[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 220 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64170-64171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22346]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Chapters I and III

[Docket No. FAA-2007-29291]


Review of Existing Regulations

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA requests comments from the public to identify those 
regulations currently in effect that we should amend, remove, or 
simplify. We are publishing this notice under our ongoing regulatory 
review program required by Executive Order 12866. Getting public 
comments is a necessary element of our effort to make our regulations 
more effective and less burdensome.

DATES: Send us your comments no later than January 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by Docket Number FAA-2007-
29291 using any of the following methods:
     Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to the Docket Management Facility; 
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: Fax comments to the Docket Management Facility at 
202-493-2251.
     Hand Delivery: Bring comments to the Docket Management 
Facility in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., 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://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you 
provide. 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 
for 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).
    Docket: To read background documents or comments received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to the Docket Management 
Facility in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian D. Wright, Office of 
Rulemaking, ARM-103, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-3317; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Congress has authorized the Secretary of Transportation, and by 
delegation, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) to do the following, among other things:
     Develop and maintain a sound regulatory system that is 
responsive to the needs of the public,
     Regulate air commerce in a way that best promotes safety 
and fulfills national defense requirements, and
     Oversee, license, and regulate commercial launch and 
reentry activities and the operation of launch and reentry sites as 
carried out by U.S. citizens or within the United States.
    Anyone interested in further information about FAA's authority and 
responsibilities should refer to Title 49 of the United States Code, 
particularly Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs.
    For many years, the FAA has maintained an active regulatory review 
program:
     In 1992, the President announced a regulatory review to 
``weed out unnecessary and burdensome government regulations, which 
impose needless costs on consumers and substantially impede economic 
growth.'' In response to a request for public comments published in the 
Federal Register (57 FR 4744, February 7, 1992), the FAA received more 
than 300 comments.
     In August 1993, the National Commission to Ensure a Strong 
Competitive Airline Industry (the Commission) recommended the FAA 
undertake a short-range regulatory review to remove or amend existing 
regulations to reduce regulatory burdens consistent with safety and 
security considerations.
     In September 1993, section 5 of Executive Order 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) required each agency to submit a program to 
the Office of Management and Budget by December 31, 1993, under which 
the agency will periodically review its existing significant 
regulations to determine whether any should be changed or removed.
     In January 1994, the FAA published a request for public 
comments in response to the Commission recommendation and to facilitate 
the review envisioned by E.O. 12866 (59 FR 1362, January 10, 1994). We 
received more than 400 comments from 184 commenters.
     In August 1995, the FAA published its proposed plan for 
periodic regulatory reviews for comment (60 FR 44142, August 24, 1995).
     In October 1996, the FAA adopted its current plan for 
periodic regulatory reviews based on a three-year cycle (61 FR 53610, 
October 15, 1996).
     In February 1997, the White House Commission on Aviation 
Safety and Security recommended the FAA simplify its regulations.
     In May 1997, the FAA published its first request for 
comments under the three-year review program and in accord

[[Page 64171]]

with the Commission recommendation (62 FR 26894, May 15, 1997). We 
received 82 comments and published results of the review in October 
1998 (63 FR 56539, October 22, 1998).
     In July 2000, the FAA began the second round of regulatory 
review under the three-year program (65 FR 43265, July 13, 2000). We 
received 476 comments and published results of the review in January 
2002 (67 FR 4680, January 31, 2002).
     In February 2004, the FAA began the third round of 
regulatory review under the three-year program (65 FR 8575, February 
25, 2004). We received 97 comments from 30 different commenters and 
published results of the review in June 2007 (72 FR 34999, June 26, 
2007).
    In summary, since 1992 the FAA has completed five rounds of 
regulatory review and has received approximately 1,350 comments.

Request for Comments

    As part of its ongoing plan for periodic regulatory reviews, the 
FAA is requesting the public identify three regulations, in priority 
order, that it believes we should amend or eliminate.
    Our goal is to identify regulations that impose undue regulatory 
burden; are no longer necessary; or overlay, duplicate, or conflict 
with other Federal regulations. In order to focus on areas of greatest 
interest, and to effectively manage agency resources, the FAA asks that 
commenters responding to this notice limit their input to three issues 
they consider most urgent, and to list them in priority order.
    The FAA will review the issues addressed by the commenters against 
its regulatory agenda and rulemaking program efforts and adjust its 
regulatory priorities consistent with its statutory responsibilities. 
At the end of this process, the FAA will publish a summary and general 
disposition of comments and indicate, where appropriate, how we will 
adjust our regulatory priorities.
    Also, we request the public provide any specific suggestions where 
rules could be developed as performance-based rather than prescriptive, 
and any specific plain-language that might be used, and provide 
suggested language on how those rules should be written.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 7, 2007.
Nick Sabatini,
Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. E7-22346 Filed 11-14-07; 8:45 am]
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