This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

34523

Vol. 66, No. 126

Friday, June 29, 2001

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150–AG75

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage

Casks: Standardized NUHOMS –24P

and –52B Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is amending its

regulations revising the Standardized

NUHOMS –24P and –52B cask system

listing within the ‘‘List of Approved

Spent Fuel Storage Casks’’ to include

Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of

Compliance (CoC) Number 1004.

Amendment No. 3 will modify the

present cask system design to add the

–61BT dry storage canister (DSC), the

storage portion of a dual purpose cask

design intended to both store and

transport spent fuel. The Technical

Specifications are revised to add

additional fuel parameters associated

with use of the –61BT DSC. Additional

administrative changes are made to the

conditions of the CoC. However, the

NRC is disapproving a portion of the

applicant’s request pertaining to storage

of failed fuel.

DATES: The final rule is effective

September 12, 2001, unless significant

adverse comments are received by July

30, 2001. A significant adverse comment

is a comment where the commenter

explains why the rule would be

inappropriate, including challenges to

the rule’s underlying premise or

approach, or would be ineffective or

unacceptable without a change. If the

rule is withdrawn, timely notice will be

published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to:

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, Attn: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff. Deliver comments

to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD,

between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on

Federal workdays.

Certain documents related to this

rulemaking, as well as all public

comments received on this rulemaking,

may be viewed and downloaded

electronically via the NRC’s rulemaking

website at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. You

may also provide comments via this

website by uploading comments as files

(any format) if your web browser

supports that function. For information

about the interactive rulemaking site,

contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, (301) 415–

5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov.

Certain documents related to this rule,

including comments received by the

NRC, may be examined at the NRC

Public Document Room, 11555

Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. For more

information, contact the NRC Public

Document Room (PDR) Reference staff

at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737 or

by email to pdr@nrc.gov.

Documents created or received at the

NRC after November 1, 1999 are also

available electronically at the NRC’s

Public Electronic Reading Room on the

Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/

ADAMS/index.html. From this site, the

public can gain entry into the NRC’s

Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS), which

provides text and image files of NRC’s

public documents. An electronic copy

of the proposed CoC and preliminary

safety evaluation report (SER) can be

found under ADAMS Accession No.

ML010720508. If you do not have access

to ADAMS or if there are problems in

accessing the documents located in

ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR

Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–

415–4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gordon Gundersen, telephone (301)

415–6195, e-mail GEG1@nrc.gov, of the

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste

Policy Act of 1982, as amended

(NWPA), requires that ‘‘[t]he Secretary

[of the Department of Energy (DOE)]

shall establish a demonstration program,

in cooperation with the private sector,

for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel

at civilian nuclear power reactor sites,

with the objective of establishing one or

more technologies that the [Nuclear

Regulatory] Commission may, by rule,

approve for use at the sites of civilian

nuclear power reactors without, to the

maximum extent practicable, the need

for additional site-specific approvals by

the Commission.’’ Section 133 of the

NWPA states, in part, that ‘‘[t]he

Commission shall, by rule, establish

procedures for the licensing of any

technology approved by the

Commission under Section 218(a) for

use at the site of any civilian nuclear

power reactor.’’

To implement this mandate, the NRC

approved dry storage of spent nuclear

fuel in NRC-approved casks under a

general license by publishing a final

rule in 10 CFR part 72 entitled, ‘‘General

License for Storage of Spent Fuel at

Power Reactor Sites’’ (55 FR 29181; July

18, 1990). This rule also established a

new Subpart L within 10 CFR part 72,

entitled ‘‘Approval of Spent Fuel

Storage Casks’’ containing procedures

and criteria for obtaining NRC approval

of spent fuel storage cask designs. The

NRC subsequently issued a final rule on

December 22, 1994 (59 FR 65920), that

approved the Standardized NUHOMS

–24P and –52B cask design and added

it to the list of NRC-approved cask

designs in § 72.214 as Certificate of

Compliance Number (CoC No.) 1004.

Discussion

On July 15, 2000, and as

supplemented on September 1, 2000,

the certificate holder Transnuclear

West, Inc. submitted an application to

the NRC to amend CoC No. 1004 to

permit a Part 72 licensee to use the

–61BT dry storage canister (DSC) to

store spent fuel. The –61BT is intended

to both store and transport spent fuel.

