[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24606-24609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08826]



[[Page 24606]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2022-0193]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of a New Approval of Information Collection: ICAO CO2 
Certification Database

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new information collection. 
The collection involves the possibility for airplane manufacturers for 
which the airplane is subject to the applicability of Annex 16, Volume 
III of the Convention on Civil Aviation (hereinafter the ``Chicago 
Convention'') to submit electronically CO2 Certification 
Database (CO2DB) Datasheet(s) to the FAA. The information to 
be collected will be necessary because of FAA's commitment to help (a) 
provide publicly available data on the CO2 Metric Value (MV) 
which represents a measure of fuel burn performance of airplane types 
against CO2 technology/design standards, (b) track and 
communicate the improvement in airplane CO2 MVs over time 
and (c) provide an incentive to improve the CO2 MV of 
airplane types.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by June 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Comments should be 
addressed to the attention of the Desk Officer, Department of 
Transportation/FAA, and sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected], or faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, 
DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laszlo Windhoffer at (202) 267-4741, 
or by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Appendix A ``Supporting Statement A''.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (d) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include 
your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-XXXX.
    Title: ICAO CO2 Certification Database 
(CO2DB).
    Form Numbers: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: Clearance of a new information collection.
    Background: In March 2017, the International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO) Council adopted the Volume III of Annex 16 of the 
Chicago Convention (Environmental Protection) for the implementation of 
a new airplane CO2 emissions standard. The Standard will 
apply to new airplane type designs from 2020, and to airplane type 
designs already in-production as of 2023. Those in-production airplane 
which by 2028 do not meet the standard will no longer be able to be 
produced unless their designs are sufficiently modified to comply with 
the in-production standard.
    To support the implementation of Annex 16 Volume III, ICAO agreed 
that, similar to noise and engine emissions, an ICAO CO2 
Certification Database (CO2DB) should be developed and 
continuously maintained in a publicly accessible manner. The U.S. 
Federal Aviation Administration will host the new database on behalf of 
ICAO.
    The aim of the CO2DB is to (a) Provide publicly 
available data on the CO2 Metric Value (MV) which represents 
a measure of fuel burn performance of airplane types against 
CO2 technology/design standards, (b) Track and communicate 
the improvement in airplane CO2 MVs over time and (c) 
Provide an incentive to improve the CO2 MV of airplane 
types.
    The collection of data towards the CO2DB is expected to 
leverage the Airplane Airworthiness Certification process, which 
includes; airplane performance measurement, computation of relevant 
metrics (e.g., CO2 MV) and submission of the information to 
the Certificating Authority (CA) of the State of Design. As part of the 
airworthiness certification process, the data/information is reviewed 
by the CA and approved. Given that the submission of information into 
the CO2DB is voluntary, it is expected that the applicant 
(e.g., airplane manufacturer) will decide to submit a CO2DB 
Datasheet to its CA and ultimately to the U.S. FAA. If the applicant 
decides to submit information to the CO2DB, the applicant 
will prepare a CO2DB Datasheet by using the CO2DB 
Datasheet Template that will be publicly available via the 
CO2DB web page expected to be hosted on the FAA Office of 
Environment and Energy website.
    Once the U.S. FAA collects the CO2DB Datasheets it may 
conduct an information check to identify any gross errors or mistakes. 
Similar to other ICAO environment databases, the entity submitting the 
information (in this case the applicant) will be solely responsible for 
the accuracy of the information. If there are any questions about 
submissions, the U.S. FAA will communicate with the applicant to 
attempt to address any issues.
    CO2DB Datasheets will then be integrated into the 
CO2DB and the records of changes will be updated. It is 
expected that the database will be available for download in a common 
table format (e.g., Microsoft Excel file) as well as a collection of 
the submitted CO2DB Datasheets. Additional background and 
supporting information will also be available on the CO2DB 
website along with a Support Function communication mechanism (e.g., 
email address).
    Respondents: Respondents will be airplane manufacturers (or 
``applicants'') subject to the applicability of Annex 16, Volume III of 
the Chicago Convention. From the outset, FAA expects about 3 U.S. 
airplane applicants to submit CO2DB Datasheets for their 
certified airplanes. It should be noted that additional respondents 
from outside the United States (i.e., Airplane Manufacturers for which 
the Certificating Authority is another ICAO Member State than the 
United States) are expected to submit CO2DB Datasheets to 
the CO2DB for their certified airplane. These non-US 
applicants were assumed to be outside the scope of the burden analysis 
contained in Supporting Statement A and were therefore not included as 
respondents.
    Frequency: If they decide to submit information to the 
CO2DB, the manufacturers will submit data after the 
certification of an airplane. It is expected that manufacturers would 
submit one CO2DB Datasheet for each airplane model. As 
described in Supporting Statement A and based on historical frequency 
of airplane certification, each U.S. manufacturer could be expected to 
certificate up to two new models every three years. Thus, in 
mathematical terms, the FAA would expect to receive an average of

