[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 22, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50945-50946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21262]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 121 and 139

[Docket No. FAA-2000-7479; Notice No. 00-05]
RIN 2120-AG96


Certification of Airports; 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 on June 21, 2000. In that document, the FAA proposed to 
revise the current airport certification regulation and a section of an 
air carrier operation regulation. This extension is a result of 
requests from the Augusta (ME) State Airport, the Hancock County-Bar 
Harbor (ME) Airport, and the State of Maine Department of 
Transportation to extend the comment period to the proposal.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this document should be mailed or delivered, in 
duplicate, to: U.S. Department of Transportation Dockets, Docket No. 
FAA-2000-7479, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room Plaza 401, Washington, DC 
20590. Comments may be filed and examined in Room Plaza 401 between 10 
a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, except Federal holidays. Comments also may be 
sent electronically to the Dockets Management System (DMS) at the 
following Internet address: http://dms.dot.gov at any time. Commenters 
who wish to file comments electronically, should follow the 
instructions on the DMS web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Bruce, Airport Safety and 
Operations Division (AAS-300), Office of Airport Safety and Standards, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave., SW., 
Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-8553 or E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to participate in this rulemaking by 
submitting such written data, views, or arguments, as they may desire. 
Comments relating to the environmental, energy, federalism, or economic 
impact that might result from adopting the proposals in this document 
are also invited. Substantive comments should be accompanied by cost 
estimates. Comments should identify the regulatory docket or notice 
number and should be submitted in duplicate to the Rules Docket address 
specified above.
    All comments received, as well as a report summarizing each 
substantive public contact with FAA personnel on this rulemaking, will 
be filed in the docket. The docket is available for public inspection 
before and after the comment closing date.
    The Administrator will consider all comments received on or before 
the closing date before taking action on this proposed rulemaking. 
Comments filed late will be considered as far as possible without 
incurring expense or delay. The proposals contained in this rulemaking 
may be changed in light of the comments received.
    Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
submitted in response to this notice must include a pre-addressed, 
stamped postcard with those comments on which the following statement 
is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2000-7479.'' The postcard will be 
date stamped and mailed to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

    An electronic copy is available on the Internet by taking the 
following steps:
    (1) Go to the search function of the Department of Transportation's 
electronic Docket Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search).
    (2) On the search page type in the last four digits of the Docket 
number shown

[[Page 50946]]

at the beginning of this notice. Click on ``search.''
    (3) On the next page, which contains the Docket summary information 
for the Docket selected, click on the proposed rule.
    An electronic copy is also available on the Internet through FAA's 
web page at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/nprm/nprm.htm or the Federal 
Register's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs/aces/
aces140.html.
    Further, a copy may be obtained by submitting a written 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 notice number or docket number of this 
proposed rule.

Background

    On June 21, 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued 
Notice No. 00-05, Certification of Airports (65 FR 38636, June 21, 
2000). Comments to that document were to be received on or before 
September 19, 2000.
    By letters dated July 13 and August 2, 2000, the Augusta (ME) State 
Airport, the Hancock County-Bar Harbor (ME) Airport, and the State of 
Maine Department of Transportation requested that the FAA extend the 
comment period for Notice No. 00-05 until December 20, 2000. Operators 
of these airports stated that the FAA has underestimated the economic 
impact of the proposal on their facilities, which would be newly 
certificated airports under the proposal. The State of Maine Department 
of Transportation is concerned about the economic implications of the 
proposal on certain airports. All petitioners requested an extension of 
the comment period by 90 days to provide sufficient time to obtain cost 
data and fully evaluate this proposal before submitting comments to the 
FAA.
    While the FAA concurs with the petitioners' requests for an 
extension of the comment period on Notice No. 00-05, the FAA believes 
that a 90-day extension would be excessive. As Notice No. 00-05 is 
lengthy, the FAA provided a 90-day comment period. Although the FAA 
agrees that additional time for comments may be needed by operators of 
airports that would be newly certificated under the proposal, this need 
must be balanced against the need to proceed expeditiously with a 
rulemaking that Congress has indicated needs to be completed. The FAA 
believes an additional 45 days would be adequate for these petitioners 
to collect cost and operational data necessary to provide meaningful 
comment to Notice No. 00-05. This will also allow commenters who may 
have anticipated an extension in the comment period to submit their 
comments by a date certain. 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. 11.29(c) of Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the petitions made by Augusta (ME) 
State Airport, the Hancock County-Bar Harbor (ME) Airport, and the 
State of Maine Department of Transportation for extension of the 
comment period to Notice No. 00-05. These petitioners have shown a 
substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause for the 
extension. The FAA also 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. 98-5 is extended 
until November 3, 2000.

David L. Bennett,
Director, Office of Airport Safety and Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-21262 Filed 8-21-00; 8:45 am]
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