Second, conforming changes would be

made to current Technical

Specifications (TS) 1.2.1, 1.2.3, and

1.2.4, and would add new TS 1.2.3a,

1.2.4a, and 1.2.17 to accommodate the

–61BT DSC and the fuel types it will

contain. Additionally, the NRC, on its

own initiative, is removing CoC

Conditions Nos. 9, 10, and 11.

Conditions Nos. 9 and 11 have been

superseded by a change to 10 CFR 72.48

(64 FR 53582; October 4, 1999) that

permits certificate holders to make

34524 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

certain changes to a cask design without

prior NRC approval. Condition No. 10

has been superseded by the new 10 CFR

72.248 (64 FR 53617; October 4, 1999)

that requires a certificate holder to

periodically update the final safety

analysis report (FSAR) associated with

the cask design. This update must

include any changes to the cask design

made under the provisions of 10 CFR

72.48. The change to 10 CFR 72.48

became effective on April 5, 2001, and

the addition of 10 CFR 72.248 became

effective on February 1, 2000. Removal

of Conditions Nos. 9, 10, and 11 will

remove confusion for users of the

Standardized NUHOMS Storage

System between compliance with the

CoC and Part 72 regulations. Finally,

existing Condition No. 12 is

redesignated as Condition No. 6. The

NRC notes that current Condition Nos.

6, 7, and 8 are unused. Additionally, a

minor editorial change would be made

to Condition No. 3.b. The NRC staff

performed a detailed safety evaluation

of the proposed CoC amendment request

and found that adding the –61BT DSC

to store spent fuel in and making

conforming changes to the TS to add

additional fuel parameters associated

with the use of the –61BT DSC does not

reduce the safety margin. In addition,

the NRC staff has determined that these

changes do not pose an increased risk to

public health and safety. However, the NRC is disapproving a

portion of the applicant’s request

pertaining to storage of failed fuel. The

NRC staff concluded that the applicant’s

request did not provide acceptable

assurance of retrievability of the failed

fuel, absent the use of a separate failedfuel can to store the failed fuel in the

Standardized NUHOMS cask design. This direct final rule revises the

Standardized NUHOMS Storage

System cask design listing in § 72.214

by adding Amendment No. 3 to CoC No.

1004. The particular TS that are

changed are identified in the NRC

Staff’s Safety Evaluation Report for

Amendment No. 3.

The amended Standardized

NUHOMS Storage System, when used

in accordance with the conditions

specified in the CoC, the TS, and NRC

regulations will meet the requirements

of Part 72; thus, adequate protection of

public health and safety will continue to

be ensured.

CoC No. 1004, the revised Technical

Specifications, the underlying Safety

Evaluation Report for Amendment No.

3, and the Environmental Assessment

are available for inspection at the NRC

Public Document Room, 11555

Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single

copies of these documents may be

obtained from Gordon Gundersen,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, telephone (301) 415–6195, email

GEG1@nrc.gov.

Discussion of Amendments by Section

Section 72.214 List of Approved Spent

Fuel Storage Casks

Certificate No. 1004 is revised by

adding the effective date of Amendment

Number 3 and adding Model Number

NUHOMS –61BT.

Procedural Background

This rule is limited to the changes

contained in Amendment 3 to CoC No.

1004 and does not include other aspects

of the Standardized NUHOMS Storage

System cask system design. The NRC is

using the ‘‘direct final rule procedure’’

to promulgate this amendment because

it represents a limited and routine

change to an existing CoC that is

expected to be noncontroversial.

Adequate protection of public health

and safety continues to be ensured. This

amendment is not considered to be a

significant amendment by the NRC staff.

The amendment to the rule will become

effective on September 12, 2001.

However, if the NRC receives significant

adverse comments by July 30, 2001,

then the NRC will publish that

document that withdraws this action

and will address the comments received

in response to the proposed

amendments published elsewhere in

this issue of the Federal Register. A

significant adverse comment is a

comment where the commenter

explains why the rule would be

inappropriate, including challenges to

the rule’s underlying premise or

approach, or would be ineffective or

unacceptable without a change. These

comments will be addressed in a

subsequent final rule. The NRC will not

initiate a second comment period on

this action.

Voluntary Consensus Standards

The National Technology Transfer Act

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–113) requires that

Federal agencies use technical standards

that are developed or adopted by

voluntary consensus standards bodies

unless the use of such a standard is

inconsistent with applicable law or

otherwise impractical. In this direct

final rule, the NRC would revise the

Standardized NUHOMS Storage

System cask system design listed in

§ 72.214 (List of NRC-approved spent

fuel storage cask designs). This action

does not constitute the establishment of

a standard that establishes generally

applicable requirements.

