the 

American National Cattlewomen, 

American Veal Association, Livestock 

Marketing Association, NCBA, National 

Livestock Producers Association, and 

Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, 

United Stockgrowers of America (R– 

CALF). Representatives from the AMS 

also attended the meeting, as did the 

Chief Executive Officer and Producer 

Chairman of the Board. 

As a result of that meeting, the 

Secretary received a joint letter signed 

by most of the organizations in 

attendance. The letter requested that 

USDA amend Beef Checkoff regulations 

to expand the contracting authority as 

authorized under the Act and Order by 

permitting organizations that are active 

and ongoing for at least two years to 

contract with the BPOC. 

Conclusion 

A greater number of beef industry 

organizations exist now than did at the 

time the Order was issued. The Beef 

Checkoff Program could benefit from the 

perspectives and skills of some of these 

organizations that are ineligible solely 

because they were formed after the 

enactment of the Act. For several years, 

the beef industry has been 

recommending expanding the eligibility 

of organizations to contract with the 

BPOC in order to enhance the Beef 

Checkoff Program. Amending the Order 

would allow the BPOC to contract with 

organizations possessing the requisite 

experience, skills and information 

related to the marketing of beef and beef 

products, as is intended under the Act. 

A 60-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposal. Sixty days is deemed 

appropriate to facilitate the orderly and 

thoughtful consideration of this 

proposal. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1260 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 

research, Imports, Marketing agreement, 

Meat and meat products, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, it is proposed that 7 CFR part 

1260 be amended as follows: 

PART 1260—BEEF PROMOTION AND 

RESEARCH 

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1260 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2901–2911 and 7 

U.S.C. 7401. 

2. In § 1260.113, paragraph (c) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 1260.113 Established national non-profit 

industry-governed organizations. 

* * * * * 

(c) Have been active and ongoing for 

at least two years. 

Dated: February 28, 2012. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5145 Filed 3–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 719 

48 Parts 931, 952 and 970 

RIN 1990–AA37 

Contractor Legal Management 

Requirements; Acquisition 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Reopening of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: This document announces a 

reopening of the time period for 

submitting comments on the 

Department of Energy (DOE or 

Department) notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NOPR) to revise existing 

regulations covering contractor legal 

management requirements and make 

conforming amendments to the 

Department of Energy Acquisition 

Regulation (DEAR) (76 FR 81408). The 

comment period is reopened until 

March 16, 2012. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

request for information relating to the 

DOE notice of proposed rulemaking to 

revise existing regulations covering 

contractor legal management 

requirements and make conforming 

amendments to the DEAR is reopened 

until March 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted 

must identify this NOPR on Contractor 

Legal Management Requirements, and 

provide regulatory information number 

(RIN) 1990–AA37. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: 

DOE.719comments@hq.doe.gov. Include 

RIN 1990–AA37 in the subject line of 

the message. 

3. Mail: Lisa Pinder, Administrative 

Assistant, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of General Counsel, GC–60, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20585. If possible, please submit all 

items on a compact disc (CD), in which 

case it is not necessary to include 

printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Lisa 

Pinder, Administrative Assistant, U.S. 

Department of Energy, GC–60, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586–5426. 

If possible, please submit all items on a 

CD, in which case it is not necessary to 

include printed copies. 

No faxes will be accepted. 

For further information on how to 

submit a public comment, review other 

public comments and the docket, 

contact Ms. Lisa Pinder (202) 586–5426 

or by Email: lisa.pinder@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Eric Mulch, Attorney-Adviser, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of General 

Counsel, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 287–5746. Email: 

eric.mulch@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 28, 2011, The DOE published 

a NOPR in the Federal Register (76 FR 

81408) to revise existing regulations 

covering contractor legal management 

requirements and make conforming 

amendments to the DEAR. The NOPR 

requested public comment from 

interested parties regarding the 

proposed revisions by February 27, 

2012. DOE has determined that 

reopening the comment period to allow 

additional time for interested parties to 

submit comments is appropriate. 

Therefore, DOE is reopening the 

comment period until March 16, 2012 to 

provide interested parties additional 

time to prepare and submit comments. 

Accordingly, DOE will consider any 

comments received by March 16, 2012 

to be timely submitted. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2012 / Proposed Rules 12755 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 27, 

2012. 

Paul Bosco, 

Director, Office of Procurement and 

Assistance Management, Department of 

Energy. 

Barbara Stearrett, 

Deputy Director, Office of Acquisition, 

Management, National Nuclear Security 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5113 Filed 3–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0060; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–NE–02–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney (PW) Division Turbofan 

Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

PW4000 series turbofan engines. This 

proposed AD was prompted by reports 

of 3rd and 4th stage vane fractures in 

the low pressure turbine (LPT) of certain 

PW4000–94′′ and PW4000–100′′ 

turbofan engines. These fractures caused 

an uncontained engine failure, an LPT 

case puncture, and multiple in flight 

shutdowns. We are proposing this AD to 

prevent 3rd and 4th stage vane fractures 

in the LPT, which could damage the 

LPT rotor and lead to an uncontained 

engine failure and damage to the 

airplane. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by May 1, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Pratt & 

Whitney, 400 Main St., East Hartford, 

CT 06108; phone: 860–565–4321. You 

may review copies of the referenced 

service information at the FAA, Engine 

& Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 781–238– 

7125. 

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 proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Office 

(phone: 800–647–5527) is in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Gray, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, 12 New 

England Executive Park; phone: 781– 

238–7742; fax: 781–238–7199; email: 

james.e.gray@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposal. Send your comments to 

an address listed under the ADDRESSES

section. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA– 

2012–0060; Directorate Identifier 2012– 

NE–02–AD’’ at the beginning of your 

comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD because of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://www.

regulations.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. We will also 

post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this proposed AD. 

Discussion 

We have received reports of 3rd and 

4th stage vane fractures in the LPT of 

certain PW4000–94′′ and PW4000–100′′ 

turbofan engines. These fractures caused 

an uncontained engine failure, an LPT 

case puncture, and multiple in flight 

shutdowns. We have identified four 

primary root causes for LPT vane 

failures: 

1. Inadequate retention of the vane in 

the case due to dimensional tolerances 

which causes 3rd stage vane liberations. 

This AD requires dimensional 

inspections of the 3rd stage vanes at 

their retention points and case at LPT 

assembly after overhaul. 

2. Non-uniform airfoil fillet radii 

found on vanes produced prior to 2005 

which causes 4th stage vane fractures. 

This AD removes these vanes, identified 

by the casting identifier, from service at 

the next LPT overhaul. 

3. Multiple strip-and-recoat repairs of 

the 4th stage vanes which degrade the 

structural integrity of the vanes and 

cause 4th stage vane fractures. This AD 

removes from service 4th stage vanes 

with multiple strip-and-recoat repairs. 

This AD also prohibits approving for 

return to service any 4th stage vane with 

more than one strip-and-recoat repair. 

4. Aerodynamic excitation of the 

vanes which causes 4th stage vane 

fractures. The excitation is attributed to 

the rotor assembly methods for the 

upstream rotor stages. This AD requires 

reassembling the 2nd stage HPT blades 

at the next HPT overhaul and the 3rd 

stage LPT blades at the next LPT 

overhaul, using the latest assembly 

technique. 

The actions proposed in this AD are 

intended to address each of the root 

causes identified above. This condition, 

if not corrected, could result in 3rd and 

4th stage vane fractures in the LPT, 

which could damage the LPT rotor and 

lead to an uncontained engine failure 

and damage to the airplane. 

FAA’s Determination 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all the relevant information 

and determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other products of the same 

type designs. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require 

dimensional inspections of 3rd stage 

vanes and the rear turbine case. This AD 

also requires inspection of 4th stage 

vanes at the next LPT overhaul and 

removal of vanes with non-conforming 

airfoil fillet radii and vanes with more 

than one strip and recoat repair. This 

AD also requires disassembly and 

reassembly of the 2nd stage HPT rotor 

and 3rd stage LPT rotor at the next HPT 

and LPT overhauls. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

affects 807 engines installed on 

airplanes of U.S. registry. We estimate 

that it would take 2 work-hours per 

engine to perform the LPT 3rd stage 

vane cluster assembly and rear turbine 

case inspections. The average labor rate 

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