52838 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 14, 2009 / Notices 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: October 8, 2009. 

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Kulunie L. Cannon, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–24693 Filed 10–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Order Limiting Scheduled Operations 

at John F. Kennedy International 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of temporary waiver of 

the minimum usage requirement. 

SUMMARY: This action announces a 

temporary waiver of the usage 

requirements necessary to hold 

Operating Authorizations at John F. 

Kennedy International Airport (JFK). 

This policy is effective from March 1 

through November 14, 2010. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 1, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 

Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization, 

AGC–40, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone number (202) 267–8323; email james.tegtmeier@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Beginning in March 2010, there will 

be runway and airfield construction at 

JFK that will temporarily affect 

operations at the airport. Runway 13R/ 

31L is the airport’s most frequently used 

and longest runway. The Port Authority 

of New York and New Jersey (Port 

Authority) indicates the runway 

historically accommodates a significant 

percentage of the annual air traffic 

operations at JFK, particularly 

departures. The Port Authority plans to 

resurface the runway with concrete and 

widen it to accommodate new large 

aircraft and to help prevent ice 

ingestion. In addition, the Port 

Authority will install new runway 

lighting, electrical infrastructure, and a 

new electrical feeder system to the 

runway. The Port Authority opted for a 

more extensive rehabilitation project to 

provide for a 40-year design life by 

surfacing with concrete instead of an 8- 

year design life with asphalt; however, 

the project will render Runway 13R/31L 

unavailable from March 1 until June 30, 

2010. The western two-thirds of the 

runway will reopen July 1, but its use 

will be limited under some weather and 

operating conditions, primarily because 

some high-speed runway turnoffs and 

navigational aids (NAVAIDS) will be 

unavailable until later in the 

construction period. On September 15, 

Runway 4L/22R will close until 

September 30 to resurface its 

intersection with Runway 13R/31L. The 

entire Runway 13R/31L and its 

associated NAVAIDS will be fully 

functional on November 15, 2010. 

The FAA, the Port Authority, JFK 

operators, and other stakeholders have 

been meeting regularly to identify ways 

to mitigate congestion and delay in light 

of the runway and airfield construction. 

Surface management of aircraft requires 

further study, as some runway 

configurations may increase ground 

congestion, but we will continue to 

work to maximize the available 

infrastructure. In addition, we have 

identified preferred alternative runway 

configurations. 

The FAA worked with MITRE’s 

Center for Advanced Aviation System 

Development (CAASD) to estimate the 

capacity and potential delay impacts of 

the loss of Runway 13R/31L. MITRE 

CAASD and the FAA looked at historic 

runway configurations and operating 

conditions and the likely runway 

configurations that would substitute for 

Runway 13R/31L. Modeling compared 

the March, April, May, and June 2009 

flight schedules by month against 

historic capacity and then against 

projected capacity in the same months 

for 2010, when Runway 13R/31L is 

closed. In each month, delays would 

increase over the corresponding month 

in 2009. The modeled peak afternoon 

and evening departure delays would 

increase significantly with the April– 

June schedules, adding about an average 

of ten minutes per aircraft. The modeled 

peak delays using March 2009 

schedules and the construction capacity 

would remain within the levels 

accepted for the 2008 scheduling limits. 

The FAA initiated discussions with 

the largest carriers at the airport, and 

they have agreed to keep their schedules 

at March 2009 levels from March 1 until 

at least July 1. In addition, those carriers 

and others have expressed concern 

about the operations for the remaining 

months of the construction and have 

agreed to cancel some flights even after 

Runway 13R/31L returns to partial 

service after June 30. This will assist in 

mitigating delays throughout the 

construction period. 

Under the FAA’s order limiting 

scheduled operations at JFK, Operating 

Authorizations must be used at least 80 

percent of the time they are allocated or 

they will be withdrawn. Historic 

precedence is given for the next 

scheduling season only for Operating 

Authorizations that meet the minimum 

usage threshold for the corresponding 

period during the prior scheduling 

season. The FAA may grant a waiver 

from the minimum usage requirements 

in highly unusual and unpredictable 

conditions that are beyond the control 

of the carrier and affect carrier 

operations for a period of five 

consecutive days or more. 

Statement of Policy 

The FAA has determined that the 

projected operational, congestion, and 

delay impacts of the 2010 runway and 

airfield construction program meet the 

requirements for a temporary waiver of 

the minimum usage rule at JFK. Absent 

a waiver, carriers would be required to 

operate flights in order to meet the 

minimum usage rules or to find another 

carrier to operate them. With the 

capacity impacts during the 

construction, the public interest 

supports a reduction in operations in 

order to minimize delays and improve 

on-time performance. Under the 

circumstances, carriers that temporarily 

reduce flights or elect to temporarily 

return Operating Authorizations to the 

FAA rather than transfer them for 

another carrier’s use should not be 

penalized by permanently losing the 

authority to operate. The FAA 

appreciates that some carriers have 

already agreed voluntarily to postpone 

traditional summer flight increases. In 

light of this minimum usage waiver, we 

expect that other carriers may also 

temporarily limit their summer 2010 

operations. 

This minimum usage waiver applies 

only to Operating Authorizations at JFK. 

Carriers generally must provide advance 

notice of cancellations to the FAA Slot 

Administration Office in order to obtain 

a waiver. However, there may be times 

when delays are excessive and carriers 

elect to cancel flights shortly before 

their scheduled operation. The 

operational cancellation of a scheduled 

flight under these circumstances may 

still qualify for a usage waiver, provided 

that it is reported as a delay-related 

cancellation on the usage report 

submitted to the FAA by the carrier. 

Information on the use of Operating 

Authorizations should be provided to 

the Slot Administration Office by e-mail 

at 7-awa-slotadmin@faa.gov or by 

facsimile at (202) 267–7277. 

In consideration of the above, the 

FAA is waiving the minimum usage 

requirement for Operating 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 14, 2009 / Notices 52839 

Authorizations at JFK from March 1 

through November 14, 2010. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 6, 

2009. 

J. David Grizzle, 

Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E9–24663 Filed 10–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Departmental Offices; Debt 

Management Advisory Committee 

Meeting 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. App. 2, § 10(a)(2), that a meeting 

will be held at the Hay-Adams Hotel, 

16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC, on November 3, 

2009 at 10:30 a.m. of the following debt 

management advisory committee: 

Treasury Borrowing Advisory 

Committee of The Securities Industry 

and Financial Markets Association. 

The agenda for the meeting provides 

for a charge by the Secretary of the 

Treasury or his designate that the 

Committee discuss particular issues and 

conduct a working session. Following 

the working session, the Committee will 

present a written report of its 

recommendations. The meeting will be 

closed to the public, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. App. 2, § 10(d) and Public Law 

103–202, § 202(c)(1)(B) (31 U.S.C. 3121 

note). 

This notice shall constitute my 

determination, pursuant to the authority 

placed in heads of agencies by 5 U.S.C. 

App. 2, § 10(d) and vested in me by 

Treasury Department Order No. 101–05, 

that the meeting will consist of 

discussions and debates of the issues 

presented to the Committee by the 

Secretary of the Treasury and the 

making of recommendations of the 

Committee to the Secretary, pursuant to 

Public Law 103–202, § 202(c)(1)(B). 

Thus, this information is exempt from 

disclosure under that provision and 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(3)(B). In addition, the 

meeting is concerned with information 

that is exempt from disclosure under 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(A). The public interest 

requires that such meetings be closed to 

the public because the Treasury 

Department requires frank and full 

advice from representatives of the 

financial community prior to making its 

final decisions on major financing 

operations. Historically, this advice has 

been offered by debt management 

advisory committees established by the 

several major segments of the financial 

community. When so utilized, such a 

committee is recognized to be an 

advisory committee under 5 U.S.C. App. 

2, § 3. 

Although the Treasury’s final 

announcement of financing plans may 

not reflect the recommendations 

provided in reports of the committee, 

premature disclosure of the Committee’s 

deliberations and reports would be 

likely to lead to significant financial 

speculation in the securities market. 

Thus, this meeting falls within the 

exemption covered by 5 U.S.C. 

552b(c)(9)(A). 

Treasury staff will provide a technical 

briefing to the press on the day before 

the Committee meeting, following the 

release of a statement of economic 

conditions, financing estimates and 

technical charts. This briefing will give 

the press an opportunity to ask 

questions about financing projections 

and technical charts. The day after the 

Committee meeting, Treasury will 

release the minutes of the meeting, any 

charts that were discussed at the 

meeting, and the Committee’s report to 

the Secretary. 

The Office of Debt Management is 

responsible for maintaining records of 

debt management advisory committee 

meetings and for providing annual 

reports setting forth a summary of 

Committee activities and such other 

matters as may be informative to the 

public consistent with the policy of 5 

U.S.C. 552(b). The Designated Federal 

Officer or other responsible agency 

official who may be contacted for 

additional information is Karthik 

Ramanathan, Acting Assistant Secretary 

for Financial Markets (202) 622–2042. 

Dated: October 5, 2009. 

Karthik Ramanathan, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial 

Markets. 

[FR Doc. E9–24524 Filed 10–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–25–M 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900—New (Call Center)] 

Agency Information Collection (Call 

Center Satisfaction Survey) Activities 

Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–21), this notice 

announces that the Veterans Benefits 

Administration (VBA), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, will submit the 

collection of information abstracted 

below to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and comment. 

The PRA submission describes the 

nature of the information collection and 

its expected cost and burden and it 

includes the actual data collection 

instrument. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before November 13, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the collection of information through 

http://www.Regulations.gov; or to VA’s 

OMB Desk Officer, OMB Human 

Resources and Housing Branch, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 

Washington, DC 20503 (202) 395–7316. 

Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 

2900—New (Call Center)’’ in any 

correspondence. 

For Further Information or a Copy of 

the Submission Contact: Denise 

McLamb, Enterprise Records Service 

(005R1B), Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461–7485, 

FAX (202) 273–0443 or e-mail: 

denise.mclamb@mail.va.gov. Please 

refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900—New 

(Call Center).’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: VBA Call Center Satisfaction 

Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 2900—New 

(Call Center). 

Type of Review: New collection. 

Abstract: VBA maintains a 

commitment to improve the overall 

quality of service for Veterans. Feedback 

from Veterans regarding their recent 

experience to the VA call centers will 

provide VBA with three key benefits to: 

(1) Identify what is most important to 

Veterans; (2) determine what to do to 

improve the call center experience; and 

(3) serve to guide training and/or 

operational activities aimed at 

enhancing the quality of service 

provided to Veterans and active duty 

personnel. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The Federal Register 

Notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on this collection 

of information was published on July 

31, 2009, at pages 38262–38263. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 675 hours. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: 15 minutes. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2,700. 

Dated: October 8, 2009. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES