[Federal Register: December 30, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 249)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 75379-75383]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30de03-17]
[[Page 75379]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part IV
Department of Transportation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Aviation Administration
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
14 CFR Part 145
Repair Stations: Service Difficulty Reporting; Final Rule
[[Page 75380]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 145
[Docket No.: FAA-2003-16772; Amendment No. 22]
RIN 2120-AI07
Repair Stations: Service Difficulty Reporting
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule amends the regulations governing service
difficulty reports (SDRs) submitted to the FAA by aeronautical repair
stations. The FAA is clarifying which type of failures, malfunctions,
and defects repair stations must report. Finally, FAA is replacing
certain section references with part references. This action will
eliminate the need to revise repair station regulations if the FAA
revises SDR rules.
DATES: Effective January 31, 2004.
Comments for inclusion in the Rules Docket must be received on or
before January 29, 2004.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments [identified by Docket Number FAA-2003-
16772 using any of the following methods:
[sbull] DOT Docket Web site: Go to http://dms.dot.gov and follow
the instructions for sending your comments electronically.
[sbull] Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and follow the instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
[sbull] Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401,
Washington, DC 20590-001.
[sbull] Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
[sbull] 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.
For more information on the rulemaking process, see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
Privacy: We will post all comments we receive, without change, to
http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal information you provide. For
more information, see the Privacy Act discussion in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
Docket: To read background documents or comments received, go to
http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana L. Frohn, General Aviation and
Repair Station Branch, AFS--340, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-
7027; facsimile (202) 267-5118, e-mail diana.frohn@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
FAA is adopting this final rule without prior notice and prior
public comment. FAA finds such action necessary for good cause. Notice
and comment procedures would be impracticable, unnecessary, and
contrary to the public interest. This amendment presents no change in
current industry practice. Further, without this amendment, repair
stations will not be able to comply with a recent revision to part 145
that becomes effective January 31, 2004, because it would contain
section numbers that would not be in effect. The Regulatory Policies
and Procedures of the Department of Transportation (DOT) (44 FR 1134;
February 26, 1979), however, provide that, to the maximum extent
possible, operating administrations for DOT should provide an
opportunity for public comment on regulations issued without prior
notice. Accordingly, we invite interested persons to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting such written data, views, or arguments,
as they may desire. We also invite comments relating to environmental,
energy, federalism, or international trade impacts that might result
from this amendment. Please include the regulatory docket or amendment
number and send two copies to the address above. We will file all
comments received, as well as a report summarizing each substantive
public contact with FAA personnel on this rulemaking, in the public
docket. The docket is available for public inspection before and after
the comment closing date.
Privacy Act: Using the search function of our docket Web site,
anyone can find and read the comments received into any of our dockets,
including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing
the comment on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.).
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit
http://dms.dot.gov.
FAA will consider all comments received on or before the closing
date for comments. We will consider late comments to the extent
practicable. We may amend this final rule in light of the comments
received.
Commenters who want FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments
submitted in response to this final rule must include a preaddressed,
stamped postcard with those comments on which the following statement
is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2003-XXXXX.'' The postcard will
be date-stamped by FAA and mailed to the commenter.
Availability of Rulemaking Documents
You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by:
(1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket
Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search); (2) Visiting the Office of Rulemaking's Web page at http://
http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/index.cfm; or
(3) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html
.
You can also get a copy by submitting a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. Make
sure to identify the docket number, notice number, or amendment number
of this rulemaking.
Background
On September 8, 2000, FAA issued ``Service Difficulty Reports;
Final rule, request for comments on the information collection'' (65 FR
56192; September 15, 2000). That final rule amended the requirements in
14 CFR parts 121, 125, 135, and 145 for reporting failures,
malfunctions, and defects of aircraft, aircraft engines, systems, and
components. In that rulemaking action, FAA amended Sec. Sec. 145.63
and 145.79 to--
(1) Increase the time period for repair stations to report
failures, malfunctions, or defects from 72 hours to 96 hours; and
(2) Allow a repair station to submit service difficulty reports
(SDRs) on behalf of part 121, 125, and 135 certificate holders.
Section 145.63, paragraphs (c) and (d) and Sec. 145.79, paragraphs
(e)(1) through (e)(3), specified the sections of parts 121, 125, and
135 that allow certificated repair stations to submit SDRs for part
121, 125, and 135 certificate holders.
[[Page 75381]]
On July 30, 2001, FAA issued ``Repair Stations; Final rule with
request for comments and direct final rule with request for comments,''
(66 FR 41088; August 6, 2001). In that rulemaking action, FAA further
amended Sec. Sec. 145.63 and 145.79 by--
(1) Combining the provisions of Sec. Sec. 145.63 and 145.79 and
re-designating the requirements as Sec. 145.221, Service Difficulty
Reporting;
(2) Standardizing the requirements for reporting failures,
malfunctions, or defects to apply to all certificated repair stations,
regardless of location;
(3) Replacing the phrases ``serious defect'' and ``other
unairworthy condition'' with the phrase ``failure, malfunction, or
defect''; and
(4) Including language that would allow repair stations to submit
SDRs to FAA in a format acceptable to the Administrator.
That amendment to part 145 becomes effective January 31, 2004.
Statement of the Problem
After issuing the SDR final rule, FAA received extensive comments
opposing the rule. To give the agency time to consider industry's
concerns about the SDR final rule, the FAA previously extended the
effective date of the SDR rule. The FAA is again extending the
effective date of the SDR rule this time to January 30, 2006. This
extension affects the July 2001 repair station reporting final rule,
because that amendment to part 145 will become effective January 31,
2004, and it references sections in parts 121, 125, and 135 that will
now not become effective until January 30, 2006.
Also, several repair stations have expressed concern about FAA's
removal in July 2001 of the word ``serious'' to describe the type of
defect that must be reported. Repair stations contend the language in
Sec. 145.221(a) requires them to report all failures, malfunctions, or
defects, regardless of severity.
FAA Action
To avoid the need to amend Sec. 145.221 to track specific sections
of parts 121, 125, and 135, FAA is amending Sec. 145.221 by removing
references to specific sections in parts 121, 125, and 135. FAA is
replacing the specific section references with the applicable part
numbers. This amendment will require repair stations to follow whatever
requirements are set out in parts 121, 125, and 135, depending on the
certificate holder.
Also, FAA agrees with the repair station industry concerning the
word ``serious''. It was not the agency's intent to require repair
stations to report ``any'' failure, malfunction, or defect. When FAA
combined Sec. Sec. 145.63 and 145.79 to create Sec. 145.221, FAA
standardized language in that section to match language in parts 121,
125, and 135, which do not include the word ``serious.'' In doing so,
FAA removed the word ``serious'' to describe the type of failures,
malfunctions, and defects repair stations must report. Again, it was
not FAA's intent to require repair stations to report all failures,
malfunctions, and defects. Repair stations are required to report only
serious failures, malfunctions, and defects. Therefore, FAA is
reinserting the word ``serious'' before the word ``failure'' in Sec.
145.211(a).
Effect of This Action
This action becomes effective on January 31, 2004, along with the
new requirements for part 145 issued on July 30, 2001. Repair stations
submitting SDRs for part 121, 125, or 135 certificate holders will be
required to report in accordance with the requirements of the
appropriate part. For example, a repair station reporting a failure,
malfunction, or defect for a part 121 certificate holder would submit
the report in accordance with whatever provisions of part 121 are in
effect on the date the report is sent. By removing references to
specific sections in parts 121, 125, and 135, FAA will be able to amend
the requirements for SDRs in the future without making further
amendments to part 145.
FAA notes the repair station industry should interpret the word
``serious'' the same way it is interpreted under the current rule.
Repair stations should continue to report failures, malfunctions, or
defects as they are currently reported. This amendment will not change
current practice in determining which failures, malfunctions, or
defects repair stations should report.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of
1996 requires FAA to comply with small entity requests for information
or advice about compliance with statutes and regulations within its
jurisdiction. Therefore, any small entity that has a question regarding
this document may contact their local FAA official, or the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. You can find out more
about SBREFA on the Internet at our site, http://www.gov/avr/arm/sbrefa.htm.
For more information on SBREFA, e-mail us at 9-AWA-
SBREFA@faa.gov.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Information collection requirements on service difficulty reporting
have previously been approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. section 3507(d)), and have been assigned OMB Control Number
2120-0682.
International Compatibility
In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to comply with
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and
Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. FAA has
reviewed the corresponding ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices and
has identified some differences with these regulations.
Economic Summary, Regulatory Flexibility Act, Trade Impact Assessment,
and Unfunded Mandates Assessment
Economic Summary
Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic
analyses. First, Executive Order 12866 directs each Federal agency to
propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that
the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. Second, the
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 requires agencies to analyze the
economic impact of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the
Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2531-2533) prohibits agencies from
setting standards that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign
commerce of the United States. In developing U.S. standards, this Trade
Agreements Act also requires agencies to consider international
standards and, where appropriate, use them as the basis for U.S.
standards. Fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L.
104-4) requires agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs,
benefits, and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a
Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more annually (adjusted for inflation.)
In conducting these analyses, FAA has determined that this rule:
(1) Will generate benefits and will not impose any costs, is not a
``significant regulatory action'' as defined in section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866, and is not ``significant'' as defined in DOT's
Regulatory Policies and Procedures; (2)
[[Page 75382]]
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities; (3) will not constitute a barrier to international
trade; and (4) does not impose an unfunded mandate on state, local, or
tribal governments, or on the private sector.
Department of Transportation (DOT ) Order 2100.5 prescribes
policies and procedures for simplification, analysis, and review of
regulations. If it is determined that the expected impact is so minimal
that the rule does not warrant a full evaluation, a statement to that
effect and the basis for the determination is included in the preamble
to the rule. Given the reasons presented below, FAA has determined the
expected impact of this rule is minimal and the final rule does not
warrant a full evaluation.
This amendment will remove specific references found in 14 CFR
parts 121, 125, and 135 concerning the requirements for SDRs. This
change will eliminate the need to revise part 145 when revising the SDR
requirements in the future. Also, the amendment will require repair
stations to submit the reports for ``serious'' failures, malfunctions,
and defects, as intended originally. The costs associated with these
provisions were addressed in both the Service Difficulty Reports final
rule (65 FR 56192; September 15, 2000) and the Repair Stations final
rule (66 FR 41088; August 6, 2001).
Regarding benefits, this rule will provide repair stations some
cost savings by limiting reports to serious failures, malfunctions, or
defects, rather than ``any'' defect. Also, FAA finds the removal of
conflicting effective dates and potential cost savings justify adoption
of this rule.
Regulatory Flexibility Determination
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) establishes ``as a
principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor,
consistent with the objective of the rule and of applicable statutes,
to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of the
business, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to
regulation.'' To achieve that principle, the RFA requires agencies to
solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the
rationale for their actions. The RFA covers a wide-range of small
entities, including small businesses, not-for-profit organizations and
small governmental jurisdictions.
Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a proposed or
final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. If the agency determines that it will, the
agency must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in
the RFA.
However, if an agency determines that a proposed or final rule is
not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, section 605(b) of the RFA provides that the
head of the agency may so certify and a regulatory flexibility analysis
is not required. The certification must include a statement providing
the factual basis for this determination, and the reasoning should be
clear.
This rule will have a minimal impact on repair stations since it
reduces reporting and imposes no costs. FAA, therefore, certifies the
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small operators.
Trade Impact Assessment
The Trade Agreement Act of 1979 prohibits Federal agencies from
establishing any standards or engaging in related activities that
create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United
States. Legitimate domestic objectives, such as safety, are not
considered unnecessary obstacles. The statute also requires
consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that
they be the basis for U.S. standards. FAA has assessed the potential
effect of this final rule and has determined that it will impose the
same requirements on domestic and international entities and thus has a
neutral trade impact.
Unfunded Mandates Assessment
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (the Act) is intended,
among other things, to curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal
mandates on State, local, and tribal governments. Title II of the Act
requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement assessing
the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final agency rule
that may result in an expenditure of $100 million or more (adjusted
annually for inflation) in any one year by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector; such a mandate
is deemed to be a ``significant regulatory action.'' This final rule
does not contain such a mandate. The requirements of Title II do not
apply.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
FAA has analyzed this final rule under the principles and criteria
of Executive Order 13132, Federalism. We determined this action will
not have a substantial direct effect on the States, or the relationship
between the national Government and the States, or on the distribution
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
Therefore, we determined this final rule does not have federalism
implications.
Environmental Analysis
FAA Order 1050.1D defines FAA actions that may be categorically
excluded from preparation of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
environmental impact statement. In accordance with FAA Order 1050.1D,
appendix 4, paragraph 4(j), this rulemaking action qualifies for a
categorical exclusion.
Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or
Use
The FAA has analyzed this NPRM under Executive Order 13211, Actions
Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use (May 18, 2001). We have determined that it is not
a ``significant energy action'' under the executive order because it is
not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866,
and it is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the
supply, distribution, or use of energy.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 145
Air carriers, Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety,
Recordkeeping and reporting, Safety.
Adoption of the Amendment
0
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 145 of
Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 145--REPAIR STATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 145 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701-44702, 44707, 44717.
0
2. Section 145.221 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), (c), and (d)
Sec. 145.221 Reports of failures, malfunctions, or defects.
(a) A certificated repair station must report to the FAA within 96
hours after it discovers any serious failure, malfunction, or defect of
an article. The report must be in a format acceptable to the FAA.
* * * * *
(c) The holder of a repair station certificate that is also the
holder of a part 121, 125, or 135 certificate; type certificate
(including a supplemental type certificate); parts manufacturer
approval; or technical standard order
[[Page 75383]]
authorization, or that is the licensee of a type certificate holder,
does not need to report a failure, malfunction, or defect under this
section if the failure, malfunction, or defect has been reported under
parts 21, 121, 125, or 135 of this chapter.
(d) A certificated repair station may submit a service difficulty
report (operational or structural) for the following:
(1) A part 121 certificate holder, provided the report meets the
requirements of part 121 of this chapter, as appropriate.
(2) A part 125 certificate holder, provided the report meets the
requirements of part 125 of this chapter, as appropriate.
(3) A part 135 certificate holder, provided the report meets the
requirements of part 135 of the chapter, as appropriate.
* * * * *
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2003.
Marion C. Blakey,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-31884 Filed 12-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P