Agreement State Compatibility

Under the ‘‘Policy Statement on

Adequacy and Compatibility of

Agreement State Programs’’ approved by

the Commission on June 30, 1997, and

published in the Federal Register on

September 3, 1997 (62 FR 46517), this

rule is classified as compatibility

Category ‘‘NRC.’’ Compatibility is not

required for Category ‘‘NRC’’

regulations. The NRC program elements

in this category are those that relate

directly to areas of regulation reserved

to the NRC by the Atomic Energy Act of

1954, as amended (AEA) or the

provisions of the Title 10 of the Code of

Federal Regulations. Although an

Agreement State may not adopt program

elements reserved to NRC, it may wish

to inform its licensees of certain

requirements via a mechanism that is

consistent with the particular State’s

administrative procedure laws, but does

not confer regulatory authority on the

State.

Plain Language

The Presidential Memorandum dated

June 1, 1998, entitled, ‘‘Plain Language

in Government Writing’’ directed that

the Government’s writing be in plain

language. The NRC requests comments

on this direct final rule specifically with

respect to the clarity and effectiveness

of the language used. Comments should

be sent to the address listed under the

heading ADDRESSES above.

Finding of No Significant

Environmental Impact: Availability

Under the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the

NRC regulations in Subpart A of 10 CFR

Part 51, the NRC has determined that

this rule, if adopted, would not be a

major Federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the human

environment and, therefore, an

environmental impact statement is not

required. The rule would amend the

CoC for the Standardized NUHOMS

Storage System cask system within the

list of approved spent fuel storage casks

that power reactor licensees can use to

store spent fuel at reactor sites under a

general license. The amendment will

modify the present cask system design

by adding the –61BT DSC to store spent

fuel in and making conforming changes

to TS to add additional fuel parameters

to support use of the –61BT DSC.

Additional administrative changes are

made to the conditions of the CoC. The

environmental assessment and finding

of no significant impact on which this

determination is based are available for

inspection at the NRC Public Document

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

MD. Single copies of the environmental

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 34525

assessment and finding of no significant

impact are available from Gordon

Gundersen, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555, telephone (301) 415–6195,

email GEG1@nrc.gov.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

This direct final rule does not contain

a new or amended information

collection requirement subject to the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing

requirements were approved by the

Office of Management and Budget,

Approval Number 3150–0132.

Public Protection Notification

If a means used to impose an

information collection does not display

a currently valid OMB control number,

the NRC may not conduct or sponsor,

and a person is not required to respond

to, the information collection.

Regulatory Analysis

On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the

NRC issued an amendment to 10 CFR

part 72 to provide for the storage of

spent nuclear fuel under a general

license in cask designs approved by the

NRC. Any nuclear power reactor

licensee can use NRC-approved cask

designs to store spent nuclear fuel if it

notifies the NRC in advance, spent fuel

is stored under the conditions specified

in the cask’s CoC, and the conditions of

the general license are met. A list of

NRC-approved cask designs is contained

in § 72.214. On December 22, 1994 (59

FR 65920), the NRC issued an

amendment to part 72 that approved the

Standardized NUHOMS Storage

System cask design by adding it to the

list of NRC-approved cask designs in

§ 72.214. On July 15, 2000, and as

supplemented on September 1, 2000,

the certificate holder, Transnuclear

West, submitted an application to the

NRC to amend CoC No. 1004 to permit

a part 72 licensee to use the –61BT DSC

to store spent fuel in and to make

conforming changes to TS to support the

use of the –61BT DSC.

This rule will permit general licensees

to use the –61BT DSC to store spent

fuel. The rule will remove CoC

Conditions Nos. 9, 10, and 11; will

redesignate Condition No. 12 as No. 6;

and make an editorial change to

Condition No. 3.b. The alternative to

this action is to withhold approval of

this amended cask system design and

issue an exemption to each general

license. This alternative would cost both

the NRC and the utilities more time and

money because each utility would have

to pursue an exemption.

Approval of the direct final rule will

eliminate the above described problem

and is consistent with previous NRC

actions. Further, the direct final rule

will have no adverse effect on public

health and safety. This direct final rule

has no significant identifiable impact or

benefit on other Government agencies.

Based on the above discussion of the

benefits and impacts of the alternatives,

the NRC concludes that the

requirements of the direct final rule are

commensurate with the NRC’s

responsibilities for public health and

safety and the common defense and

security. No other available alternative

is believed to be as satisfactory, and

thus, this action is recommended.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification

In accordance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)),

the NRC certifies that this rule will not,

if promulgated, have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. This direct

final rule affects only the licensing and

operation of nuclear power plants,

independent spent fuel storage facilities,

and Transnuclear West. The companies

that own these plants do not fall within

the scope of the definition of ‘‘small

entities’’ set forth in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act or the Small Business

Size Standards set out in regulations

issued by the Small Business

Administration at 13 CFR part 121.

Backfit Analysis

The NRC has determined that the

backfit rule (10 CFR 50.109 or 10 CFR

72.62) does not apply to this direct final

rule because this amendment does not

involve any provisions that would

impose backfits as defined. Therefore, a

backfit analysis is not required.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act

In accordance with the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has

determined that this action is not a

major rule and has verified this

determination with the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget.

List of Subjects In 10 CFR Part 72

Administrative practice and

procedure, Criminal penalties,

Manpower training programs, Nuclear

materials, Occupational safety and

health, Penalties, Radiation protection,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Security measures, Spent

fuel, Whistleblowing.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble and under the authority of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended;

the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974,

as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553;

the NRC is adopting the following

amendments to 10 CFR part 72.

PART 72—LICENSING

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT

NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL

RADIOACTIVE WASTE

1. The authority citation for Part 72

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69,

81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 68 Stat.

929, 930, 932, 933, 934, 935, 948, 953, 954,

955, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as

amended (42 U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092,

2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233,

2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2282); sec. 274, Pub.

L. 86–373, 73 Stat. 688, as amended (42

U.S.C. 2021); sec. 201, as amended, 202, 206,

88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42

U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); Pub. L. 95–601, sec.

10, 92 Stat. 2951 as amended by Pub. L.

10d—48b, sec. 7902, 10b Stat. 31b3 (42

U.S.C. 5851); sec. 102, Pub. L. 91–190, 83

Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332); secs. 131, 132,

133, 135, 137, 141, Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat.

2229, 2230, 2232, 2241, sec. 148, Pub. L.

100–203, 101 Stat. 1330–235 (42 U.S.C.

10151, 10152, 10153, 10155, 10157, 10161,

10168).

Section 72.44(g) also issued under secs.

142(b) and 148(c), (d), Pub. L. 100–203, 101

Stat. 1330–232, 1330–236 (42 U.S.C.

10162(b), 10168(c),(d)). Section 72.46 also

issued under sec. 189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C.

2239); sec. 134, Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat. 2230

(42 U.S.C. 10154). Section 72.96(d) also

issued under sec. 145(g), Pub. L. 100–203,

101 Stat. 1330–235 (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)).

Subpart J also issued under secs. 2(2), 2(15),

2(19), 117(a), 141(h), Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat.

2202, 2203, 2204, 2222, 2244, (42 U.S.C.

10101, 10137(a), 10161(h)). Subparts K and L

are also issued under sec. 133, 98 Stat. 2230

(42 U.S.C. 10153) and sec. 218(a), 96 Stat.

2252 (42 U.S.C. 10198).

2. In § 72.214, Certificate of

Compliance (CoC) 1004 is revised to

read as follows:

§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel

storage casks.

* * * * *

Certificate Number: 1004.

Initial Certificate Effective Date:

January 23, 1995

Amendment Number 1 Effective Date:

April 27, 2000

Amendment Number 2 Effective Date:

September 5, 2000

Amendment Number 3 Effective Date:

September 12, 2001.

SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear

West, Inc.

SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis

Report for the Standardized NUHOMS

Horizontal Modular Storage System for

Irradiated Nuclear Fuel

34526 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Docket Number: 72–1004

Certificate Expiration Date: January

23, 2015

Model Number: Standardized

NUHOMS –24P, NUHOMS –52B, and

NUHOMS –61BT.

* * * * *

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day

of June , 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Travers,

Executive Director for Operations.

[FR Doc. 01–16390 Filed 6–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 99–NM–313–AD; Amendment

39–12292; AD 2001–13–12]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing

Model 747 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a

new airworthiness directive (AD),

applicable to certain Boeing Model 747

series airplanes. This AD requires

repetitive inspections to detect cracks

and corrosion around the lower bearing

of the actuator attach fittings of the

inboard and outboard flaps. This AD

also requires repetitive overhauls for

certain actuator attach fittings or

repetitive replacement of the fittings

with new fittings, as applicable, which

terminates the repetitive inspections.

