[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8641-8643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3331]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 145

[Docket No. FAA-2006-26408]
RIN 2120-AI53


Repair Stations; 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 the Repair Stations 
NPRM, Docket No. FAA-2006-26408 that was published on December 1, 2006. 
In that document, the FAA proposed to amend the regulations for repair 
stations by revising the system of ratings and requiring repair 
stations to establish a quality program. The FAA also proposed 
additional changes critical to maintaining safety. On January 26, 2007, 
the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) requested an 
extension to the comment period for this NPRM. The FAA has considered 
this request and decided to extend the comment period for 45 days.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 16, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket Number FAA-2006-
26408, 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 20590-0001.
     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

[[Page 8642]]

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: George W. Bean, General Aviation and 
Repair Station Branch, AFS-340, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
3109; facsimile: (202) 267-5115 or 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.

Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by:
    (1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket 
Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search);
    (2) Visiting the Office of Rulemaking's Web page at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/index.cfm; or
    (3) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.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 identify the docket number, notice number, or amendment number 
of this rulemaking.

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 December 1, 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
issued Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Repair Stations (71 FR 
70254, 12/01/2006). In that document, the FAA proposed to amend the 
regulations for repair stations by revising the system of ratings and 
requiring repair stations to establish a quality program. The FAA also 
proposed additional changes critical to maintaining safety. Comments to 
that document were to be received on or before March 1, 2007.
    By letter dated January 26, 2007, the Aeronautical Repair Station 
Association (ARSA) requested that the FAA extend the comment period for 
NPRM Repair Stations until June 1, 2007. ARSA represents international 
organizations involved in designing, producing, operating, and 
maintaining civil aviation products. The association is mainly made up 
of repair stations certificated under 14 CFR part 145. Their members 
will be directly and significantly impacted by the changes proposed in 
this rulemaking. ARSA requested an extension of the comment period by 
90 days to provide sufficient time to collect and compile comments from 
its membership before submitting those comments to the FAA.
    While the FAA concurs with the ARSA's request for an extension of 
the comment period on the Repair Stations NPRM, the FAA believes that a 
90-day extension would be excessive. As the Repair Stations NPRM is 
lengthy, the FAA provided a 90-day comment period. Although the FAA 
agrees that additional time for comments may be needed by repair 
stations that would be affected by the proposal, this need must be 
balanced against the need to proceed expeditiously with this 
rulemaking. The FAA believes an additional 45 days would be adequate 
for ARSA to collect and compile comments from its membership and to 
provide meaningful comment on the Repair Stations NPRM to the FAA. This 
will also allow commenters who may have anticipated an extension in the 
comment period to submit their comments by a certain date. 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 request made by ARSA for 
extension of the comment period to the Repair Stations, NPRM. ARSA has 
shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and presented good

[[Page 8643]]

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 the Repair Stations, NPRM, 
Docket No. FAA-2006-26408, is extended until April 16, 2007.

    Issued in Washington, DC, February 20, 2007.
James J. Ballough,
Director, Flight Standards Service, Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. E7-3331 Filed 2-26-07; 8:45 am]
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