2012-11988. Rules of Practice for Federally-Assisted Airport Enforcement Proceedings (Retrospective Regulatory Review); Reopening of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); Reopening of comment period.

SUMMARY:

This action reopens the comment period for an NPRM that was published on March 5, 2012. In that document, the FAA proposed to update, simplify, and streamline rules of practice and procedure for filing and adjudicating complaints against federally-assisted airports. The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), an association representing the local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate the principal airports served by scheduled air carriers in North America, has requested additional time to complete its review and coordinate comments received from members that would be impacted by the proposed changes.

DATES:

The comment period for the NPRM published on March 5, 2012 (77 FR 13027) closed May 4, 2012, and is reopened until June 7, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2012-0176 using any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically.
• Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations 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.
• Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.

Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket Web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations 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:

Melissa Loughlin, ARM-204, Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone [phone]; email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

See the “Additional Information” section for information on how to comment on this proposal and how the FAA will handle comments received. The “Additional Information” section also contains related information about the docket, privacy, the handling of proprietary or confidential business information. In addition, there is information on obtaining copies of related rulemaking documents.

Background

On March 5, 2012, the FAA issued Notice No. 12-02, entitled “Rules of Practice for Federally-Assisted Airport Enforcement Proceedings (Retrospective Regulatory Review)” (77 FR 13027). The FAA requested that comments on that proposal be received on or before May 4, 2012.

By petition dated May 4, 2012, ACI-NA, an association representing the local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate the principal airports served by scheduled air carriers in North America, requested that the FAA extend the comment period for Notice No. 12-02 for three weeks. The petitioner stated that additional time would allow it to coordinate comments with representative airports, and contribute to meaningful input on the proposed rule.

Reopening of Comment Period

The FAA has reviewed the request made by ACI-NA for additional time to comment on Notice No. 12-02. The petitioner has shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause for the additional time to comment. The FAA has determined that reopening the comment period is consistent with the public interest, and that good cause exists for taking this action.

Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 12-02 is reopened until June 7, 2012.

Additional Information

A. Comments Invited

The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit only one time.

The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in light of the comments it receives.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the Internet by—

1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);

2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/​regulations_​policies or

3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/​fdsys/​.

Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling [phone]. Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this rulemaking.

All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item (1) above.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2012.

Lirio Liu,

Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking.