[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51730-51732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17802]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Bureau of Customs and Border Protection

19 CFR Part 122

[USCBP-2007-0017]


Addition of San Antonio International Airport to List of 
Designated Landing Locations for Certain Aircraft

AGENCY: Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) Regulations by adding the San Antonio International 
Airport (SAT), located in San Antonio, Texas, to the list of designated 
airports at which

[[Page 51731]]

certain aircraft arriving in the continental United States from certain 
areas south of the United States must land for CBP processing. This 
proposed amendment is made to improve the effectiveness of CBP 
enforcement efforts to combat the smuggling of contraband by air into 
the United States from the south.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 13, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number, by one 
of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments via docket number 
USCBP-2007-0017.
     Mail: Border Security Regulations Branch, Office of 
Regulations and Rulings, Customs and Border Protection, 1300 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., (Mint Annex), Washington, DC 20229.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Submitted comments 
may also be inspected during regular business days between the hours of 
9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Office of Regulations and Rulings, Customs 
and Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC. 
Arrangements to inspect submitted comments should be made in advance by 
calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 572-8768.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Ramos, Program Manager, Traveler 
Security and Facilitation, Office of Field Operations, Customs and 
Border Protection at (202) 344-3726.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation

    Interested persons are invited to participate in this rulemaking by 
submitting written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of the 
proposed rule. CBP also invites comments that relate to the economic, 
environmental, or federalism affects that might result from this 
proposed rule. Comments that will provide the most assistance to CBP 
will reference a specific portion of the proposed rule, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include data, information, or 
authority that support such recommended change.

Background

    As part of CBP's efforts to combat drug-smuggling activities, CBP 
air commerce regulations were amended in 1975 by Treasury Decision 
(T.D.) 75-201, to impose special reporting requirements and control 
procedures on certain aircraft arriving in the continental United 
States via the U.S./Mexican border, the Pacific Coast, the Gulf of 
Mexico, or the Atlantic Coast from certain locations in the southern 
portion of the Western Hemisphere. These special reporting requirements 
apply to all aircraft except the following: Public aircraft; those 
aircraft operated on a regularly published schedule, pursuant to a 
certificate of public convenience and necessity or foreign aircraft 
permit issued by the Department of Transportation authorizing 
interstate, overseas air transportation; and those aircraft with a 
seating capacity of more than 30 passengers or a maximum payload 
capacity of more than 7,500 pounds which are engaged in air 
transportation for compensation or hire on demand (see 19 CFR 
122.23(a)). Thus, since 1975, commanders of such aircraft have been 
required to furnish CBP with timely notice of their intended arrival, 
and required to land at the nearest airport to the point of crossing 
designated by CBP for processing.
    Specifically, the regulations (19 CFR 122.23) provide that subject 
aircraft arriving in the continental United States from certain areas 
south of the United States must furnish a notice of intended arrival to 
the designated airport located nearest the point of crossing. Section 
122.24(b) (19 CFR 122.24(b)) provides that, unless exempt, such 
aircraft must land at designated airports for CBP processing and 
delineates the airports designated for reporting and processing 
purposes for these aircraft.
    During the previous six years, aircraft subject to the special 
reporting requirements entering the United States from the specified 
foreign areas at a point of crossing near San Antonio, were required to 
land at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) for processing by CBP. 
These international flights have been arriving at SAT since November 
2000, when SAT was temporarily designated as an airport where aircraft 
arriving from certain southern areas could land pursuant to section 
1453 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-476, 
Nov. 9, 2000). The Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 
2004 (Pub. L. 108-429, Dec. 3, 2004) effectively extended the airport's 
designation through November 9, 2006.
    This statutory designation has now expired. Community officials 
from San Antonio, Texas and the surrounding region have written CBP 
requesting that SAT be designated by regulation as an airport where 
aircraft arriving from certain southern areas must land.
    During the six years that SAT has been statutorily designated as an 
airport at which these aircraft arriving from the south may land for 
customs processing, CBP has reported no incidents or problems arising 
from this designation. Such a designation will impose no additional 
burdens on CBP as CBP already has a significant presence at SAT, 
processing international passengers arriving on scheduled commercial 
airliners as a landing rights airport. These same CBP personnel have 
been processing passengers arriving from the south since SAT was 
temporarily designated as an airport where aircraft arriving from the 
south could land pursuant to the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 
2000. SAT provides facilities and security and law enforcement support 
services, at no charge to CBP, to assist in the processing of aircraft. 
Consequently, by this document CBP is proposing to permanently 
designate SAT as an airport where certain aircraft, arriving in the 
United States from south of the United States, are authorized to land 
for CBP processing.

Proposed Amendment to Regulations

    If the proposed airport designation is adopted, the list of 
designated airports, at which certain aircraft arriving in the 
continental United States from certain areas south of the United States 
must land for CBP processing, at 19 CFR 122.24(b), will be amended to 
include San Antonio International Airport, located in San Antonio, 
Texas.

Authority

    This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301, 19 
U.S.C. 1433(d), 1644a, and 1624, and the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 
Public Law 107-296 (November 25, 2002).

Signing Authority

    This amendment to the regulations is being issued in accordance 
with 19 CFR 0.2(a) pertaining to the authority of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security (or his or her delegate) to prescribe regulations not 
related to customs revenue functions.

[[Page 51732]]

The Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866

    This proposed amendment seeks to expand the list of designated 
airports at which certain aircraft may land for customs processing. As 
described in this document, certain international flights have been 
arriving at SAT, pursuant to statute, from November 2000, through 
November 9, 2006. The expansion of the list of designated airports to 
include SAT will not result in any new impact on affected parties but 
will result in a continuation of the previous situation. Therefore, CBP 
certifies that the proposed rule will not have significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, the 
document is not subject to the regulatory analysis or other 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The Office of Management and Budget has 
determined that this regulatory proposal is not a significant 
regulatory action as defined under Executive Order 12866.

    Dated: September 4, 2007.
Michael Chertoff,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-17802 Filed 9-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P