[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4656-4657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01342]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2010-0211]
RIN 2105-AE07


Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB 
Agency Request for Renewal of a Previously Approved Information 
Collection Request: Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents Involving 
Animals During Air Transport

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation 
(Department or DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
this notice announces the Department's intention to reinstate the 
previously approved information collection request (ICR) Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number 2105-0552, ``Reports by Air 
Carriers on Incidents Involving Animals During Air Transport.'' The 
information collection involves requirements in the Code of Federal 
Regulations for carriers to file reports with DOT on the loss, injury, 
or death of animals during air transport.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received BY March 25, 2024. 
Late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may file comments identified by docket number DOT-OST-
2010-0211 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, West 
Building, Ground Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except on Federal Holidays.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number 
DOT-OST-2010-0211 at the beginning of your comment. All comments 
received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received in any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting 
the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted 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 www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vinh Q. Nguyen, Office of the General 
Counsel, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-9342 (Voice), 
202-366-7152 (Fax), or [email protected] (email). Arrangements to 
receive this document in an alternative format may be made by 
contacting the above-named individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents Involving Animals 
During Air Transport.
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0552.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of Information Collection Request.
    Background: The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act 
for the 21st Century or ``AIR-21'' (Pub. L. 106-181), which was signed 
into law on April 5, 2000, includes section 710, ``Reports by Carriers 
on Incidents Involving Animals During Air Transport.'' This provision 
was codified as 49 U.S.C. 41721. The statute requires air carriers that 
provide scheduled passenger air transportation to submit monthly to the 
Secretary of Transportation a report on any incidents involving the 
loss, injury, or death of an animal (as defined by the Secretary of 
Transportation) during air transport provided by the air carrier.
    On August 11, 2003, DOT, through its Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), issued a final rule implementing section 710 of 
AIR-21.\1\ The rule required air carriers that provide scheduled 
passenger air transportation to submit a report to APHIS on any 
incident involving the loss, injury, or death of an animal during air 
transportation provided by the air carrier. Due to issues regarding 
whether APHIS had the capability to accept such information directly 
from the carriers, DOT made a technical change in the rule on February 
14, 2005 to require air carriers to submit the required information 
directly to DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD) rather 
than APHIS and to make the rule part of DOT's economic regulations.\2\
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    \1\ Reporting Directive Regarding Incidents Involving Animals 
During Air Transport, 68 FR 47,798 (August 11, 2003).
    \2\ Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents Involving Animals 
During Air Transport, 70 FR 7,392 (February 14, 2005).
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    On July 3, 2014, DOT published a final rule amending the 
requirement that air carriers file reports with DOT on the loss, 
injury, or death of animals during air transport.\3\ The rule (1) 
expanded the reporting requirement from the largest U.S. carriers 
(i.e., U.S. carriers that account for at least 1 percent of domestic 
scheduled passenger revenue) to U.S. carriers that operate scheduled 
service with at least one aircraft with a design capacity of more than 
60 seats; (2) expanded the definition of ``animal'' from only a pet in 
a family household to include all cats and dogs transported by covered 
carriers, regardless of whether the cat or dog is transported as a pet 
by its owner or as part of a commercial shipment (e.g., shipped by a 
breeder); (3) required covered carriers to file a calendar-year report 
in December, even if the carrier did not have any reportable incidents 
during the calendar year; (4) required covered carriers to provide in 
their December reports the total number of animals that were lost, 
injured, or died during air transport in the calendar year; and (5) 
required covered carriers to provide in their December reports the 
total number of animals transported in

[[Page 4657]]

the calendar year. The ICR, ``Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents 
Involving Animals During Air Transport,'' OMB Control Number 2105-0552, 
was renewed twice: on August 25, 2015, OMB approved the renewal of the 
ICR through August 31, 2018, and on October 11, 2018, OMB approved the 
renewal of the ICR through October 31, 2021.
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    \3\ Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents Involving Animals 
During Air Transport, 79 FR 37,938 (July 3, 2014) (codified at 14 
CFR part 235).
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    DOT is publishing this notice to announce its intent to request 
reinstatement of the previously approved ICR described above. The 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, 
5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking 
public comment on information collection activities before OMB may 
approve paperwork packages. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct 
or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not 
required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved 
by the OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control 
Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no 
person shall generally be subject to monetary penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information if the collection of 
information does not display a valid OMB Control Number.\4\
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    \4\ See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
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    Respondents: U.S. carriers that operate scheduled passenger service 
with at least one aircraft having a designed seating capacity of more 
than 60 seats.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30.
    Frequency: For each respondent, one information set for the month 
of December, plus one information set during some other months (1 to 
12).
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: (1) Monthly reports of 
incidents involving the loss, injury, or death of animals during air 
transport: 0 to 360 hours (Respondents [30] x Time to Prepare One 
Monthly Report [1 hour] x Frequency [0 to 12 per year]). (2) December 
report containing the total number of animals that were lost, injured, 
or died during air transport in the calendar year and the total number 
of animals that were transported in the calendar year: 15 hours 
(Respondents [30] x Time to Prepare One December Report [0.5 hour] x 
Frequency (1 per year)].
    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 the Department's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the 
Department 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.
    All comments will become a matter of public record. All responses 
to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB 
approval.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.26, 1.27, 1.48 and 1.49; DOT Order 
1351.29.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on this 19th day of January 2024, 
under authority delegated at 49 U.S.C. 1.27(n).
Kimberly Graber,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2024-01342 Filed 1-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P