This AD also provides for replacement

of actuator attach fittings with improved

fittings, which terminates all

requirements of this AD. This

amendment is prompted by reports of

cracks on the lower bearing journal of

the inboard actuator attach fittings of

the outboard trailing edge flaps due to

stress corrosion. The actions specified

by this AD are intended to detect and

correct cracking on the actuator attach

fittings of the trailing edge flaps, which

could result in abnormal operation or

retraction of a trailing edge flap, and

consequent reduced controllability of

the airplane.

DATES: Effective August 3, 2001.

The incorporation by reference of

certain publications listed in the

regulations is approved by the Director

of the Federal Register as of August 3,

2001.

ADDRESSES: The service information

referenced in this AD may be obtained

from Boeing Commercial Airplane

Group, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle,

Washington 98124–2207. This

information may be examined at the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),

Transport Airplane Directorate, Rules

Docket, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington; or at the Office of

the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol

Street, NW., suite 700, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tamara L. Anderson, Aerospace

Engineer, Airframe Branch, ANM–120S,

FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification

Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton,

Washington 98055–4056; telephone

(425) 227–2771; fax (425) 227–1181.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to

include an airworthiness directive (AD)

that is applicable to all Boeing Model

747–100, –200, –300, –400, and 747SR

series airplanes was published in the

Federal Register on April 24, 2000 (65

FR 21675). That action proposed to

require repetitive inspections to detect

cracks and corrosion around the lower

bearing of the actuator attach fittings of

the inboard and outboard flaps. That

action also proposed to require

repetitive overhauls for certain attach

fittings or repetitive replacement of the

attach fittings with new attach fittings,

as applicable, which would constitute

terminating action for certain repetitive

actions.

Comments

Interested persons have been afforded

an opportunity to participate in the

making of this amendment. Due

consideration has been given to the

comments received.

Support for the Proposal

One commenter supports the

proposed rule.

Limit Applicability of AD

One commenter, the airplane

manufacturer, requests that the FAA

limit the applicability of the proposed

rule to airplanes having line numbers

up to and including 1265. The

commenter states that new, improved

actuator attach fittings will be installed

during production on airplanes starting

at line number 1266. The commenter

explains that the new, improved

actuator attach fittings in certain

positions (i.e., actuator attach fittings

number 2 and 7) have an increased

cross-sectional area that reduces stress

levels and, consequently, the possibility

of stress corrosion cracking. Attach

fittings in all other locations will have

increased bushing interference, and

BMS 5–26 sealant will be applied to the

new fittings to prevent general

corrosion.

The FAA concurs with the intent of

the commenter’s request to limit the

applicability of this AD. However, since

they submitted their comment, the

airplane manufacturer has advised the

FAA that new fittings have been

incorporated on airplanes starting with

line number 1264. This coincides with

the effectivity listing of a new service

bulletin related to this AD, Boeing

Service Bulletin 747–57A2310, Revision

2, dated February 22, 2001 (which is

described in the next section of this

final rule). Therefore, the FAA has

revised and clarified the applicability of

this AD to apply only to Model 747

series airplanes listed in Boeing Service

Bulletin 747–57A2310, Revision 2.

(Operators may note that, while the

applicability of this AD has been

reduced, the estimated number of

affected airplanes has been increased in

the ‘‘Cost Impact’’ section of the

preamble. The new estimate includes

airplanes delivered after the preparation

of the proposed rule.)

Reference New Terminating Action

One commenter notes that, in the

preamble of the proposed AD, the FAA

identifies the proposed AD as interim

action, and states that, once a

modification is developed, approved,

and available, the FAA may consider

additional rulemaking. The commenter

states that it is very interested in this

terminating modification. The

commenter requests that, if release of

the modification is imminent, the FAA

delay release of this AD until the

airplane manufacturer has developed

the terminating modification. If the

release is not imminent, the commenter

requests that the FAA make the

modification available as an alternative

method of compliance (AMOC) to this

AD or issue a superseding AD to include

the terminating action as soon as

possible.

The FAA partially concurs with the

commenter’s request. The FAA does not

agree that issuance of the final rule

should intentionally be delayed pending

development of a terminating

modification. The commenter provides

no technical justification for such a

delay.

However, since the issuance of the

proposed AD, the FAA has reviewed

and approved Boeing Service Bulletin

747–57A2310, Revision 2. (The

proposed AD references Boeing Service

Bulletin 747–57A2310, Revision 1,

dated November 23, 1999, as an

appropriate source of service