Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 239 / Wednesday, December 12, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 73911 

1Wherever possible, this Initial Supplemental 

RIA relies on the same data used for the original 

RIA. In some cases, new estimates were developed 

and more recent data sources were used. 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Parts 117, 119 and 121 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–1093] 

RIN 2120–AJ58 

Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Availability of Initial 

Supplemental Regulatory Impact 

Analysis. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing an Initial 

Supplemental Regulatory Impact 

Analysis of its final rule amending its 

existing flight, duty and rest regulations 

applicable to certain certificate holders 

and their flightcrew members. That 

document may be found in the docket 

listed above. The Initial Supplemental 

Regulatory Impact Analysis serves to 

provide more detail on the potential 

impacts the final rule would have on 

cargo-only operations. In addition, the 

Initial Supplemental Regulatory Impact 

Analysis provides expanded discussion 

of the methodology and information 

sources used in the original Regulatory 

Impact Analysis, corrects some 

reporting of results and minor 

calculation errors present in that 

document, and presents sensitivity 

analysis on key assumptions used in the 

analysis. 

DATES: Comments are due February 11, 

2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical issues: Nan Shellabarger, 

Aviation Policy and Plans (APO–1), 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–3274; email: 

nan.shellabarger@faa.gov. For legal 

issues: Rebecca MacPherson, Office of 

the Chief Counsel, International Law, 

Legislation, and Regulations Division 

(AGC–200), Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone (202) 267–3073; email: 

rebecca.macpherson@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 21, 2011, the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a 

final rule that was published in the 

Federal Register as Flight Crew Member 

Duty and Rest Requirements on January 

4, 2012. 77 FR 330. The regulations, 

which are limited to passenger 

operations conducted under 14 CFR part 

121 (part 121), become effective on 

January 4, 2014. On December 21, 2011, 

the FAA also issued a Regulatory Impact 

Analysis (original RIA) dated November 

18, 2011 (FAA–2009–1093–2477). The 

original RIA provides the basis for the 

FAA’s decision to (1) promulgate the 

final rule establishing new flight, duty 

and rest requirements for flight crews in 

passenger operations; and (2) exclude 

flight crews in cargo-only operations 

from the new mandatory requirements. 

While cargo-only operations are not 

required to meet the new regulations, 

the rule permits these operators to opt 

in to the rule if they so choose. 

On December 22, 2011 the 

Independent Pilots Association (IPA) 

filed a timely petition for review. During 

the course of reviewing the 

administrative record for the purpose of 

preparing the government’s brief, the 

FAA discovered errors in the original 

RIA that supports the final rule. The 

errors were associated with the scope of 

costs related to the implementation of 

the regulations for cargo-only 

operations. These errors appeared to be 

of a sufficient amount that the FAA 

concluded it was prudent to review the 

portion of the cost-benefit analysis 

related to cargo-only operations and 

allow interested parties an opportunity 

to comment on the corrected analysis. 

On May 17, 2012, the FAA asked the 

United States Court of Appeals for the 

District of Columbia Circuit to suspend 

the litigation of the final rule while the 

agency corrected the inadvertent errors 

it had discovered. The court granted the 

FAA’s motion on June 8, 2012. While 

the passenger operations rule is not at 

issue in the court proceedings, the FAA, 

in an abundance of caution, decided to 

have that portion of the original RIA 

reevaluated as well. The FAA 

contracted with the John A. Volpe 

National Transportation Systems Center 

to review the original RIA for accuracy, 

correct any errors identified, and 

prepare a supplemental regulatory 

evaluation laying out the revised 

analysis. This Initial Supplemental RIA 

is the product of that review. 

The FAA does not believe that it is 

statutorily foreclosed from issuing an 

RIA and considering the costs and 

benefits of the flight, duty, and rest rule. 

Section 212 of Public Law 111–216 

contains a list of factors that Congress 

wanted the FAA to consider as part of 

this rulemaking. There is no indication 

in the statutory text of this section that 

this list was intended to be exhaustive. 

However, in its motion to the Court of 

Appeals, the FAA stated that it would 

provide petitioner with an opportunity 

to present its view that Public Law 111– 

216 prohibits the FAA from conducting 

a cost-benefit analysis. Accordingly, the 

FAA seeks comment on whether Public 

Law 111–216 permits the FAA to 

conduct a cost-benefit analysis. 

Turning to the Initial Supplemental 

RIA, while this Initial Supplemental 

RIA largely mirrors the original RIA in 

both content and organizational 

structure, it does not re-evaluate the 

policy decisions behind the FAA’s 

decision to issue a final rule 

implementing new flight, duty and rest 

requirements for part 121 carriers 

engaged in passenger operations. Rather, 

this Initial Supplemental RIA provides 

expanded discussion of the 

methodology and information sources 

used in the rulemaking analysis, 

corrects reporting and calculation errors 

identified in the original RIA, and 

presents sensitivity analysis on key 

assumptions used in the analysis.1 A 

new Appendix B contains the results of 

those sensitivity analyses while 

Appendix C contains detailed data 

tables, which are summarized in the 

body of this Initial Supplemental RIA. 

