12644 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 41 / Thursday, March 1, 2012 / Notices 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: 

Individuals seeking to determine 

whether their information is contained 

in this system should address written 

inquiries to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Privacy Act Officer, 

Office of the Chief Information Officer, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. Inquiries should 

include name, address and telephone 

number and describe the records you 

seek. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Records include: (1) Records collected 

directly from the individual; (2) records 

obtained from other government 

agencies; (3) records collected from the 

individual using technologies like 

cameras or audio recorders; and (4) 

records collected from the vehicle 

operated by the individual. 

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None. 

Issued in Washington, DC on February 24, 

2012. 

Claire W. Barrett, 

Departmental Chief Privacy Officer, 

Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4964 Filed 2–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2012–0028] 

Submission of U.S. Carrier and Airport 

Tarmac Delay Contingency Plans to 

Department of Transportation for 

Approval 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The FAA Modernization and 

Reform Act of 2012 requires covered 

U.S. carriers and U.S. airports to submit 

to the Secretary of Transportation for 

review and approval tarmac delay 

contingency plans on or before May 14, 

2012. The U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Office of Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings 

(Enforcement Office) will be 

establishing an electronic submission 

system to enable covered airlines and 

airports to submit the required plans 

through the World Wide Web. The 

Enforcement Office plans to issue 

another notice within 45 days that will 

provide information on how covered 

carriers and airports can submit these 

required plans. Submissions of the 

plans should not be made prior to that 

date to ensure proper review and 

recording. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO

CONTACT: Livaughn Chapman, Jr., or 

Laura Jennings, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE., W–96–429, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001; Phone: (202) 366–9342; Fax: (202) 

366–7152; Email: Livaughn.Chapman@

dot.gov, or Laura.Jennings@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On February 14, 2012, President 

Obama signed the FAA Modernization 

and Reform Act of 2012 (the ‘‘Act’’) into 

law. Among other things, the Act 

requires U.S. carriers that operate 

scheduled passenger service or public 

charter service using any aircraft with a 

design capacity of 30 or more seats, and 

operators of large hub, medium hub, 

small hub, or non-hub U.S. airports, to 

submit contingency plans for lengthy 

tarmac delays to the Secretary of 

Transportation for review and approval 

no later than May 14, 2012. 

The requirements of the Act do not 

conflict with the Department’s existing 

tarmac delay rule (14 CFR part 259). The 

Act also permits the Department to 

establish, as necessary, minimum 

standards for contingency plans. As 

such, the specific requirements of Part 

259 remain in effect for U.S. carriers. 

U.S. carrier contingency plans must 

contain a provision that a passenger 

shall have the option to deplane an 

aircraft and return to the airport 

terminal when there is an excessive 

tarmac delay (3 hours for domestic 

flights and 4 hours for international 

flights) at each large hub, medium hub, 

small hub, or non-hub U.S. airport at 

which they operate scheduled or public 

charter air service, with the following 

exceptions: (1) Where an air traffic 

controller with authority over the 

aircraft advises the pilot in command 

that permitting a passenger to deplane 

would significantly disrupt airport 

operations; or (2) where the pilot in 

command determines that permitting a 

passenger to deplane would jeopardize 

passenger safety or security. The 

deplaning option must be offered to a 

passenger even if the flight in covered 

air transportation is diverted to a 

commercial airport other than the 

originally scheduled airport. Under the 

Act, U.S. carrier contingency plans must 

also contain a description of how the 

carrier will: (1) Provide adequate food, 

potable water, restroom facilities, 

comfortable cabin temperatures (a 

requirement not currently contained in 

DOT rules), and access to medical 

treatment for passengers onboard an 

aircraft when the departure of a flight is 

delayed or disembarkation of passengers 

is delayed; and (2) share facilities and 

make gates available at the airport in an 

emergency (another requirement not 

currently in DOT rules). Existing DOT 

rules require carriers to provide 

assurance that the plan has been 

coordinated with airport authorities 

(including terminal facility operators 

where applicable), U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection and the 

Transportation Security Administration 

at each U.S. large hub airport, medium 

hub airport, small hub airport and nonhub airport that the carriers serve, as 

well as their regular U.S. diversion 

airports. 

Under the statute airport contingency 

plans must contain a description of how 

the airport operator, to the maximum 

extent practicable, will: (1) Provide for 

the deplanement of passengers 

following excessive tarmac delays; (2) 

provide for the sharing of facilities and 

make gates available at the airport in an 

emergency; and (3) provide a sterile area 

following excessive tarmac delays for 

passengers who have not yet cleared 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

DOT tarmac delay rules currently do not 

apply directly to airports. 

The Enforcement Office intends to 

establish an electronic submission 

system, similar to the Department’s 

current disability complaint reporting 

system, where covered airlines and 

airports will submit their required 

plans. The Enforcement Office is 

working to establish the necessary 

mechanisms to implement that system 

and plans to issue another notice within 

45 days with detailed information on 

the submission process. 

In defining the hub size of an airport, 

the Department uses the airport-specific 

thresholds published by the 

Department’s Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS). A list of airport 

information for calendar year 2010 (the 

latest available data) is available on the 

FAA’s Web site at http://www.faa.gov/

airports/planning_capacity/passenger_

allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy10_

primary_enplanements.pdf. In addition, 

a preliminary list of covered U.S. 

carriers provided by BTS can be found 

on the Department’s Aviation Consumer 

Protection Division Web site at http://

airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/SA_

FlightDelays.htm. Any U.S. carrier or 

airport on the referenced air carrier or 

airport lists that believes that it is not 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 41 / Thursday, March 1, 2012 / Notices 12645 

covered by the statute and should not be 

on either list should notify one of the 

Department contacts listed above 

immediately. If any person, including 

any U.S. carrier or airport, believes that 

a carrier or airport is covered by the 

statute but does not appear on the 

appropriate list, that person should 

notify one of the Department contacts 

noted above immediately with that 

information. 

The Enforcement Office’s review of 

the contingency plans will concentrate 

on the statutory and existing regulatory 

requirements for such plans. However, 

carriers and airports are directed to the 

model contingency planning document, 

titled ‘‘Development of Contingency 

Plans for Lengthy Airline On-Board 

Ground Delays,’’ that was developed by 

the National Task Force to Develop 

Model Contingency Plans to Deal with 

Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground 

Delays for contingency planning 

guidance. See Docket No. DOT–OST– 

2007–0108–0124. This document can 

also be found at http://

airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/

TarmacTFModelContingencyPlanning

Document.pdf. We also understand that 

the Airport Cooperative Research 

Program (ACRP) has developed some 

preliminary guidance materials in this 

area as well. Those materials can be 

found at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/

onlinepubs/acrp/docs/ACRP10-

10.Update.10Dec2011.pdf. 

Issued this 24th day of February 2012, at 

Washington, DC. 

Samuel Podberesky, 

Assistant General Counsel for Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. 

Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4963 Filed 2–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2011–0036] 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), this document provides the 

public notice that by a document dated 

April 11, 2011, the City of Chandler, 

AZ, has petitioned the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) for a waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the Federal railroad safety regulations 

contained at 49 CFR part 222. FRA 

assigned the petition Docket Number 

FRA–2011–0036. 

The City of Chandler is seeking a 

waiver from the provisions of 49 CFR 

Section 222.9 (specifically, the 

definition of a non-traversable curb) so 

that three existing public crossings (Ray 

Road (DOT #741579U), Pecos Road 

(DOT #741674P), and Germann Road 

(DOT #741676D)) can be deemed 

acceptable supplemental safety 

measures (SSM). The crossings, 

equipped with flashing lights, gates, and 

medians, comply with all requirements 

necessary to be ‘‘gates with medians or 

channelization devices’’ SSMs with 

non-traversable curbs; except that the 

posted highway speed limit is 45 mph 

instead of 40 mph as required in the 

definition. 

The City of Chandler is also seeking 

a waiver from the provisions of 49 CFR 

Section 222.35(b)(1) so that the active 

grade crossing warning devices at 

Commonwealth Avenue (DOT 

#741672B) and Frye Road (DOT 

#741673H) are not required to be 

equipped with constant warning time 

devices for the siding track at the 

crossings. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, is available for review online at 

http://www.regulations.gov and in 

person at the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s (DOT) Docket 

Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590. The Docket Operations Facility 

is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http://www.regulations.

gov. Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Communications received by April 

16, 2012 will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered as far as practicable. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into 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 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78), or 

online at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.

html. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 17, 

2012. 

Ron Hynes, 

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Regulatory and Legislative Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4967 Filed 2–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

February 27, 2012. 

The Department of the Treasury will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13, on or after the 

date of publication of this notice. 

DATES: Comments should be received on 

or before April 2, 2012 to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding 

the burden estimate, or any other aspect 

of the information collection, including 

suggestion for reducing the burden, to 

(1) Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for 

Treasury, New Executive Office 

Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 

20503, or email at 

OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV and 

(2) Treasury PRA Clearance Officer, 

1750 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 

11020, Washington, DC 20220, or online at www.PRAComment.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Copies of the submission(s) may be 

obtained by calling (202) 927–5331, 

email at PRA@treasury.gov, or the entire 

information collection request maybe 

found at www.reginfo.gov. 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

OMB Number: 1545–NEW. 

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