Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 220 / Wednesday, November 16, 2005 / Notices 69625 

wish to report suspected ‘‘unapproved’’

parts to the FAA for review. The 

information will be used to determine if 

an ‘‘unapproved’’ part investigation is 

warranted. 

DATES: Please submit comments by 

January 17, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy 

Street on (202) 267–9895, or by e-mail 

at: Judy.Street@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

Title: Suspected Unapproved Parts 

Notification. 

Type of Request: Renewal of an 

approved collection. 

OMB Control Number: 2120–0552. 

Form(s): FAA Form 8120–11. 

Affected Public: A total of 400 

respondents. 

Frequency: The information is 

conducted on an as-needed basis. 

Estimated Average Burden Per 

Response: Approximately 9 minutes per 

response. 

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: An 

estimated 60 hours annually. 

Abstract: The information collected 

on the FAA Form 8120–11 will; be 

reported voluntarily by manufacturers, 

repair stations, aircraft owner/operators, 

air carriers, and the general public who 

wish to report suspected ‘‘unapproved’’

parts to the FAA for review. The 

information will be used to determine if 

an ‘‘unapproved’’ part investigation is 

warranted. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the FAA 

at the following address: Ms. Judy 

Street, Room 612, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Standards and 

Information Division, ABA–20, 800 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20591. 

Comments are invited on: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; the accuracy of 

the Department’s estimates of the 

burden of the proposed information 

collection; ways to enhance the quality, 

utility and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 8, 

2005. 

Judith D. Street, 

FAA Information Collection Clearance Office, 

Information Systems and Technology Services 

Staff, ABA–20. 

[FR Doc. 05–22650 Filed 11–15–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Notice of Availability of an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) Executed by the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) for the 

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts 

Associated With a Proposed Corporate 

Hangar Construction at Cincinnati 

Municipal Airport-Lunken Field, 

Located in Cincinnati, OH 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of an EA 

and FONSI executed by the FAA for the 

evaluation of environmental impacts 

associated with a proposed corporate 

hangar construction at Cincinnati 

Municipal Airport-Lunken Field, 

located in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is making available 

an EA and FONSI for the evaluation of 

environmental impacts associated with 

a proposed corporate hangar 

construction at Cincinnati Municipal 

Airport-Lunken Field, located in 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Point of Contact: Mr. Brad Davidson, 

Environmental Protection Specialist, 

FAA Great Lakes Region, Detroit 

Airports District Office, 11677 South 

Wayne Road, Suite 107, Romulus, MI 

48174, (734) 229–2900. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

is making available an EA and FONSI 

for the evaluation of environmental 

impacts associated with a proposed 

corporate hangar construction at 

Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken 

Field, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 

purpose of the EA and FONSI was to 

evaluate potential environmental 

impacts arising from the proposed 

airport improvement project involving 

the construction of a corporate hangar 

on airport owned land. 

These documents will be available 

during normal business hours at the 

following location: FAA Detroit Airports 

District Office, 11677 South Wayne 

Road, Suite 107, Romulus, MI 48174. 

Due to current security requirements, 

arrangements must be made with the 

point of contact prior to visiting this 

office. 

Issued in Romulus, Michigan, October 26, 

2005. 

Irene R. Porter, 

Manager, Detroit Airport District Office, FAA, 

Great Lakes Region. 

[FR Doc. 05–22652 Filed 11–15–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2005–22660] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: United 

States Postal Service Application for 

Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has 

received an application for exemption 

from the hours-of-service (HOS) 

requirements from the United States 

Postal Service (USPS) on behalf of 

motor carriers that transport mail under 

contract for USPS. USPS requests that 

some of its contract motor carriers be 

allowed to operate under the HOS rules 

in effect prior to January 4, 2004. USPS 

believes the exemption would likely 

achieve a level of safety equivalent to, 

or greater than, the level achieved under 

the HOS rules applicable to operators of 

property-carrying vehicles rules after 

January 4, 2004. FMCSA requests public 

comment on the USPS application for 

exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 16, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 

FMCSA–2005–22660 using any of the 

following methods: 

• Web site: http://dmses.dot.gov/ 

submit/. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments on the DOT 

electronic docket site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

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

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number for this notice. Note that all 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http://dms.dot.gov 

including any personal information 

provided. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading for further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

69626 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 220 / Wednesday, November 16, 2005 / Notices 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov at any time or Room PL–

401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 

Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The DMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 

If you want us to notify you that we 

received your comments, please include 

a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments on-line. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of DOT’s dockets by 

the name of the individual submitting 

the comment (or of the person signing 

the comment, if submitted on behalf of 

an association, business, labor union, or 

other entity). You may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477, Apr. 11, 2000). This 

statement is also available at http:// 

dms.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division, Office of Bus and 

Truck Standards and Operations, MC–

PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Telephone: 202–366–4009. E-mail: 

MCPSD@fmcsa.dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4007 of the Transportation 

Equity Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. 

105–178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) 

amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) 

to provide authority to grant exemptions 

from motor carrier safety regulations. 

On December 8, 1998, the Federal 

Highway Administration’s Office of 

Motor Carriers, the predecessor to 

FMCSA, published an interim final rule 

implementing sec. 4007 (63 FR 67600). 

On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published 

a final rule (69 FR 51589) on this 

subject. Under this rule, FMCSA must 

publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The agency must provide 

the public an opportunity to inspect the 

information relevant to the application, 

including any safety analyses that have 

been conducted. The agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The agency reviews the safety 

analyses and the public comments, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)). If the agency denies 

the request, it must state the reason for 

doing so. If the agency grants the 

exemption, the notice must specify the 

person or class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

or provisions from which exemption is 

being granted. The notice must also 

specify the effective period of the 

exemption (up to 2 years), and explain 

the terms and conditions of the 

exemption. The exemption may be 

renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

Request for Exemption 

The Federal HOS rules are generally 

applicable to motor carriers and drivers 

operating commercial motor vehicles, as 

defined in 49 CFR 390.5, in interstate 

commerce. However, transportation 

performed by Federal, State or local 

government is exempt from 

requirements under 49 CFR parts 390 

through 399, including all HOS 

requirements under 49 CFR part 395 

[§ 390.3(f)(2)]. Since USPS is an 

independent agency of the executive 

branch of the United States government, 

transportation performed by USPS 

qualifies for the § 390.3(f)(2) exemption. 

Nonetheless, any motor carrier under 

contract with the USPS to transport its 

mail interstate—but which retains full 

responsibility for its CMVs, such that 

the transportation is not considered as 

performed by the USPS—remains 

subject to 49 CFR parts 300–399, 

including the HOS rules. The USPS 

contracts with motor carriers to perform 

interstate delivery of U.S. mail under 

such conditions, and has requested 

exemption from FMCSA’s current HOS 

rules, allowing some of these motor 

carriers and drivers to operate under 

those HOS rules in effect prior to 

January 4, 2004. 

USPS requests the exemption apply to 

an unspecified number of motor carriers 

operating under approximately 5,100 

separate contracts. USPS did not specify 

the number of drivers of propertycarrying vehicles to be allowed to 

operate under the HOS requirements in 

effect prior to January 4, 2004. The HOS 

limits requested under the exemption 

for such drivers would be the same as 

current HOS limits for drivers of 

passenger-carrying vehicles. 

USPS states the motor carriers under 

contract conduct short-haul operations 

with an average delivery route of 61- 

miles roundtrip. USPS describes the 

drivers’ schedules as ‘‘split shift,’’ but 

does not provide any details about the 

typical work schedule for drivers 

working on the contracted routes. Under 

the terms of the USPS contract, drivers 

are required to arrive and depart from 

postal facilities on schedule since 

deviation from the schedule would 

result in congestion at USPS trailer 

yards. 

USPS believes the exemption would 

achieve a level of safety equivalent to, 

or greater than, the level of safety 

obtained under the current 14-hour rule 

(which prohibits operators of propertycarrying vehicles from driving after the 

14th hour of coming on duty) because 

these drivers would be able to return 

home at the end of each work day rather 

than having to stay away from home 

overnight. 

A copy of the USPS exemption 

application is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 

requests public comment on USPS’s 

application for exemption from the 49 

CFR part 395 HOS requirements. The 

agency will consider all comments 

received by close of business on 

December 16, 2005. Comments will be 

available for examination in the docket 

at the location listed under the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. The 

agency will file comments received after 

the comment closing date in the public 

docket, and will consider them to the 

extent practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FMCSA will also continue to 

file, in the public docket, relevant 

information that becomes available after 

the comment closing date. Interested 

persons should monitor the public 

docket for new material. 

Issued on: November 8, 2005. 

Annette M. Sandberg, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 05–22648 Filed 11–15–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Docket No. AB–33 (Sub-No. 226X); 

STB Docket No. AB–654X] 

Union Pacific Railroad Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Cameron 

County, TX; Brownsville & Rio Grande 

International Railroad Company—

Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in Cameron County, TX 

The Union Pacific Railroad Company 

(UP) and Brownsville & Rio Grande 

International Railroad Company (B&RG) 

have jointly filed a notice of exemption 

under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F—

Exempt Abandonments and