[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10123-10124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5295]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 40 / Monday, March 2, 1998 / Rules
and Regulations
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 91
[Docket No. 29155]
Procedures for Processing Petitions for Final Compliance Waivers
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Policy statement.
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SUMMARY: This document presents a review of the procedures and
information necessary for a U.S. air carrier operating Stage 2 noise
level airplanes subject to the Stage 3 transition regulations, required
by the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA), to submit a
request for a final compliance waiver. ANCA provides that U.S. air
carriers may apply for a waiver from final compliance. This document
outlines the requirements for a petition for waiver from the final
compliance requirements of the Stage 3 transition regulations.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 2, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. William W. Albee, Policy and Regulatory Division (AEE-300), Office
of Environment and Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-
3553, facsimile (202) 267-5594.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA) provides that
after December 31, 1999, no person may operate a Stage 2 airplane over
75,000 pounds in the contiguous United States. This statutory
requirement is codified at 14 CFR 91.853. ANCA also provides that a
U.S. air carrier may request a limited waiver under certain
circumstances.
In order to facilitate planning by affected U.S. air carriers, the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is summarizing the regulatory and
statutory requirements for final waiver requests from the Stage 3
transition regulations.
Filing Requests
As stated in 49 U.S.C. 47528(b), a U.S. air carrier may apply for a
waiver from final compliance if, by July 1, 1999, at least 85% of the
air carrier's fleet meets Stage 3 noise standards. ANCA requires that
waiver applications must be filed no later than Friday, January 1,
1999. These statutory provisions are also codified in 14 CFR 91.873.
Although the statute states that applications are to be filed with the
Secretary of Transportation, authority for ANCA requirements has been
delegated to the FAA (see CFR 1.47(s)).
The statutory criteria for petitioning for a waiver from final
compliance are codified at 14 CFR 91.873. Since ANCA was enacted in
1990, the FAA had to determine how new entrants would be considered
under this criteria. The FAA decided that to be eligible to apply for
the waiver under this section, a new entrant U.S. air carrier must
initiate service no later than January 1, 1999, and must comply fully
with all provisions of Sec. 91.873, including having a fleet that would
be 85% Stage 3 by July 1, 1999.
Each request from a petitioning air carrier for a final compliance
waiver will be reviewed to determine whether it meets the basic
criteria listed in 14 CFR 91.873. If the criteria are not met, the
petitioning air carrier will receive a letter indicating that all of
the required information has not been submitted. Petitioning air
carriers will have an opportunity to submit missing information before
any disposition is final.
When the FAA promulgated the Stage 3 transition regulations in
1991, it stated in the preamble that ``[t]he FAA has not changed its
basic position from the notice of proposed rulemaking that waivers from
the final compliance date will not be automatic. The FAA agrees that
operators should be cautioned to plan for the final compliance date; if
the Congress did not intend the cessation of Stage 2 operations in the
contiguous United States by December 31, 1999, that provision would not
appear in the statute. The FAA intends the statutory waiver provision
to be a relief valve against unforeseen economic and supply
circumstances to be determined based on the circumstances of the
individual operators at the time. ``Automatic'' waivers cannot provide
for unique circumstances.''
Criteria (14 CFR 91.873)
ANCA contains a provision that allows U.S. air carriers to apply
for a waiver from final compliance. This statutory provision is
implemented in 14 CFR 91.873. In order to apply for a waiver from final
compliance, at least 85% of a U.S. air carrier's fleet must meet Stage
3 noise standards by July 1, 1999. Applications must be filed with the
FAA by January 1, 1999, and they must include a plan with firm orders
for replacing or modifying all airplanes to ensure compliance with
Stage 3 noise levels at the earliest practicable time. To avoid any
misinterpretation, the FAA reminds each affected U.S. air carrier that
its annual report for 1998, which is required under Sec. 91.875, must
reflect the carrier's progress in meeting the 100% Stage 3 requirement
fleet by December 31, 1999. Annual reports for 1998 may not use the
final waiver as an expected means of compliance.
The statute requires that a waiver from final compliance may be
granted only if the granting of such a waiver is found to be in the
public interest. No waivers may be granted beyond December 31, 2003. In
determining whether the public interest criteria is met, the FAA will
use elements similar to those used to consider interim compliance
waivers under Sec. 91.871. The criteria used under Sec. 91.871 are as
follows:
Each application for a waiver must contain all of the following:
1. The petitioning air carrier's plan to achieve interim and final
compliance;
2. An explanation of the petitioning air carrier's efforts to date
to achieve compliance; and
3. The petitioning air carrier has to show why its request would be
in the public interest.
In accordance with its previous interim compliance waiver
requirements, the FAA will also consider whether compliance has been
shown to be:
1. financially onerous;
2. physically impossible;
3. technologically infeasible; or
[[Page 10124]]
4. have an adverse effect either on competition or service to small
communities.
Scope of Request
Each waiver request will be considered only for the airplanes
operated by the petitioning air carrier on the date the request was
submitted to the FAA. The FAA's analysis will take into account the
total circumstances of the petitioning air carrier, including all
actions taken up to the date of the request.
Publication
Upon completion of the review and determination that the petition
of the air carrier is complete in accordance with the criteria
described above, a summary of the petition will be published in the
Federal Register for public comment for a minimum of 14 days. A docket
will be opened that contains the petition, any other pertinent
information, and any comments received.
Response
After the close of the comment period, the FAA may grant a waiver
after considering whether granting such waiver would be in the public
interest and if granting such waiver fulfills the statutory intent of
phasing out Stage 2 airplanes. In making such a finding, the statute
requires the FAA to consider the effect of granting such waiver on
competition in the air carrier industry, the effect on small community
air service, and any other information submitted by the petitioning air
carrier. Also, the FAA will not act upon a waiver request until the
petitioning air carrier meets the 85% Stage 3 airplane fleet
requirement, which must be met no later than July 1, 1999, to get a
waiver. If the results of the analysis show that the petitioning air
carrier has met the criteria, the FAA will prepare documentation to
grant the request for waiver. If the analysis shows that the
petitioning air carrier has failed to meet the criteria, the FAA will
prepare documentation to deny the request. A copy of the approval or
denial document will be placed in the docket, and it will be made
available for public inspection.
Length of Waiver
Any waiver granted will be for the shortest possible time as
required by the circumstances presented by the petitioning air carrier,
but in no case will the waiver permit the operation of any Stage 2
airplane subject to Sec. 91.853 after December 31, 2003. If the
petitioning air carrier cannot achieve compliance within the time frame
granted in a waiver, the petitioning air carrier must submit a new
request that will be evaluated under the same criteria as the original
request. New requests that fail to provide more information than the
original will be denied.
Dual-Certificated Airplanes
The FAA is taking this opportunity to remind operators about the
special procedures available for noise compliance by dual-certificated
airplanes.
Certain Boeing 747 airplanes received dual noise certification, and
the appendices of the Airplane Flight Manuals (AFM) for these airplanes
contain the weights and flap settings for both Stage 2 and Stage 3
operations. The FAA considers all such airplanes to be Stage 2
airplanes for compliance purposes unless and until one of three options
is chosen by the operator. These options are:
1. The aircraft is designated in the operations specifications,
paragraph A26, as restricted to Stage 3 operation when operating to or
from any airport in the contiguous 48 United States;
2. The operator surrenders the dual certification to the FAA or
Boeing through amendment of the AFM by supplemental type certificate.
The AFM would then contain only the operating limits for Stage 3
operation; or
3. If an operator demonstrates to the FAA that the configurations
listed in the AFM for Stage 2 and Stage 3 operations are identical at
the maximum gross takeoff weight of the airplane, the airplane may be
designated Stage 3.
Only Boeing 747 airplanes that had previously received dual type
certification are eligible to use these compliance options. These
compliance options are available for use during the interim compliance
period. After December 31, 1999, one of these options must be chosen
for each dual-certificated Boeing 747 or the airplane will not be
eligible for inclusion on the U.S. operations specifications of the
operator.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 24, 1998.
James D. Erickson,
Director of Environment and Energy.
[FR Doc. 98-5295 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
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