[[Page 24607]]

two thirds of one datasheet per year and per respondent.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: It is expected that filling 
and submitting a CO2DB Datasheet could take approximately 5 
hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: Based on the above, FAA expects that 
the annual submission of CO2DB Datasheet by U.S. airplane 
manufacturers could take approximately 5 hours for an average of 2 
submissions per year across 3 manufacturers.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 20, 2022.
Julie Marks,
Acting Executive Director, Office of Environment and Energy.

Appendix A: Supporting Statement A for the ICAO CO2 Certification 
Database

    1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of 
information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative 
requirements that necessitate the collection.
    On March 6, 2017 the United States (through its International 
Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] Council Member) voted to adopt 
Annex 16, Vol. III of the Chicago Convention. Annex 16, Vol. III 
contains the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) relating to 
the implementation of the airplane CO2 standard.
    The ICAO standard applies to (1) Subsonic jet aeroplanes, (2) 
All propeller-driven aeroplanes, (3) Derived versions of non-
CO2-certified subsonic jet aeroplanes, (4) Derived 
versions of non-CO2 certified propeller-driven aeroplanes 
and (5) Individual non-CO2-certified subsonic jet 
aeroplanes and propeller-driven aeroplanes. The standard applies to 
new airplane type designs submitted for certification after January 
1, 2020, and to airplane type designs already in-production as of 
2023. After January 1, 2028, airplanes that do not meet the standard 
may no longer be produced unless their designs are sufficiently 
modified.
    Airplane manufacturers in the U.S. and other ICAO countries are 
required to show compliance with the ICAO standard at the time of 
airplane certification.
    In February 2016, members of ICAO's Committee on Aviation 
Environmental Protection (CAEP) agreed that, similar to noise and 
engine emissions, an ICAO CO2 Certification Database 
(CO2DB) should be developed and continuously maintained 
in a publicly accessible manner. Information submission to the 
CO2DB is done by manufacturers and by the certificating 
authority of the State of airplane design on a voluntary basis. It 
is not a requirement or standard contained in Annex 16 Volume III. 
The United States (FAA) agreed to host the database on behalf of 
ICAO.
    The aim of the CO2DB is to:
    (a) Provide publicly available data on the CO2 metric 
value (MV) for each certificated airplane model; MV represents a 
measure of fuel burn performance of airplane types against 
CO2 technology/design standards.
    (b) Track and communicate improvements in airplane 
CO2 MVs over time.
    (c) Provide an incentive to manufacturers to improve the 
CO2 MV of each airplane type.

Attachments:
 Annex 16, Vol. III

    2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information 
is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use 
the agency has made of the information received from the current 
collection.
    The data expected to be submitted for the CO2DB is 
generated during the airworthiness certification process, which 
includes airplane performance measurement, computation of relevant 
metrics (e.g., CO2 MV) and submission of the information 
to the Certificating Authority (CA) of the State of Design. As part 
of the airworthiness certification process, the data and information 
are reviewed and approved by each CA.
    Since submission of information to the CO2DB is 
voluntary, it is the decision of the certification applicant (e.g., 
manufacturer) to decide whether to submit CO2DB data to 
its CA and ultimately to the FAA for inclusion in the database. If 
the applicant decides to submit information to the CO2DB, 
the applicant prepares a datasheet using the CO2DB 
Datasheet Template that will be available on the CO2DB 
website. The template is a one-page document that requires 
identification of the airplane type design, whether it is a new type 
design or in-production, and includes airframe, engine, and 
propeller information
    Following the decision by the certification applicant to submit 
to the CO2DB, each CA will review the applicant's 
CO2DB datasheet to ensure that it conforms to the 
database requirements. The CA will then submit the CO2DB 
datasheet(s) to the FAA.
    Once the FAA collects the CO2DB datasheets, it may 
choose to conduct an information check to identify any gross errors 
or mistakes; this process is optional for the FAA as the CA remains 
responsible for the accuracy of the information and data contained 
in the CO2DB datasheets it submits to the FAA). If there 
are any concerns about submissions, the FAA will communicate with 
the CA in an attempt to address any issues.
    The FAA will integrate the datasheets into the CO2DB 
and update the records of changes. The plan is to have the database 
available for download in a common table format (e.g., Microsoft 
Excel file), and as a file of the submitted CO2DB 
datasheets. Additional background and supporting information will 
also be available on the CO2DB website along with a 
Support Function communication mechanism with the FAA (e.g., email 
address).
    The submission of CO2DB datasheets will take place on 
an ad-hoc (not regular or recurring) basis after an airplane is 
certificated. One submission is expected for each airplane model 
following its initial type certification, and again if an airplane 
model is modified and it requires a recertification for 
CO2 in accordance with the regulations of the State of 
design.

Attachment:
 CO2DB Datasheet template

    3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of 
information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, 
or other technological collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    The CO2DB datasheet template is a Microsoft Excel-
based template, which maximizes convenience for certification 
applicants (i.e., manufacturers) and the Certificating Authority of 
the State of design. The application is in widespread use and allows 
ease of data entry. The CO2DB datasheets will be 
submitted electronically.
    4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically 
why any similar information already available cannot be used or 
modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.
    The CO2 certification requirement is new in ICAO 
Annex 16. The conforming U.S. regulatory requirements are in 
process. At present, airplane certification data submitted to and 
collected by the FAA does not include airplane level CO2 
certification data as defined in Annex 16, Vol. III.
    5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or 
other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.
    This collection will not involve small businesses or small 
entities.
    Note: As described in section 1, the CO2 certification 
requirements apply to airplane manufacturers that are generally not 
considered small businesses or small entities. In addition, 
Certificating Authorities of the State of design are government 
entities, not small businesses or small entities.
    6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy 
activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less 
frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing 
burden.
    As described in section 1, information submission to the 
CO2DB is done by manufacturers and the Certificating 
Authority of the State of design on a voluntary basis. There are no 
impacts to the airworthiness of an airplane if the CO2 
certification data is not reported to the CO2DB. The aim 
of the CO2DB is to: (a) Provide publicly available data 
on the CO2 MV which represents a measure of fuel burn 
performance of airplane types against CO2 technology/
design standards; (b) Track and communicate improvements in airplane 
CO2 MVs over time; and (c) Provide an incentive to 
improve the CO2 MV of airplane types. The absence of 
CO2 certification data in the CO2DB would 
limit transparency and comparison across airplanes types and the 
industry worldwide.
    7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an 
information collection to be conducted in a manner:
     Requiring respondents to report information to the 
agency more often than quarterly;
    None. Data is submitted voluntarily by airplane manufacturers 
only when airplanes are required to demonstrate compliance with the 
CO2 standard.
     requiring respondents to prepare a written response to 
a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of 
it;
    None. Submission is voluntary.
     requiring respondents to submit more than an original 
and two copies of any

