[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9865-9866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03178]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Parts 121 and 135
[Docket No. FAA-2011-1136; Notice No. 12-07]
RIN 2120-AJ33
Air Carrier Contract Maintenance Requirements; Extension of
Comment Period
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was
published November 13, 2012. In that rulemaking, the FAA proposed to
amend the maintenance regulations for domestic, flag, and supplemental
operations, and commuter and on-demand operations for aircraft type
certificated with a passenger seating configuration of 10 seats or more
(excluding any pilot seat). It would require these operators to develop
policies, procedures, methods, and instructions for performing contract
maintenance that are acceptable to the FAA and to include them in their
maintenance manuals. It would also require the operators to provide a
list to the FAA of all persons with whom they contract their
maintenance. At the behest of several of their FAA-certificated air
carrier members, Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA)
requested that the FAA extend the comment period closing date to allow
time to adequately analyze the NPRM and prepare comments.
DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published on November 13, 2012
(77 FR 67584), was scheduled to close on February 11, 2013, and is
extended until March 13, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2011-
1136 using any of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for sending your comments
electronically.
2. Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, West
Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
3. Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations in
Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
4. Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without
change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the
docket Web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all
comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the
individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an
association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the
West Building Ground Floor at 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: Ralen Gao, Office of Rulemaking,
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-3168; email
ralen.gao@faa.gov.
[[Page 9866]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the ``Additional Information'' section
for information on how to comment on this proposal and how the FAA will
handle comments received. The ``Additional Information'' section also
contains related information about the docket. In addition, there is
information on obtaining copies of related rulemaking documents.
Background
On November 13, 2012, the FAA issued Notice No. 12-07, entitled
``Air Carrier Contract Maintenance Requirements'' (77 FR 67584).
Comments to that document were to be received on or before February 11,
2013.
By letter dated January 13, 2013, the Regional Air Cargo Carriers
Association (RACCA) requested a 48-day extension of the comment period,
to March 31, 2013. The petitioner requested this extension to allow
time to adequately assess the impact of the requirements proposed in
the NPRM, prepare comments, and develop proposed alternatives. If
enacted in its currently-proposed form, RACCA believes the proposed
rulemaking would result in significant unintended consequences,
including greater operator cost and manpower requirements than those
estimated in the NPRM, loss of efficiency, unbudgeted loss of aircraft
availability, and a substantial additional workload for the FAA that
would result in a diversion of FAA resources from more safety-critical
tasks. It further believes that the rulemaking would add complication
to the contract maintenance process without a quantifiable improvement
in safety, and therefore it would not serve the public's interest.
While the FAA concurs with the petitioner's request for an
extension of the comment period on Notice No. 12-07, it does not
support a 48-day extension. The FAA finds that an additional 30 days is
sufficient for the petitioner to analyze the NPRM and provide
meaningful comment to Notice No. 12-07.
Absent unusual circumstances, the FAA does not anticipate any
further extension of the comment period for this rulemaking.
Extension of Comment Period
In accordance with Sec. 11.47(c) of Title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the petition made by RACCA for
extension of the comment period to Notice No. 12-07. This petitioner
has shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause
for the extension. The FAA has 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 Notice No. 12-07 is extended
until March 13, 2013.
Additional Information
A. Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy,
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain
duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written
comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should
submit only one time.
The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before
the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed
after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without
incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in
light of the comments it receives.
B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents
An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the
Internet by--
1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
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.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
Copies may also be obtained 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.
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this
rulemaking.
All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule,
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from
the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item
(1) above.
Issued in Washington, DC, February 6, 2013.
Lirio Liu,
Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2013-03178 Filed 2-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P