The Initial Supplemental RIA results in 

data that provides greater justification 

for the exclusion of cargo operations 

from the final rule, and continues to 

provide justification for the final rule on 

passenger operations. As a result, the 

FAA has determined that no revisions to 

the final rule on either cargo or 

passenger operations is warranted. 

In the original RIA, the portion of 

scheduling costs related to cargo-only 

operations of air carriers that conduct 

both passenger and cargo-only 

operations (mixed operations carriers) 

were inadvertently excluded from the 

reported costs of extending the final rule 

to cargo-only operations. This Initial 

Supplemental RIA fixes that omission 

and that revision has significantly 

increased the estimates of the stated 

costs of extending the final rule to 

cargo-only operations. Due to inclusion 

of impacts on cargo-only operations, a 

few air carriers were reclassified for ease 

of explication. 

Table 1 and Table 2 summarize the 

differences between the original RIA 

and the Initial Supplemental RIA. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with 
73912 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 239 / Wednesday, December 12, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—PASSENGER OPERATIONS NOMINAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OVER 12-YEAR ANALYSIS PERIOD

Original RIA 

(millions) 

Supplemental RIA 

(millions) 

Difference 

(millions) 

Total Benefits—Base Case ................................................................................. $376 $401 $25 

Total Benefits—High case ................................................................................... 716 757 41 

Total Costs ........................................................................................................... 390 457 67 

TABLE 2—CARGO-ONLY NOMINAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OVER 12-YEAR ANALYSIS PERIOD

Original RIA 

(millions) 

Supplemental RIA 

(millions) 

Difference 

(millions) 

Total Benefits—Base Case ............................................................................... ** $20 .35 $5 

Total Benefits—High Case ................................................................................ ** 32 .55 31 

Total Costs ......................................................................................................... 306 550 $244 

** The FAA did not detail potential benefits to cargo-only operations in the original RIA. Rather, the FAA assumed that benefits associated with 

averting a single catastrophic accident involving a cargo plane would range between $20.35 million and $32.55 million. 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons to 

review the Initial Supplemental RIA and 

submit written comments, data, or 

views. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the Initial 

Supplemental RIA, explain the reason 

for any recommended change, and 

include supporting data. To ensure the 

docket does not contain duplicate 

comments, please send only one copy of 

written comments, or if filing comments 

electronically, please submit your 

comments only one time. 

The FAA will file in the docket all 

comments we receive, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning the Initial Supplemental 

RIA. Before issuing the Final 

Supplemental RIA, the agency will 

consider all comments we receive on or 

before the closing date for comments. It 

will consider comments filed after the 

comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. The FAA may change 

the Final Supplemental RIA in light of 

the comments we receive. 

Proprietary or Confidential Business 

Information 

Do not file in the docket information 

that you consider to be proprietary or 

confidential business information. Send 

or deliver this information directly to 

the legal contact person identified in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this document. You must 

mark the information that you consider 

proprietary or confidential. If you send 

the information on a disk or CD ROM, 

mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM 

and also identify electronically within 

the disk or CD ROM the specific 

information that is proprietary or 

confidential. 

Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), when the 

FAA is aware of proprietary information 

filed with a comment, the agency does 

not place it in the docket. It is held in 

a separate file to which the public does 

not have access, and a note is placed in 

the docket that the agency has received 

it. If the agency receives a request to 

examine or copy this information, it 

treats it as any other request under the 

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 

552). The FAA processes such a request 

under the DOT procedures found in 49 

CFR part 7. 

Availability of Rulemaking Documents 

An electronic copy of rulemaking 

documents may be obtained using 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.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Alternatively, a copy may be 

requested directly from the FAA by 

sending a request to the Federal 

Aviation Administration, Office of 

Rulemaking, ARM–1, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or 

by calling (202) 267–9680. Make sure to 

identify the docket number or notice 

number of this rulemaking. 

All documents the FAA considered in 

developing the underlying final rule, 

Flight Crew Member Duty and Rest 

Requirements and this Initial 

Supplemental RIA, including economic 

analyses and technical reports, are 

located in the docket for this rulemaking 

and may be viewed on the internet 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

referenced in paragraph (1). 

Issued on: December 6, 2012. 

Rebecca MacPherson, 

Assistant Chief Counsel for International Law, 

Legislation and Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29941 Filed 12–7–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 455 

Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation 

Rule 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade 

Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) 

has completed its regulatory review of 

its Used Motor Vehicle Trade 

Regulation Rule (‘‘Used Car Rule’’ or 

‘‘Rule’’) as part of the FTC’s systematic 

review of all current Commission 

regulations and guides. The 

Commission has decided to retain the 

Rule and to issue this final rule making 

nonsubstantive revisions to the Spanish 

translation of the Used Car Buyers 

Guide and nonsubstantive technical 

changes to the Rule. The revisions to the 

Spanish translation were published for 

public comment when the Commission 

announced its regulatory review of the 

Rule. 

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is 

effective on February 11, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of this 

document should be sent to: Public 

Records Branch, Room 130, Federal 

Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. 

This document, and public records 

related to the FTC’s regulatory review, 

are also available at that address and at 

www.ftc.gov. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with