[[Page 24608]]

document; requiring respondents to retain records, other than 
health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records, 
for more than three years;
    None.
     in connection with a statistical survey, that is not 
designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be 
generalized to the universe of study;
    None.
     requiring the use of a statistical data classification 
that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;
    None.
     that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not 
supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is 
not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are 
consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing 
of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or
    None.
     requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade 
secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can 
demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the 
information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.
    None.
    8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that 
solicited public comments on the information collection prior to 
this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response 
to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in 
response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with 
persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability 
of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and 
recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the 
data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
    Not applicable.
    9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to 
respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
    N/A. The FAA will not be providing any payments or gifts to 
respondents.
    10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to 
respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or 
agency policy.
    No assurance given. Entities submitting information understand 
that it is a voluntary submission to a publicly available database.
    11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a 
sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious 
beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.
    N/A. This collection does not contain any questions of a 
sensitive nature.
    12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of 
information. The statement should:
     Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of 
response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden 
was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct 
special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden 
estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential 
respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is 
expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or 
complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the 
reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include 
burden hours for customary and usual business practices. * If this 
request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate 
hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens.
     Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for 
the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and 
using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out 
or paying outside parties for information collection activities 
should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included 
under item 13.
    Number of respondents (total): The FAA expects up to three U.S. 
airplane manufacturers to potentially submit a voluntary 
CO2 certification datasheet each year. Based on agency 
participation with ICAO in developing the airplane CO2 
standards, the agency expects up to 12-20 non-U.S. airplane 
manufacturers to submit data annually, with no effect on U.S. 
respondents.
    Frequency of submission of CO2 certification datasheet per 
respondent:
    [ssquf] Each manufacturer decides whether to submit information 
to the CO2DB following certification of an airplane 
model, with one datasheet for each airplane model. Based on the 
number of airplanes certificated from 1900-2019, each U.S. 
manufacturer could be expected to certificate up to two new models 
every three years. Thus, in mathematical terms, the FAA would expect 
to receive an average of two thirds of one datasheet from each U.S. 
manufacturer each year.
    Hour burden per year (total): The FAA estimates that filling and 
submitting two (2) CO2 certification datasheets (i.e., 2 
responses) would take a total of five (5) hours per year.
    [ssquf] It is estimated that the respondent will take a total of 
2.5 hours to prepare and submit a CO2 certification 
datasheet. The breakdown of this burden is 1 hour to fill out the 
datasheet, 0.5 hour for record keeping associated with the 
CO2 certification, and 1 hour to disclose and submit the 
datasheet to the FAA.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Summary (annual numbers)                     Reporting        Recordkeeping        Disclosure
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of respondents (U.S. respondents only)..........                  3                  3                  3
Number of responses per respondent.....................                2/3                2/3                2/3
Time per Response......................................                  1               0.50                  1
Total number of responses..............................                  2                  2                  2
Total burden (hours)...................................                  2                  1                  2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to 
respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of 
information.
    Overall, this collection is estimated to result in the 
following:
    [ssquf] The total cost to all manufacturers of filling and 
submitting two CO2 certification datasheets would be 
approximately $298 per year.
    CO2DB submission annualized cost (total): Based on hourly cost 
assumptions described in the section below: ``Explanation of 
CO2 certification datasheet submission burden'', the 
total estimated cost for filling and submitting a CO2 
certification datasheet is approximately $149 per individual 
datasheet submission.
    Explanation of CO2 certification datasheet submission burden: 
The hourly rates for the preparation and submission of a 
CO2 certification datasheet are based on a mix of wage 
rates that include a 50% burden on General and Operations Managers 
(11-1021) with an hourly rate of $59.35 and a 50% burden on a 
Management Analysts (13-1110) with an hourly rate of $44.92. The 
fully loaded rate of $74.96 was calculated using a multiplier of 
1.44 based on the United States average of wage and salaries and 
benefits for private industry workers [U.S. BLS 2018].
    Note.--The information submitted on the CO2 certification 
datasheet is expected to be part of the certification data that will 
be gathered and recorded as part of airplane CO2 certification 
requirements. The CO2 data would be reported voluntarily for 
inclusion in the CO2DB. With the exception of filling out the 
datasheet, there are no additional costs of collecting information 
in support of submissions to the CO2DB.
    Note.--The FAA notes that 12 to 20 additional manufacturers are 
eligible to submit airplane data into the CO2DB. Since these are 
non-U.S. manufacturers that will submit to their own CAs, the FAA 
has no means to estimate the cost burden on these entities. This 
lack of information and the voluntary nature of the submission have 
led to our exclusion of them from this assessment.
    14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal 
government. Also, provide a description of the method used to 
estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, 
operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and 
support staff), and any other expense that would not have been 
incurred without this collection of information.
    Estimated annualized cost to the Federal government: The total 
estimated costs to the Federal government related to the 
CO2 certification datasheets are expected to range

[[Page 24609]]

from $3480 to $4600 per year all of which is expected to be 
considered as operating (recurring) cost.
    Note.--The range of cost estimates above includes expected 
processing of submissions from non-U.S. manufacturers the FAA finds 
would be eligible to submit CO2 certification datasheets.
    Explanation of how annualized cost to the Federal government was 
estimated:
    [ssquf] Estimates of costs to the Federal government include; 
cost of collecting electronically submitted CO2 
certification datasheets, reviewing them, adding them to the 
database, publishing the database, and supporting the electronic 
reporting systems.
    [ssquf] The collection of the CO2 certification 
datasheets are assumed to take 1 hour per CO2 
certification datasheet submitted.
    [ssquf] The review of CO2 certification datasheets is 
estimated to require 4 hours for each CO2 certification 
datasheet submitted.
    [ssquf] The electronic publication of the CO2DB is 
estimated to require 8 hours per publication. Assuming 4 
publications per year, the total burden to publish the 
CO2DB is estimated to be 32 hours per year.
    [ssquf] The hourly rate ($42.67) for collecting, reviewing 
CO2 certification datasheets and managing and publishing 
the CO2DB are based on a mix of wage rates including a 
10% burden on GS-15 with hourly rate of $57.09 and 90% burden on a 
GS-13 with hourly rate of $41.07 (where $42.67 is calculated as the 
weighted sum of; $57.09 multiplied by 0.1 and $41.07 multiplied by 
0.9).
    15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
    This is a new collection; therefore, it is not a program change.
    16. For collections of information whose results will be 
published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any 
complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time 
schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending 
dates of the collection of information, completion of report, 
publication dates, and other actions.
    Upon receipt a new or revised CO2DB datasheet, the 
FAA will integrate it into the CO2DB and the record of 
changes will be updated. Data integration is a simple transfer of 
the limited amount of data contained in the one-page 
CO2DB datasheet into a single master table.
    The FAA expects that the database will be available for download 
in a common table format as a Microsoft Excel file). The database 
will also include the submitted CO2DB datasheets in pdf 
format for review.
    Additional background and supporting information related to the 
development and implementation of the CO2DB will also be 
available on the CO2DB website along with a Support 
Function communication mechanism (email address). Similarly to other 
publicly available ICAO databases hosted by other national aviation 
authorities, this supplemental information on FAA's website will 
provide detailed guidance for entities planning to provide a 
submission to the CO2DB.
    The CO2DB will be published on an ad-hoc basis based 
on the receipt of CO2DB datasheets. For context, similar 
ICAO Environmental databases are published a few times per year:
    [ssquf] For the ICAO Engine Emissions databank hosted and 
maintained by the European Aviation Safety Agency, the frequency of 
publication varied over time with an average of slightly more than 
twice a year. There are no specific/regular update patterns 
throughout the years (i.e., updates have been published throughout 
the year except in August).
    [ssquf] For the ICAO NoisedB hosted and maintained by the French 
Civil Aviation Authority, the frequency of publication has been 3 to 
4 times per year.
    17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for 
OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why 
display would be inappropriate.
    FAA is seeking approval not to display an expiration date for 
the CO2DB datasheet template. The applicability of the 
ICAO standard in Annex 16 Vol. III is permanent. The information 
requested on the CO2DB datasheet template is not expected 
to change, but manufacturers may need to submit new or updated 
CO2DB datasheets for new airplane certifications or 
modifications, or they may need to amend existing database 
information. FAA requests approval not to display an expiration date 
that may confuse an international process.
    18. Explain each exception to the topics of the certification 
statement identified in ``Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act 
Submissions.''
    There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

[FR Doc. 2022-08826 Filed 4-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P