64646 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 210 / Thursday, October 30, 2014 / Notices 

1The HMR applies to interstate, intrastate, and 

foreign commerce. 

NAS data is now available to support 

strategic and tactical traffic management 

and flight operations up to, but not 

including, those uses directly affecting 

aircraft trajectories. Through AAtS, 

aircraft are provided a means to connect 

to a collection of common aeronautical, 

meteorological, and traffic management 

information sources from multiple 

services including the FAA, National 

Weather Service (NWS), Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS), and airports, 

creating a shared and globally 

interoperable aviation information 

environment. 

Phase 2 of the AAtS initiative 

facilitates a common information 

environment supporting flight crew 

involvement in the collaborative 

decision making process even further. 

AAtS will not implement a specific 

infrastructure for the creation of the 

service link to the aircraft. The AAtS 

Demonstrations and Concept 

development teams will define a set of 

operational and technical 

recommendations to be used as 

guidance to drive infrastructure 

development. Furthermore, AAtS 

provides information which is noncritical only. 

The AAtS Phase 2 Working Group 

Meeting will be a forum for discussions 

regarding the operational needs for a 

capability such as AAtS. Questions to be 

answered in the next phase of AAtS 

activities include: What information is 

needed for a more successful operation, 

how the information is used, and what 

information could the operator provide 

back to the FAA for other operators to 

base decisions upon. Individuals 

attending the meeting will have an 

opportunity to participate in AAtS 

Working Group discussions involving 

Title 14 Code of Federal Regulation 

parts 121, 135 and 91 Operational 

demonstrations with an Electronic 

Flight Bag application as well as 

developmental discussions regarding 

AAtS utility in defining, updating, and 

manipulating trajectories. Participant 

insight is valuable in progressing AAtS 

IP Data Link capabilities into a bidirectional exchange of data between 

ground to ground and air to ground 

operational functionality. 

Registration 

To attend the meeting, participants 

must register via email by close of 

business day Wednesday, November 12, 

2014. In accordance with security 

procedures, participants must provide 

the following information to Katelyn@

jma-solutions.com: Full Name, 

Company, Phone Number, and U. S. 

Citizen (Y/N). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 27, 

2014. 

Paul Fontaine, 

Director, NextGen Advanced Concepts & 

Technology Development. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25827 Filed 10–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2014–0134, Notice No. 

14–04] 

Safety Advisory: Packaging and 

Handling Ebola Virus Contaminated 

Infectious Waste for Transportation to 

Disposal Sites 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Safety Advisory Notice. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA is issuing this safety 

advisory to provide guidance on the 

U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

(DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations 

(HMR; 49 CFR, parts 171–180) to 

persons who prepare, offer, and 

transport materials contaminated or 

suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Charles E. Betts, Office of Hazardous 

Materials Safety, Standards and 

Rulemaking Division, (202) 366–8553, 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE., Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Safety Advisory provides guidance on 

the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

(DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations 

(HMR; 49 CFR, parts 171–180) to 

persons who prepare, offer and 

transport materials contaminated or 

suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus. The HMR apply to any 

material that the DOT determines is 

capable of posing an unreasonable risk 

to health, safety, and property when 

transported in commerce.1 Material 

contaminated or suspected of being 

contaminated with Ebola is regulated as 

a Category A infectious substance under 

the HMR. To ensure their safe 

transportation, the Ebola contaminated 

materials must be packaged in 

conformity with the applicable 

requirements in the HMR for Category A 

infectious substances. Ebola 

contaminated materials that have been 

appropriately incinerated, autoclaved, 

or otherwise inactivated are not 

considered Category A infectious 

substances and are not subject to the 

requirements of the HMR. For more 

information on the HMR requirements 

see http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/

transporting-infectious-substances. For 

guidance on how to handle infectious 

substances before transporting them, 

refer to the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC) (see http://

www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/

index.html). 

This document is intended to provide 

general guidance and does not address 

many of the specific provisions and 

exceptions contained in the HMR. It 

should not be used as a substitute for 

the HMR to determine compliance. 

Strict compliance with the HMR is 

required, unless you have been granted 

a special permit. 

Transportation of a hazardous 

material in a motor vehicle, aircraft, or 

vessel operated by a Federal, state, or 

local government employee solely for 

noncommercial Federal, state, or local 

government purposes is not subject to 

the HMR. Accordingly, waste generated 

from the treatment of a patient 

contaminated or suspected of being 

contaminated with the Ebola virus 

transported by a Federal, state, or local 

government employee to a disposal 

facility is not subject to the HMR. DOT, 

however, recommends that Federal, 

state, or local governments comply with 

appropriate safety requirements 

provided in the HMR to ensure the safe 

transportation of waste contaminated or 

suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus. We also recommend 

compliance with all conditions and 

operational controls specified in any 

applicable special permit issued for the 

transportation of waste contaminated or 

suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus and our guidance 

referred to below. To transport materials 

contaminated or suspected of being 

contaminated with the Ebola virus, a 

special permit may be necessary to 

allow for a variance of the HMR 

packaging requirements to handle the 

larger volume of contaminated waste 

generated during the treatment of Ebola 

patients. DOT may grant a special 

permit if the applicant can demonstrate 

that an alternative packaging will 

achieve a safety level that is at least 

equal to the safety level required under 

HMR or is consistent with the public 

interest if a required safety level does 

not exist. Emergency processing of 

special permits applies when the special 

permit is necessary to prevent 

significant injury to persons or property 

not preventable under normal 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 210 / Thursday, October 30, 2014 / Notices 64647 

processing, for immediate national 

security, or to prevent significant 

economic loss. To qualify for emergency 

processing, the application must meet 

specific criteria, justifications must be 

well documented, and describe the 

impact if the special permit is not 

granted. 

PHMSA issued a non-site specific 

special permit (Special Permit DOT–SP 

16279) to certain waste haulers, which 

authorizes the transportation in 

commerce of waste contaminated with 

or suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus for disposal. Other waste 

haulers not yet authorized under 

Special Permit DOT–SP 16279 may 

apply for party status in accordance 

with 49 CFR 107.107. If an entity needs 

a variance from the HMR, it must apply 

for a special permit as provided in 49 

CFR part 107 subpart B. 

The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration has 

provided the following guidance on the 

transportation of these materials: 

• ‘‘DOT Guidance for Preparing 

Packages of Ebola Contaminated Waste 

for Transportation and Disposal’’ 

provides guidance to prepare packages 

containing waste contaminated or 

suspected of being contaminated with 

the Ebola virus for transportation to offsite treatment and disposal. http://

phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/

DownloadableFiles/Files/suspected_

ebola_patient_packaging_guidance_

final.pdf. 

• ‘‘DOT Guidance for Transporting 

Ebola Contaminated Items, a Category A 

Infectious Substance’’ provides common 

FAQs regarding the HMR requirements 

for Category A infectious substances. 

http://phmsa.dot.gov/portal/site/

PHMSA/menuitem.6f23687cf

7b00b0f22e4c6962d9c8789/?vgnextoid=

4d1800e36b978410VgnVCM100000d2

c97898RCRD&vgnextchannel=

d248724dd7d6c010VgnVCM10000080e

8a8c0RCRD&vgnextfmt=print. 

• ‘‘Transporting Infectious 

Substances Safely’’ brochure that 

explains the HMR for transporting 

infectious substance is available at: 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pv_obj_

cache/pv_obj_id_54AC1BCBF0

DFBE298024C4C700569893C2582700/

filename/Transporting_Infectious_

Substances_brochure.pdf. 

• Special Permit DOT–SP 16279 

provides certain carriers with 

alternative authorized packaging 

options for transporting waste 

contaminated or suspected of being 

contaminated with the Ebola virus for 

treatment and disposal. http://

phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/

DownloadableFiles/Files/DOT_SP_

16279.pdf. 

Additional Information 

Æ All Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention guidance regarding the Ebola 

virus is available at: http://

www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/index.html. 

For questions on the HMR 

requirements, please contact the 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration’s (PHMSA’s) Hazardous 

Materials Information Center at 1–800– 

467–4922, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Eastern time. 

Magdy El-Sibaie, 

Associate Administrator for Hazardous 

Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25778 Filed 10–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

Notice and Request for Comments 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: 30-day notice of request for 

approval: Extension of Generic 

Clearance for the Collection of 

Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 

Delivery. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to streamline the process to seek 

feedback from the public on agency 

service delivery, and as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501–3519 (PRA), the Surface 

Transportation Board (STB or Board) 

gives notice that it is requesting from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) approval of generic clearance for 

the collection of qualitative feedback on 

agency service delivery. 

The Board previously published a 

notice about this collection in the 

Federal Register on July 28, 2014, at 79 

FR 43820. That notice allowed for a 60- 

day public review and comment period. 

No comments were received. 

Comments may now be submitted to 

OMB concerning: (1) The accuracy of 

the Board’s burden estimates; (2) ways 

to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information collected; (3) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology 

when appropriate; and (4) whether the 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Board, including 

whether the collection has practical 

utility. Submitted comments will be 

considered and also included in the 

Board’s request for OMB approval. 

Description of Collection 

Title: Generic Clearance for the 

Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 

Agency Service Delivery. 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0019. 

STB Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Affected Public: Individuals and 

Households, Businesses and 

Organizations, State, and Local or Tribal 

Government. 

Average Expected Annual Number of 

Activities: 5. 

Respondents: 15 (for one focus group), 

150 (for each of two surveys), 200 (for 

each of two comments card requests). 

Annual Responses: 15 (for focus 

groups), 300 (for surveys), and 400 (for 

comment cards). 

Frequency of Response: Once per 

request. 

Average Minutes per Response: 24 

minutes (2 hours per focus group, 36 

minutes per survey, 10 minutes per 

comment card). 

Burden Hours: 277. 

Total Burden Hours (annually 

including all respondents): We estimate 

a total of 277 hours for all respondents 

(24 minutes per response × 715 

responses). 

Total ‘‘Non-hour Burden’’ Cost: 

Because respondents email their 

response letters to the Board, there are 

no non-hour costs to respondents. 

Needs and Uses: The information 

collection activity will garner 

qualitative customer and stakeholder 

feedback in an efficient, timely manner, 

in accordance with the Governmentwide commitment to improving service 

delivery. By qualitative feedback we 

mean information that provides useful 

insights on perceptions and opinions, as 

opposed to statistical surveys that yield 

quantitative results that can be 

generalized to the population of study. 

This feedback will provide insights into 

customer or stakeholder perceptions, 

experiences and expectations; provide 

an early warning of issues about how 

the Board provides service to the public; 

or focus attention on areas where 

communication, training, or changes in 

operations might improve delivery of 

products or services. These collections 

will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 

actionable communications between the 

Board and its customers and 

stakeholders. It will also allow feedback 

to contribute directly to the 

improvement of the Board’s program 

management. 

Feedback collected under this generic 

clearance will provide useful 

information, but it will not yield data 

that can be generalized to the overall 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES