[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 10, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13630-13631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04881]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 11, 21, 43, and 107

[Docket No. FAA-2018-1087]
RIN 2120-AK85


Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People; Delay; 
Withdrawal; Correction

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Office of the 
Secretary of Transportation (OST), U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT).

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective and compliance dates; 
withdrawal; correction.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2021, from 
the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, titled ``Regulatory 
Freeze Pending Review,'' the Agency delays the effective date of the 
final rule, ``Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over 
People'', until April 21, 2021, except for certain provisions 
pertaining to remote pilot certification and qualification, which are 
delayed until April 6, 2021. As a result of the delay in the effective 
dates, several compliance dates are also delayed by correcting the 
regulatory text.

DATES: As of March 10, 2021, the March 1, 2021 effective date for the 
amendments to Sec. Sec.  107.61, 107.63, 107.65, 107.73, and 107.74 in 
the final rule published at 86 FR 4314 (January 15, 2021), which was 
delayed at 86 FR 11623 (February 26, 2021), is further delayed to April 
6, 2021.
    As of March 10, 2021, the March 16, 2021 effective date of the 
final rule published at 86 FR 4314 (January 15, 2021) is delayed to 
April 21, 2021.
    The corrections published at 86 FR 11623 (February 26, 2021) are 
withdrawn as of March 10, 2021.
    The correction to Sec.  107.65 is effective April 6, 2021.
    The corrections to Sec. Sec.  107.29 and 107.140 are effective 
April 21, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Machnik, General Aviation and 
Commercial Division, Flight Standards Service, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 55 M Street SE, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20003; 
telephone 1-844-FLY-MYUA; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access and Filing

    A copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (84 FR 3856, 
Feb. 13, 2019), all comments received, the Final Rule, and all 
background material may be viewed online at http://www.regulations.gov 
using the docket number listed above. A copy of this final rule will 
also be placed in the docket. Electronic retrieval help and guidelines 
are available on the website. It is available 24 hours each day, 365 
days each year. An electronic copy of this document may also be 
downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's website at 
www.federalregister.gov and the Government Publishing Office's website 
at www.govinfo.gov.

Background

    On January 15, 2021, the ``Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft 
Systems Over People'' final rule (RIN 2120-AK85) published in the 
Federal Register at 86 FR 4314. The final rule permits routine 
operations of small unmanned aircraft over people, moving vehicles, and 
at night under certain conditions. The final rule also makes changes to 
the recurrent testing framework and expands the list of persons who may 
request the presentation of a remote pilot certificate.
    On January 20, 2021, the Assistant to the President and Chief of 
Staff issued a memorandum titled, ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.'' 
The memorandum requested that the heads of executive departments and 
agencies (agencies) take steps to ensure that the President's 
appointees or designees have the opportunity to review any new or 
pending rules. With respect to rules published in the Federal Register, 
but not yet effective, the memorandum asked that agencies consider 
postponing the rules' effective dates for 60 days from the date of the 
memorandum for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and 
policy the rules may raise.
    In accordance with this direction, the Agency previously decided to 
delay the effective dates of the amendments to Sec. Sec.  107.61, 
107.63, 107.65, 107.73 and 107.74 of the final rule, ``Operation of 
Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People'' (RIN 2120-AK85), until 
March 16, 2021 (FR Doc. 2021-04093, 86 FR 11623, published on February 
26, 2021). Given that the ``Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft 
Systems Over People'' final rule is a complex and lengthy rulemaking, 
the Agency decided to further delay the effective dates of the 
amendments to Sec. Sec.  107.61, 107.63, 107.65, 107.73 and 107.74 
until April, 6, 2021, and to delay until April 21, 2021, the effective 
date for the remainder of this final rule. The delay in the rule's 
effective dates will afford the President's appointees or designees an 
opportunity to review the rule and will allow for consideration of any 
questions of fact, law, or policy that the rule may raise before it 
becomes effective.
    On the same day that FAA published the ``Operation of Small 
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People'' final rule, FAA also published 
a final rule concerning remote identification of small unmanned 
aircraft. The adoption of these two rules is inextricably connected. By 
separate action published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 
Register, FAA is also delaying the effective date of the remote 
identification final rule.
    Additionally, as a result of the delay in the effective dates, 
several corrections are necessary. Some of the compliance dates for 
Sec.  107.29(a)(1) and (d) regarding the operation of a small unmanned 
aircraft system at night must be corrected so that they do not precede 
the new effective date. Similarly, a correction to Sec.  107.65(d) 
regarding the timing of passing the recurrent aeronautical knowledge 
test or satisfying training requirements must also be made to conform 
to the delayed effective date.
    Lastly, this document corrects a drafting error in Sec.  
107.140(d). Section 107.140(d) should refer to paragraph (b)(3) of 
Sec.  107.140, rather than paragraph (b)(4). Paragraph (b)(4) does not 
exist.

Waiver of Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the 
Agency

[[Page 13631]]

generally offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on 
proposed regulations and publish rules not less than 30 days before 
their effective dates. However, the APA provides that an agency is not 
required to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking or delay effective 
dates when the agency, for good cause, finds that the requirement is 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest (5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3)). There is good cause to waive both of 
these requirements here as they are impracticable and unnecessary. A 
delay in the effective dates of the final rule, ``Operation of Small 
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People'', is essential for the 
President's appointees and designees to have adequate time to review 
the rule before it takes effect, and neither the notice and comment 
process nor the delayed effective date could be implemented in time to 
allow for this review, thereby making notice and comment impracticable. 
In addition, notice and comment on this delay is unnecessary because 
the delay is short, the effective dates remain aligned with the 
``Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft'' final rule, and there is 
no change to the policy effectuated by the ``Operation of Small 
Unmanned Aircraft Systems over People'' final rule. This delay is 
insignificant in its nature and impact, and inconsequential to the 
regulated community and to the public.

Corrections

    In FR Doc. 2020-28947 (86 FR 4314) published on January 15, 2021, 
the following corrections are made:


Sec.  107.29  [Corrected]

0
1. As of April 21, 2021, on page 4382, in the second column, in Sec.  
107.29, in paragraph (a)(1), the date ``March 1, 2021'' is corrected to 
read ``April 6, 2021'', and in paragraph (d), the date ``March 16, 
2021'' is corrected to read ``April 21, 2021'' everywhere it appears.


Sec.  107.65  [Corrected]

0
2. As of April 6, 2021, on page 4383, in the first column, in Sec.  
107.65, in paragraph (d), the date ``March 1, 2021'' is corrected to 
read ``April 6, 2021''.


Sec.  107.140  [Corrected]

0
3. As of April 21, 2021, on page 4385, in the second column, in Sec.  
107.140, in paragraph (d), remove ``(b)(4)'' and add in its place 
``(b)(3)''.

    Issued in Washington, DC, under the authority provided by 49 
U.S.C. 106(f), 40101 note and 44807, dated on or about March 4, 
2021.
Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg,
Secretary, Department of Transportation.
Steve Dickson,
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-04881 Filed 3-8-21; 8:45 am]
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