[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 24, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62217-62219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17818]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. FAA-2006-25709; Notice No. 06-13]
RIN 2120-AI70


Congestion Management Rule for LaGuardia Airport

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 the NPRM published 
August 29, 2006 (71 FR 51360). Under the NPRM, the FAA proposed to 
establish an operational

[[Page 62218]]

limit on the number of aircraft landing and taking off at New York's 
LaGuardia Airport. This extension is a result of requests from the 
Airports Council International--North America (ACI-NA), the Air 
Transport Association of America (ATA) and the Regional Airline 
Association (RAA), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 
(Port Authority) for additional time to comment on the proposal.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 29, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments to Docket No. FAA-2006-25709 using any 
of the following methods:
     DOT Docket Web site: Go to http://dms.dot.gov and 
follow the instructions for sending your comments electronically.
     Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     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: Molly W. Smith, Office of Aviation 
Policy and Plans, APO-001, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-
3275; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this 
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. We also 
invite 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. 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 FAA personnel 
concerning this proposed rulemaking. 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 preamble between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. You may also review the docket using 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, 
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.
    Before acting on this proposal, we will consider all comments we 
receive on or before the closing 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 in light of the comments 
we receive.
    If you want the FAA to acknowledge receipt of your comments on this 
proposal, include with your comments a pre-addressed, stamped postcard 
on which the docket number appears. We will stamp the date on the 
postcard and mail it to you.

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 of 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.

Background

    On August 29, 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
issued Notice No. 06-13, ``Congestion Management Rule for LaGuardia 
Airport'' (71 FR 51360). The comment period for the NPRM was 60 days, 
scheduled to end on October 30, 2006.
    In a comment submitted to the docket assigned to the NPRM (Docket 
No. FAA-2006-25709), the Airports Council International--North America 
(ACI-NA) requested we extend the comment period an additional 30 days. 
In a letter dated September 22, 2006, ACI-NA stated that the NPRM is a 
highly significant rulemaking that will affect its members, including 
the Port Authority. ACI-NA stated that the comment period was too short 
to adequately examine and address all potential effects on its members, 
especially effects on small-hub and non-hub airports. ACI-NA requested 
the FAA extend the comment period to expire on November 29, 2006.
    On October 3, 2006, the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) 
and Regional Airline Association (RAA) submitted a joint comment 
requesting extension of the comment period. ATA and RAA requested an 
extension of the comment period to consider, research, and understand 
the operational consequences and the legal and policy implications of 
the NPRM. Additionally, ATA and RAA feel an extension of the comment 
period would not delay the rulemaking since the FAA is still seeking 
legislative authority to complete it and has published a proposal to 
place temporary limitations on operations through an Order.\1\ ATA and 
RAA stated that the NPRM raises significant policy and legal questions, 
including issues under the Administrative Procedures Act, FAA's 
authority to regulate aircraft size and service, authority to withdraw 
operating rights, and economic and

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financial impacts on airlines operating at the airport. Additionally, 
ATA stated that the FAA has had years to consider and develop an 
economic analysis to support the proposed rule, and 60 days is not 
enough time for its staff to review the FAA's Regulatory Evaluation 
properly and produce its own report. ATA and RAA feel that since the 
final rule is dependent on legislative authority they believe may not 
be granted until 2008, and the FAA's own proposed Order will maintain 
current operations through September 2007, promulgation of the final 
rule will not be delayed by extending the comment period until January 
22, 2007.
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    \1\ Proposed Order, ``Operating Limitations at New York 
LaGuardia Airport,'' published in the Federal Register on September 
14, 2006. (71 FR 54331) (Docket FAA-2006-25755).
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    On October 6, 2006, the Port Authority requested that the comment 
period for the NPRM be extended an additional 180 days until April 27, 
2007. The Port Authority, as the operator of the airport, requests the 
extension to research, consider, and thoroughly understand the 
operational consequences and the legal and policy implications of the 
proposal. The Port Authority also states that it is concurrently 
preparing a response to the FAA's proposed Order and will be able to 
focus more time on responding to the NPRM if the comment period is 
extended through April 2007. On October 10, 2006, ATA and RAA submitted 
a joint letter of support for the Port Authority's request that the 
comment period be extended until April 27, 2007.
    We have considered the requests for extension presented by ACI, ATA 
and RAA, and the Port Authority and weighed the requests against the 
interest of proceeding with the comment period closing on the 
originally intended date. We agree there are important legal, policy, 
and operational issues involved in the NPRM, and we wish to provide 
adequate time for all affected parties to evaluate the proposal in its 
entirety. To date, we have received three specific requests for 
extension and consider their merits equal. The FAA agrees that an 
extension for the comment period is in the public interest; however, we 
feel that sufficient justification has not been given for an extension 
beyond 60 days. ATA and RAA's request for a 90-day extension is based, 
in part, on an apparent misunderstanding that FAA must obtain 
legislative authority to complete the proposed rule. At a meeting FAA 
attended at ATA on September 19th, to answer clarifying technical 
questions related to the NPRM, FAA made clear its intentions to issue a 
Final rule prior to receiving any legislative authority to implement 
market based mechanisms such as auctions or congestion pricing at 
LaGuardia. (A summary of this meeting is being placed in the docket.) 
The NPRM states that subsequent rulemaking would be required to address 
the reallocation of expired Operating Authorizations or to implement 
any new legislative authority. Similarly, the Port Authority does not 
provide a compelling rationale as to why they would need a 180-day 
extension to the comment period. An eight-month comment period is not 
warranted even granted the complexity of this NPRM. Therefore, the 
comment period for Notice No. 06-13 is extended an additional 60 days 
and will expire on December 29, 2006. This extension should provide 
commenters with sufficient time to complete any review and submit 
comment. 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 the Airports 
Council International--North America, Air Transport Association and 
Regional Airline Association, and the Port Authority of New York and 
New Jersey for extension of the comment period to Notice No. 06-13. The 
petitioners have a substantive interest in the proposed rule and the 
FAA has determined that an extension of the comment period is 
consistent with the public interest.
    Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 06-13 is extended 
until December 29, 2006.

    Issued in Washington, DC, October 17, 2006.
Nan Shellabarger,
Director, Office of Aviation Policy and Plans.
 [FR Doc. E6-17818 Filed 10-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P