47304 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Notices 

Foreign Operations, and Related 

Programs Appropriations, 2009 (Div. H, 

Pub. L. 111–8), and similar provisions 

in prior-year Appropriations Acts, and 

has concluded that publication of the 

determination would be harmful to the 

national security of the United States. 

This Determination shall be reported 

to the Congress and published in the 

Federal Register. 

Dated: September 4, 2009. 

Vann H. Van Diepen, 

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for 

International Security and Nonproliferation, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. E9–22175 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No.: 2009–0830] 

Airport Privatization Pilot Program 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Receipt and 

Acceptance for Review: Preliminary 

Application for Louis Armstrong New 

Orleans International Airport, New 

Orleans, LA. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) has completed its 

review of the Louis Armstrong New 

Orleans International Airport (MSY) 

preliminary application for 

participation in the airport privatization 

pilot program received under 49 U.S.C. 

47134. The preliminary application is 

accepted for review, with a filing date 

of August 5, 2009. The City of New 

Orleans, the airport sponsor, may select 

a private operator, negotiate an 

agreement and submit a final 

application to the FAA for exemption 

under the pilot program. 49 U.S.C. 

47134 establishes an airport 

privatization pilot program and 

authorizes the Department of 

Transportation to grant exemptions from 

certain Federal statutory and regulatory 

requirements for up to five airport 

privatization projects. The application 

procedures require the FAA to publish 

a notice in the Federal Register after 

review of a preliminary application. The 

FAA must publish a notice of receipt of 

the final application in the Federal 

Register for public review and comment 

for a sixty-day period. The MSY 

preliminary application is available for 

public review at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. The docket 

number is FAA Docket Number 2009– 

0830. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin C. Willis (202–267–8741) Airport 

Compliance Division, ACO–100, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20591. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction and Background 

Title 49 of the U.S. Code § 47134 

authorizes the Secretary of 

Transportation, and through delegation, 

the FAA Administrator, to exempt a 

sponsor of a public use airport that has 

received Federal assistance, from certain 

Federal requirements in connection 

with the privatization of the airport by 

sale or lease to a private party. 

Specifically, the Administrator may 

exempt the sponsor from all or part of 

the requirements to use airport revenues 

for airport-related purposes, to pay back 

a portion of Federal grants upon the sale 

or lease of an airport, and to return 

airport property deeded by the Federal 

Government upon transfer of the airport. 

The Administrator is also authorized to 

exempt the private purchaser or lessee 

from the requirement to use all airport 

revenues for airport-related purposes, to 

the extent necessary to permit the 

purchaser or lessee to earn 

compensation from the operations of the 

airport. 

On September 16, 1997, the Federal 

Aviation Administration issued a notice 

of procedures to be used in applications 

for exemption under Airport 

Privatization Pilot Program (62 FR 

48693). A request for participation in 

the Pilot Program must be initiated by 

the filing of either a preliminary or final 

application for exemption with the 

FAA. 

The City of New Orleans submitted a 

preliminary application to the Airport 

Privatization Pilot Program for Louis 

Armstrong New Orleans International 

Airport on August 5, 2009; the filing 

date of this preliminary application. The 

City may select a private operator, 

negotiate an agreement and submit a 

final application to the FAA for 

exemption. 

If FAA accepts the final application 

for review, the application will be made 

available for public review and 

comment for a sixty-day period. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 8, 

2009. 

Randall S. Fiertz, 

Director, Office of Airport Compliance and 

Field Operations. 

[FR Doc. E9–22144 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Summary Notice No. PE–2009–40] 

Petition for Exemption; Summary of 

Petition Received 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption 

received. 

SUMMARY: This notice contains a 

summary of a petition seeking relief 

from specified requirements of 14 CFR. 

The purpose of this notice is to improve 

the public’s awareness of, and 

participation in, this aspect of FAA’s 

regulatory activities. Neither publication 

of this notice nor the inclusion or 

omission of information in the summary 

is intended to affect the legal status of 

the petition or its final disposition. 

DATES: Comments on this petition must 

identify the petition docket number 

involved and must be received on or 

before September 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by Docket Number FAA– 

2009–0809 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Government-wide rulemaking Web 

site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov 

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Fax: Fax comments to the Docket 

Management Facility at 202–493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Bring comments to 

the Docket Management Facility 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. 

Privacy: We will post all comments 

we receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments received into any of our 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for 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). 

Docket: To read background 

documents or comments received, go to 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Notices 47305 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time 

or to the Docket Management Facility 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: 

Maria G. Delgado, ANM–113, (425) 227– 

2775, FAA, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, 1601 Lind Ave., SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; or 

Ralen Gao, ARM–200, (202) 267–3168, 

FAA, Office of Rulemaking, 800 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20591. This notice is published 

pursuant to 14 CFR 11.85. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 9, 

2009. 

Pamela Hamilton-Powell, 

Director, Office of Rulemaking. 

Petition for Exemption 

Docket No.: FAA–2009–0809. 

Petitioner: Airbus. 

Sections of 14 CFR Affected: 

§§ 25.305(b) and 25.307. 

Description of Relief Sought: The 

petitioner requests an exemption from 

the requirements of §§ 25.305(b) and 

25.307 for certain Airbus Model A330– 

233 and –323 airplanes. If granted, this 

exemption would be time-limited to 

permit installation of Pratt & Whitney 

PW4168A–1D engines without a fan 

cowl hinge upgrade, until Airbus can 

substantiate that the current fan cowl 

hinge design does not require the 

upgrade. 

[FR Doc. E9–22117 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Procedures for Determining Vessel 

Service Categories for Purposes of the 

Cargo Preference Act 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to a Memorandum 

of Understanding Among the United 

States Department of Agriculture, the 

United States Department of 

Transportation, and the United States 

Agency for International Development 

Regarding Procedures for Determining 

Vessel Service Categories for Purposes 

of the Cargo Preference Act, dated 

September 4, 2009 (the MOU, a copy of 

which is attached hereto and posted at 

the Web site of the Maritime 

Administration (MARAD), http:// 

www.marad.dot.gov), notice is hereby 

given by MARAD that procedures as set 

forth herein are established for vessel 

owners or operators to designate the 

service category of individual vessels for 

purposes of compliance with the Cargo 

Preference Act (CPA). Where the owner 

or operator designates the category of its 

vessel, such self-designations will be 

docketed in the public record, 

published, and an opportunity will be 

provided for comment by interested 

parties. Each self-designation and the 

record supporting it is subject to review 

by MARAD. If MARAD disagrees with a 

self-designation, the process for 

determination, appeal and further 

administrative review is set forth below. 

These procedures are intended to be 

interim procedures implementing the 

MOU entered into by MARAD, the 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), and the United States Agency 

for International Development (USAID) 

and a 2002 Department of Justice 

interpretation of the CPA, pending the 

formal promulgation of regulations by 

MARAD. 

Background 

The CPA requires that Federal 

agencies take ‘‘necessary and 

practicable’’ steps to ensure that 

privately-owned U.S.-flag vessels 

transport at least 50 percent of the gross 

tonnage of cargo sponsored under the 

food assistance programs specified 

below ‘‘(computed separately for dry 

bulk carriers, dry cargo liners, and 

tankers) * * * to the extent such vessels 

are available at fair and reasonable rates 

for commercial vessels of the United 

States, in a manner that will ensure a 

fair and reasonable participation of 

commercial vessels of the United States 

in those cargoes by geographic areas.’’ 

46 U.S.C. 55305(b). An additional 25 

percent of gross tonnage is to be 

transported in accordance with the 

requirements of 46 U.S.C. 55314. 

USAID and USDA provide food aid 

commodities to meet humanitarian food 

needs in the developing world. They 

either contract directly with, or provide 

guidance to, other entities for purposes 

of reimbursement regarding the 

transportation of such food aid through 

a competitive bidding system among 

private ocean carriers. The award of 

transportation contracts to ocean 

carriers is subject to the requirements of 

the CPA. 

This Federal Register notice and the 

procedures set forth herein are intended 

to cover the following food assistance 

programs: Titles I, II, and III programs 

of the Food for Peace Act, the Food for 

Progress program of the Food Security 

Act of 1985, the McGovern-Dole 

International Food for Education and 

Child Nutrition program of the Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act of 

2002, the Section 416(b) program of the 

Agricultural Act of 1949, and the Bill 

Emerson Humanitarian Trust of the Bill 

Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act. 

MARAD, an operating administration 

of the Department of Transportation, is 

responsible for prescribing regulations 

and guidance governing the 

implementation of the CPA by other 

Government agencies, such as USAID 

and USDA. 46 U.S.C. 55305(d); 49 CFR 

1.66(e). MARAD maintains a list on its 

Web site at http://www.marad.dot.gov/

documents/MAR730_MasterVesselList

forCargoPreference.pdf that sets forth 

vessel designations for CPA purposes 

through and including September 30, 

2009. The procedures contained in this 

Notice apply to both U.S. flag and 

foreign flag vessels and must be used by 

vessel owners or operators to request 

any designation or re-designation of 

such vessels by service type, for 

purposes of participation in CPA 

programs. MARAD will publish an 

initial list of vessel designations on 

October 7, 2009. After a comment 

period and administrative review 

process (as described below), MARAD 

will publish a new vessel list on its Web 

site, http://www.marad.dot.gov. 

USAID, USDA and the MARAD have 

been involved in litigation that 

challenges the proper interpretation and 

implementation of the Cargo Preference 

Act by these agencies for the Title II 

program under the Food for Peace Act 

(Title II), including Maersk Line Ltd v. 

Vilsack, U.S.D.C. (E.D. Va) 1:09cv747. 

As the parties acknowledged in a July 

10, 2009 settlement of the Maersk 

litigation, the Government agencies 

involved in that litigation were unable 

to provide a unified Government 

position with respect to the proper 

implementation of the 2002 Department 

of Justice interpretation of the CPA. The 

attached MOU serves to clarify the 

position of the United States with 

respect to certain requirements of the 

CPA, and represents the unified 

Government position on the proper 

method for implementing the 

Department of Justice’s 2002 CPA 

determination. 

For purposes of determining 

compliance with the statutory 75 

percent requirement for shipments on 

U.S. flag vessels, each of the affected 

agencies (that is, MARAD, USAID, and 

USDA) will record contracts awarded 

under the food assistance programs 

specified above based solely upon the 

vessel service category for the vessel 

upon which the cargo is carried, for 

both foreign flag and U.S.-flag vessels, 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES