[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 189 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50661-50663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24257]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. 27782]
RIN 2120-AF90


Proposed Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges

agency: Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA).

action: Notice of meeting.

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summary: On September 8, 1995, the Department of Transportation and the 
Federal Aviation Administration published a supplemental notice of a 
proposed policy statement in the Federal Register (60 FR 47012) with 
respect to fair and reasonable and not unjustly discriminatory airport 
rates and charges and announced that at least two meetings for oral 
views would be held. The proposed policy statement sets forth DOT/FAA 
policy regarding airport practices that DOT/FAA would consider to be 
consistent with Federal requirements for airport rates and charges for 
aeronautical uses. This notice announces the date, time, location and 
procedures for the first meeting. A separate notice will be published 
about additional meetings.


[[Page 50662]]

dates: The public meeting will be held on October 17, 1995, starting at 
9 a.m. Pursuant to the September 8, 1995 Supplemental Notice, written 
comments are also invited and must be received on or before October 23, 
1995.

addresses: The public meeting will be held at the Department of 
Transportation, Nassif Bldg., Room 2230, 400 7th St. SW., Washington, 
DC 20590. Persons unable to attend the meeting may mail their comments 
in quadruplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Chief 
Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket (AGC-200), Dockets No. 27782, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591.

for further information contact: Requests to participate in public 
meeting should be directed to Kevin Hehir at (202) 267-8224, Federal 
Aviation Administration, Airport Safety and Compliance, 800 
Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591.
    Questions concerning the subject matter of the meeting may be 
directed to Barry Molar, Federal Aviation Administration, Airports Law 
Branch, AGC-610, 800 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591; 
telephone (202) 267-3473.
    The full text of the Supplemental Notice is also available on the 
Office of Airport Safety and Standards Electronic Bulletin Board. 
Persons with a computer and modem, and communications software, can 
access the bulletin board by setting the modem parameters to match 
those of the bulletin board before dialing. Upon connection with the 
bulletin board for the first time, users are required to register by 
answering a short questionnaire. The bulletin board is menu-driven, and 
detailed instructions for downloading files are provided. The 
Supplemental Notice cannot be read on-line, but can be easily 
downloaded and saved.
    The bulletin board parameters are as follows:

Telephone number: (202) 267-5205, or 1-800-224-6287 via FAA Corporate 
Bulletin Board
Data bits: 8
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1
Baud rate: 300/1200/2400/9600/14400
System operator: Jeff Rapol, AAS-200; (202) 267-7474

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Participation at the Meeting

    Request from persons who wish to participate at the public meeting 
should be received by the FAA no later than October 10, 1995. Such 
requests should be submitted to Kevin Hehir as listed in the section 
title FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCTACT and should include a statement 
of the interest represented by the speaker, e.g., as a representative 
of an airport proprietor, an air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or 
other aeronautical user. Requests received after the date specified 
above will be scheduled if they can be accommodated, but in view of the 
format for presentation, as discussed below, accommodation of late 
requests cannot be assured. The FAA will prepare an agenda of speakers 
that will be available at the time of the meeting.

Background

    On September 8, 1995, the DOT and FAA jointly published in the 
Federal Register a supplemental notice of proposed policy regarding 
fair and reasonable nondiscriminatory airport rates and charges (40 FR 
47012). Specifically, the supplemental notice of proposed policy sets 
forth proposed revisions to the interim final policy on airport rates 
and charges published jointly by the DOT and FAA on February 3, 1995 
(60 FR 6906). In the February 3 publication, DOT/FAA requested comments 
on the interim policy, and the supplemental notice reflects DOT/FAA 
consideration of the comments received. DOT/FAA have published the 
supplemental notice of proposed policy for comment and are conducting 
public meetings to assure that any modifications in the interim policy 
are based on as full an understanding of the industry practices as 
possible and to provide a full opportunity for industry input into the 
policy. The meeting will be structured to permit informal discussion 
among the various interested parties rather than simply delivery of 
prepared comments for the record.

Meeting Procedures

    The following procedures are established to facilitate the meeting:
    (1) There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend or to 
participate in the meeting. The meeting will be open to all persons who 
have requested in advance to participate. Registration will be 
available on the day of the meeting (between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.). 
However, in view of the format of the meetings, there is no assurance 
that persons who register on the day of the meeting will have the 
opportunity to fully participate.
    (2) There will be a morning and afternoon break as well as a break 
for lunch.
    (3) The meeting may adjourn early if scheduled panels of speakers 
complete their presentations in less time than is scheduled for the 
meeting.
    (4) DOT/FAA will try to accommodate all speakers in the context of 
the format for this public meeting. However, the FAA reserves the right 
to exclude some speakers if necessary to assure that all panels 
represent a balance of viewpoints and concerns.
    (5) Sign and oral interpretation can be made available at the 
meeting, as well as an assistive listening device, if requested at the 
above number by October 15, 1995.
    (6) Representatives of the FAA will preside over the meeting. A 
panel of DOT and FAA personnel will hear comments and question other 
participants. Presentations by commenters will be made on panels of up 
to 5 persons, rather than individually. The Department will assign 
interested persons to panels before the meeting, and will attempt to 
have each panel representative of different segments of the industry. 
At a minimum, each panel should include both airline and airport 
representatives.
    (7) Each participant on a panel may make a brief opening statement 
and submit written materials for the record. After completion of the 
statements by all members of the panel, agency personnel will question 
commenters on their statements and views, and may inquire into 
commenters' experience with specific industry practices. Appropriate 
questions may be directed by one panel member to another, through the 
agency moderator. Questions and comments from the floor will be taken 
if time permits.
    (8) Opening statements will be limited to 2 minutes. Each panel 
will be limited to no more than one hour. The meeting will include as 
many panels as are necessary to accommodate all interested commenters.
    (9) The meeting will be recorded by a court reporter. A transcript 
of the meeting and any material accepted by the panel during the 
meeting will be included in the public docket. Any person who is 
interested in purchasing a copy of the transcript should contact the 
court reporter directly. This information will be available at the 
meeting.
    (10) The DOT/FAA will review and consider all material presented by 
participants at the meeting. Position papers or material presenting 
views or information related to the proposed policy statement may be 
accepted at the discretion of the presiding officer and subsequently 
placed in the public docket. The FAA requests that persons 
participating in the meeting provide 10 copies of all materials to be 
presented for distribution to the panel members; other copies may be 
provided to the 

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audience at the discretion of the participant.
    (11) Statements made by the members of the meeting panel are 
intended to facilitate discussion of the issues or to clarify issues. 
Any statement made during the meeting by a member of the panel is not 
intended to be, and should not be construed as, a position of the FAA.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 26, 1995.
Cynthia Rich,
Assistant Administrator for Airports.
[FR Doc. 95-24257 Filed 9-28-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M