2362 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2000 / Proposed Rules

2000, and announced that DOE would

hold two public hearings on the

proposal. On December 15, 1999, DOE

published a notice announcing the

dates, times and locations for two public

hearings on the proposed rule (64 FR

69963). This notice announces a 14-day

extension of the public comment period

to February 28, 2000, cancellation of the

public hearings previously scheduled

for January 18 and 19, 2000, and new

dates, times and locations for the public

hearings.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by February 28, 2000. DOE will

consider comments after February 28,

2000, to the extent practicable. DOE

requests one copy of the written

comments. Public hearings have been

rescheduled for the following dates and

locations:

1. February 2, 2000, from 11:00 a.m. to

2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

2. February 3, 2000, from 11:00 a.m. to

2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to Dr. William J. Boyle or

Dr. Jane Summerson, U.S. Department

of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site

Characterization Office, P.O. Box 30307,

North Las Vegas, Nevada 89036–0307,

or provided by electronic mail to

10CFR963@notes.ymp.gov, or by

Facsimile at 1–800–967–0739. The

public hearings will be held at the

following locations:

1. February 2, 2000, Terrible’s Lakeside

Casino, 5870 South Homestead Road,

Pahrump, Nevada 89048.

2. February 3, 2000, St. Tropez-All Suite

Hotel, 455 East Harmon Avenue, Las

Vegas, Nevada 89109.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

William J. Boyle or Dr. Jane Summerson,

U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca

Mountain Site Characterization Office,

P.O. Box 30307, North Las Vegas,

Nevada 89036–0307, Telephone 1–800–

967–3477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To

schedule a time to provide oral

comments during the hearings, please

call Dr. Summerson at 1–800–967–3477.

Persons wishing to provide oral

comments who have not registered in

advance may register at the hearings.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 12,

2000.

Ivan Itkin,

Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste

Management.

[FR Doc. 00–1071 Filed 1–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 99–NM–321–AD]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier

Model DHC–8–100 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposes the

adoption of a new airworthiness

directive (AD) that is applicable to

certain Bombardier Model DHC–8–100

series airplanes. This proposal would

require changing the power supply for

the thunderstorm lights from the left

secondary bus to the left essential bus.

This proposal is prompted by issuance

of mandatory continuing airworthiness

information by a foreign civil

airworthiness authority. The actions

specified by the proposed AD are

intended to prevent a failure of the

thunderstorm lights in the cockpit after

loss of all generated electrical power.

This condition could result in the

cockpit instruments not being visible to

the flight crew during certain emergency

procedures, and consequent reduced

controllability of the airplane.

DATES: Comments must be received by

February 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in

triplicate to the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Transport

Airplane Directorate, ANM–114,

Attention: Rules Docket No. 99–NM–

321–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Comments may be inspected at this

location between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

The service information referenced in

the proposed rule may be obtained from

Bombardier, Inc., Bombardier Regional

Aircraft Division, Garratt Boulevard,

Downsview, Ontario M3K 1Y5, Canada.

This information may be examined at

the FAA, Transport Airplane

Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington, or the New York

Aircraft Certification Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Luciano Castracane, Aerospace

Engineer, Airframe and Propulsion

Branch, ANE–171, FAA, Engine and

Propeller Directorate, New York Aircraft

Certification Office, 10 Fifth Street,

Third Floor, Valley Stream, New York

11581; telephone (516) 256–7535; fax

(516) 568–2716.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed rule by submitting such

written data, views, or arguments as

they may desire. Communications shall

identify the Rules Docket number and

be submitted in triplicate to the address

specified above. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments, specified above, will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposals contained

in this notice may be changed in light

of the comments received.

Comments are specifically invited on

the overall regulatory, economic,

environmental, and energy aspects of

the proposed rule. All comments

submitted will be available, both before

and after the closing date for comments,

in the Rules Docket for examination by

interested persons. A report

summarizing each FAA-public contact

concerned with the substance of this

proposal will be filed in the Rules

Docket.

Commenters wishing the FAA to

acknowledge receipt of their comments

submitted in response to this notice

must submit a self-addressed, stamped

postcard on which the following

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to

Docket Number 99–NM–321–AD.’’ The

postcard will be date stamped and

returned to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

Any person may obtain a copy of this

NPRM by submitting a request to the

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate,

ANM–114, Attention: Rules Docket No.

99–NM–321–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue,

SW., Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Discussion

Transport Canada Civil Aviation

(TCCA), which is the airworthiness

authority for Canada, notified the FAA

that an unsafe condition may exist on

certain Bombardier Model DHC–8–100

series airplanes. The thunderstorm

lights on these airplanes are supplied

with electrical power from the left

secondary bus. TCCA advises that the

loss of all generated power under this

condition would result in no cockpit

instrument lighting. Loss of electrical

power, if not corrected, could result in

the cockpit instruments not being

visible to the flight crew during certain

emergency procedures, and consequent

reduced controllability of the airplane.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2000 / Proposed Rules 2363

Explanation of Relevant Service

Information

Bombardier has issued Service

Bulletin S.B. 8–24–69, Revision ‘A’,

dated June 11, 1999, which describes

procedures for changing the power

supply for the thunderstorm lights in

the cockpit from the left secondary bus

to the left essential bus.

Accomplishment of the actions

specified in the service bulletin is

intended to adequately address the

identified unsafe condition. TCCA

classified this service bulletin as

mandatory and issued Canadian

airworthiness directive CF–99–21, dated

July 22, 1999, in order to assure the

continued airworthiness of these

airplanes in Canada.

FAA’s Conclusions

This airplane model is manufactured

in Canada and is type certificated for

operation in the United States under the

provisions of section 21.29 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR

21.29) and the applicable bilateral

airworthiness agreement. Pursuant to

this bilateral airworthiness agreement,

TCCA has kept the FAA informed of the

situation described above. The FAA has

examined the findings of TCCA,

reviewed all available information, and

determined that AD action is necessary

for products of this type design that are

certificated for operation in the United

States.

Explanation of Requirements of

Proposed Rule

Since an unsafe condition has been

identified that is likely to exist or

develop on other airplanes of the same

type design registered in the United

States, the proposed AD would require

accomplishment of the actions specified

in the service bulletin described

previously.

Cost Impact

The FAA estimates that 9 airplanes of

U.S. registry would be affected by this

proposed AD, that it would take

approximately 3 work hours per

airplane to accomplish the proposed

actions, and that the average labor rate

is $60 per work hour. Required parts

would cost approximately $306 per

airplane. Based on these figures, the cost

impact of the proposed AD on U.S.

operators is estimated to be $4,374, or

$486 per airplane.

The cost impact figure discussed

above is based on assumptions that no

operator has yet accomplished any of

the proposed requirements of this AD

action, and that no operator would

accomplish those actions in the future if

this AD were not adopted.

Regulatory Impact

The regulations proposed herein

would not have a substantial direct

effect on the States, on the relationship

between the national Government and

the States, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities among the

various levels of government. Therefore,

it is determined that this proposal

would not have federalism implications

under Executive Order 13132.

For the reasons discussed above, I

certify that this proposed regulation (1)

is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not

a ‘‘significant rule’’ under the DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44

FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and (3) if

promulgated, will not have a significant

economic impact, positive or negative,

on a substantial number of small entities

under the criteria of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act. A copy of the draft

regulatory evaluation prepared for this

action is contained in the Rules Docket.

A copy of it may be obtained by

contacting the Rules Docket at the

location provided under the caption

ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment

Accordingly, pursuant to the

authority delegated to me by the

Administrator, the Federal Aviation

Administration proposes to amend part

39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

(14 CFR part 39) as follows:

PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS

DIRECTIVES

1. The authority citation for part 39

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

§ 39.13 [Amended]

2. Section 39.13 is amended by

adding the following new airworthiness

directive:

Bombardier, Inc. (Formerly de Havilland,

Inc.): Docket 99–NM–321–AD.

Applicability: Model DHC–8–100 series

airplanes, serial numbers 003 through 020

inclusive; certificated in any category; except

those on which Modification 8/0198 has been

installed.

Note 1: This AD applies to each airplane

identified in the preceding applicability

provision, regardless of whether it has been

otherwise modified, altered, or repaired in

the area subject to the requirements of this

AD. For airplanes that have been modified,

altered, or repaired so that the performance

of the requirements of this AD is affected, the

owner/operator must request approval for an

alternative method of compliance in

accordance with paragraph (b) of this AD.

The request should include an assessment of

the effect of the modification, alteration, or

repair on the unsafe condition addressed by

this AD; and, if the unsafe condition has not

been eliminated, the request should include

specific proposed actions to address it.

Compliance: Required as indicated, unless

accomplished previously.

To prevent a failure of the thunderstorm

lights in the cockpit after loss of all generated

electrical power, which could result in the

cockpit instruments not being visible to the

flight crew during certain emergency

procedures, and consequent reduced

controllability of the airplane, accomplish

the following:

Modification

(a) Within 6 months after the effective date

of this AD, accomplish Bombardier

Modification 8/0198 (including changing the

power supply for the thunderstorm lights

from the left secondary bus to the left

essential bus) in accordance with Bombardier

Service Bulletin S.B. 8–24–69, Revision ‘‘A’’,

dated June 11, 1999.

Alternative Methods of Compliance

(b) An alternative method of compliance or

adjustment of the compliance time that

provides an acceptable level of safety may be

used if approved by the Manager, New York

Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA,

Engine and Propeller Directorate. Operators

shall submit their requests through an

appropriate FAA Principal Maintenance

Inspector, who may add comments and then

send it to the Manager, New York ACO.

Note 2: Information concerning the

existence of approved alternative methods of

compliance with this AD, if any, may be

obtained from the New York ACO.

Special Flight Permits

(c) Special flight permits may be issued in

accordance with sections 21.197 and 21.199

of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR

21.197 and 21.199) to operate the airplane to

a location where the requirements of this AD

can be accomplished.

Note 3: The subject of this AD is addressed

in Canadian airworthiness directive CF–99–

21, dated July 22, 1999.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on January

10, 2000.

Donald L. Riggin,

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 00–949 Filed 1–13–00; 8:45 am]

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