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U.S. Department Office of the Chief Counsel f ° ° '"^^P^""!? "=^,^^^' ®•^• 

of Transportation Wash.ngton, D.C. 20591 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

The Honorable John M. Gentry By Fax and Regular Mail 

Mayor, County of McMinn 

6 East Madison Avenue 

Athens, TN 37303 FEB 06 2009 

RE: William H. Keves v. McMinn County. FAA Docket No. 16-08-12, and 

Dewitt T. Ferrell. Jr. v. McMinn County. FAA Docket No. 16-08-13 

Dear Mayor Gentry: 

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This is in response to your letters of February 4, 2009 and February 6, 2009 concemiftg a -^o 

request for an extension of time to file the County's answers in the above-captioned. s 

proceedings. The County's answers were due 20 days from January 16, which is F^ruary ^ 

14 C.F.R. 16.23(d). However, three additional days are provided for mailing. 14 C.F.R. 

16.17(c). So the County must have placed its pleadings in the mail by February 5 for 

delivery here by February 9. 

In your letters, you note that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) served on your 

office two 14 C.F.R. Part 16 docketing notices on January 16, 2009. You further advise that 

your office did not receive the 16-08-12 Notice until January 21 and the 16-08-13 Notice 

until January 26. You advise that this has not provided the County with enough time to do an 

accurate and thorough job in responding to the two Complaints. You also noted that you 

require the additional time for coordination of your Answers and Motions to Dismiss with the 

fixed-base operator, engineers, and the County Attorney. 

You have requested an extension for 16-08-12 until Monday, February 9, and for 16-08-13 

until Friday, February 13 (these are the dates when you advise you will be mailing the 

pleadings). We appreciate you being respectful of the Complainants' time and of the fact 

that Part 16 is an expedited administrative process, in minimizing the amount of time 

requested. 

Thank you for attempting to obtain Mr. Keyes consent for the extension. Mr. Keyes called 

this office and sent a February 5, 2009 letter to communicate his concerns regarding your 

request. He asserts that the FAA's docketing notice was clear and suggests that the County 

should have made its request before the last minute. He states that the issues raised in the 

two complaints are not new and were extensively addressed in the 14 C.F.R. Part 13 process. 

Finally, Mr. Keyes indicated that an extension would place an undue burden on his travel 

schedule in March. You did not state whether you were able to obtain Mr. Ferrell's consent 

to the extension request. 
Given the fact that the County received two Part 16 complaints at once, that the County has 

minimized its extension request to three days for 16-08-12 and seven days for 16-08-13, and 

that complete and accurate pleadings from the airport sponsor will assist the FAA in a timely 

investigation, the FAA finds that the extension requests in these matters are appropriate for a 

fair and complete hearing on the matters before the agency. 14 C.F.R. 16.11(a). 

Therefore, the County's request for the extensions is granted. You must mail your Answer in 

16-08-12 by February 9. It is due here in our offices no later than February 12. You must 

mail your Answer in 16-08-13 by February 13. It is due here in our offices no later than 

February 16. 

The Complainant(s) may file a Reply within ten days of the date of service of the Answers. 

14 C.F.R. 16.23(e). The County/Respondent may file a rebuttal within ten days of the date of 

service of the replies. 14 C.F.R. 16.23(f). 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan W. Cross 

Acting Branch Manager 

Airports and Environmental 

Law Division 

cc: William H. Keyes 

Dewitt T. Ferrell, Jr. 

FAA Part 16 Airport Proceedings Docket 

ACQ-100