[Federal Register: February 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 27)]
[Notices]
[Page 7626-7627]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08fe08-112]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2008-0036]
RIN 2120-AF90
Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges; Extension of Comment
Period
AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary and
Federal Aviation Administration.
ACTION: Notice of proposed amendment to policy statement; extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for a proposed
amendment to the ``Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport Rates
and Charges'' that was published on January 17, 2008. In that document,
the Department of Transportation (``Department'') and the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed to amend the ``Policy Regarding
the Establishment of Airport Rates and Charges'' published in the
Federal Register on June 21, 1996 (``1996 Rates and Charges Policy'').
The Department and the FAA proposed three amendments to the 1996 Rates
and Charges Policy (two modifications and one clarification). These
amendments are intended to provide greater flexibility to operators of
congested airports to use landing fees to provide incentives to air
carriers to use the airport at less congested times or to use alternate
airports to meet regional air service needs. Any charges imposed on
international operations must also comply with the international
obligations of the United States. This extension is a result of a
request from the Air Transport Association of America, Inc., the Cargo
Airline Association, the National Air Carrier Association, and the
Regional Airline Association on behalf of their members, to extend the
comment period for thirty days.
DATES: The comment period for the Notice of proposed amendment to
Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport Rates and Charges
published on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3310) was scheduled to close on
March 3, 2008, and is extended until April 3, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by Docket Number, FAA-2008-
0036 using any of the following methods:
Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and follow the instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590; between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
For more information on the notice and comment process, see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
Privacy: We will post all comments we receive, without change, to
http://www.regulations.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://www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room W12-140 on the ground
floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Erhard, Manager, Airport
Compliance Division, AAS-400, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
3187; facsimile: (202) 267-5769; e-mail: charles.erhard@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to join in this notice and comment
process by filing written comments, data, or views. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. We ask
that you send us two copies of written comments.
We will file in the docket all comments we receive, as well as a
report summarizing each substantive public contact with Department
personnel about this proposal. The docket is available for public
inspection before and after the comment closing date. If you wish to
review the docket in person, go to the address in the ADDRESSES section
of this document between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. You may also review the docket using
[[Page 7627]]
the Internet at the Web address in the ADDRESSES section.
Privacy Act: Using the search function of our docket Web site,
anyone can find and read the comments received into any of our dockets.
This includes the name of the individual sending the comment (or
signing the comment for an association, business, labor union). 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://www.regulations.gov
.
Before acting on this proposal, we will consider all comments we
receive on or before the closing the date for comments. We will
consider comments filed late if it is possible to do so without
incurring expense or delay. We may change this proposal because of the
comments we receive.
Proprietary or Confidential Business Information
Do not file in the docket information that you consider to be
proprietary or confidential business information. Send or deliver this
information directly to the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. You must mark the
information that you consider proprietary or confidential. If you send
the information on a disk or CD-ROM, mark the outside of the disk or
CD-ROM and also identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the
specific information that is proprietary or confidential.
Under 14 CFR 11.35 (b), when we are aware or proprietary
information filed with a comment, we do not place it in the docket. We
hold it in a separate file to which the public does not have access and
place a note in the docket that we have received it. If we receive a
request to examine or copy this information, we treat it as any other
request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). We process
such a request under the DOT procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.
Availability of Documents
You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by:
(1) Searching the Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov/search
);
(2) Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at (http://www.faa/gov/regulations_policies
); 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 sending 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 identity the docket number, notice number, or amendment number
of this proceeding.
Authority for This Proceeding
This notice is published under the authority described in Subtitle
VII, Part B, Chapter 471, Section 47129 of Title 49 United States Code.
Under subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation
is required to publish publishing policy statements establishing
standards or guidelines the Secretary will use in determining the
reasonableness of airport fees charged to airlines under Section 47129.
Background
On January 17, 2008, the Department of the FAA issued Notice of
proposed amendment to the Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport
Rates and Charges Docket No. FAA-2008-0036, (73 FR 3310). Comments to
that document were to be received on or before March 3, 2008.
By a letter dated January 30, 2008 the Air Transport Association of
America, Inc. (ATA), the Cargo Airline Association (CAA), the National
Air Carrier Association (NACA), and the Regional Airline Association
(RAA), on behalf of their members, requested that the comment period
for Docket 2008-0036 be extended until April 3, 2008. Industry trade
groups expressed concern that critical pieces of information were
missing from the January 17, 2008, notice that are essential to a full
assessment of the impact of the proposed policy. The following
information has been added to the docket: the list of secondary
airports eligible for inclusion in the rate base (FAA Docket 2008-
0036.0007.1); the list of congested airports (based on 1% of delays)
(FAA Docket 2008-0036-0008.1); the list of airports from the Benchmark
report (FAA Docket 2008-0036-0009.1). ATA, CAA, NACA and RAA requested
an extension of the comment period by 30 days to provide sufficient
time to more fully develop comments reflecting the views of the
industry stakeholders.
The Department and the FAA concur with the petitioners' requests
for an extension of the comment period on FAA Docket 2008-0036 and
believe an additional 30 days should be adequate to provide more
complete and meaningful comment.
Extension of Comment Period
In accordance with Sec. 11.47(c) of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, the Department of the FAA have reviewed the petitions made
by the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA), the Cargo
Airline Association (CAA), the National Air Carrier Association (NACA),
and the Regional Airline Association (RAA), on behalf of their members,
for extension of the comment period to FAA Docket 2008-0036. These
petitioners have shown a substantive interest in the proposed amendment
to the 1996 Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges and good cause
for the extension. The Department and the FAA have determined that
extension of the comment period is consistent with the public interest,
and that good cause exists for taking this action.
Accordingly, the comment period for FAA Docket 2008-0036 is
extended until April 3, 2008.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2008.
Rebecca MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations, Federal Aviation
Administration.
[FR Doc. 08-573 Filed 2-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M