Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 243 / Thursday, December 18, 2014 / Notices 75611 

1Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia 

Airport, 71 FR 77854 (Dec. 27, 2006) as amended 

by 79 FR 17222 (Mar. 27, 2014). 

2See 79 FR 16857 (Mar. 26, 2014) (EWR Order); 

79 FR 16854 (Mar. 26, 2014) (JFK Order). 

3 79 FR 44088 (Jul. 29, 2014). 

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 

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: 

Everette Rochon, Acting Manager, AFS– 

820, Commercial Operations Branch, 

General Aviation and Commercial 

Division, 55 M Street SE., Washington, 

DC 20003; or Sandra K. Long, ARM–200 

Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence Ave, 

Washington, DC 20591, email 

Sandra.long@faa.gov, phone (202) 267– 

4714. 

This notice is published pursuant to 

14 CFR 11.85. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

12, 2014. 

Lirio Liu, 

Director, Office of Rulemaking. 

Petition for Exemption 

Docket No.: FAA–2010–0134 

Petitioner: Al’s Aerial Spraying, LLC 

Section of 14 CFR Affected 

14 CFR 137.53; 137.51(b)(4)(i) 

Description of Relief Sought 

The petitioner seeks relief from 14 

CFR §§137.53 and 137.51(b)(4)(i) to use 

a single-engine turbopropeller-powered 

Air Tractor aircraft to make turnarounds 

over congested areas in a loaded 

configuration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29613 Filed 12–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Notice of Submission Deadline To 

Amend Slot Records for LaGuardia 

Airport 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of submission deadline. 

SUMMARY: Under this notice, the FAA 

announces the submission deadline of 

January 5, 2015, for requests to amend 

slot records (adjust slot times and 

arrival/departure designations) at New 

York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). 

DATES: Adjustment requests must be 

submitted no later than January 5, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Adjustment requests may be 

submitted by mail to the Slot 

Administration Office, AGC–200, Office 

of the Chief Counsel, 800 Independence 

Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591; by 

facsimile to: 202–267–7277; or by email 

to: 7-AWA-slotadmin@faa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Hawks, Office of the Chief 

Counsel, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone number: 202–267–7143; 

email: rob.hawks@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Scheduled 

operations at LGA currently are limited 

by FAA Order until a final Slot 

Management and Transparency Rule for 

LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy 

International Airport, and Newark 

Liberty International Airport (RIN 2120– 

AJ89) becomes effective but not later 

than October 29, 2016.1 The LGA Order 

permits the leasing or trading of slots 

through the expiration date of the Order, 

but this mechanism limits a carrier’s 

ability to permanently adjust its slot 

base through trades with another carrier, 

as is common at Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (DCA). 

Additionally, the Order permanently 

allocates slots, unlike the EWR and JFK 

Orders that allocate slots and permit slot 

retimings on a seasonal basis, subject to 

availability of slots through a 

transparent process generally following 

the International Air Transport 

Association (IATA) Worldwide Slot 

Guidelines (WSG).2

In July 2014, the FAA announced a 

submission deadline for requests to 

amend slot records (adjust slot times 

and arrival/departure designations) and 

evaluated those requests in anticipation 

of the 2014–15 winter IATA scheduling 

season.3 The FAA received generally 

favorable feedback from carriers and 

interested parties on the adjustment 

process. Historically, the FAA had 

evaluated and confirmed these 

adjustment requests, consistent with the 

LGA Order and prior FAA practice, on 

a first-come, first-served basis after 

evaluating whether they have an 

operational benefit or a neutral effect on 

operations. Since 2007, adjustments 

have improved LGA operational 

performance. Although the FAA had not 

necessarily intended to request and 

review slot adjustments on a regular 

basis, it has determined that using a 

seasonal review process addresses 

operational necessities in a fair and 

transparent manner. Therefore, in the 

future the FAA will establish 

submission deadlines by Federal 

Register notice in early August and 

early December because the FAA has 

noticed that the largest number of 

requests occur as carriers are finalizing 

their planned schedules. The FAA will 

continue to review all adjustment 

requests submitted outside of this semiannual process in the order they are 

received. 

To evaluate LGA slot adjustments for 

the upcoming 2015 summer IATA 

scheduling season in a fair and 

transparent manner, the FAA is 

establishing a deadline of January 5, 

2015, for carriers to request retiming 

and changes to the arrival/departure 

designation of currently-held slots. 

Carriers should provide slot information 

in sufficient detail including, at a 

minimum, the operating carrier, slot 

number, scheduled time of arrival or 

departure, frequency, arrival/departure 

designation, and effective dates. 

Consistent with past practice, the FAA 

will evaluate requests in light of the 

overall operational impact at LGA and 

whether the requests improve or have a 

neutral effect on operational 

performance. The FAA will consider 

both short-term adjustments and 

adjustments through the expiration of 

the LGA Order. In addition, if the FAA 

receives conflicting requests for 

retiming, the FAA will give priority to 

new entrants and limited incumbents, 

consistent with the LGA Order and FAA 

practice. The terms of the LGA Order 

prevent the FAA from allocating new 

slots in hours at or above the slot limit. 

The FAA will evaluate requests 

received by January 5, 2015, and intends 

to respond to the requests no later than 

January 12, 2015. The FAA cannot 

guarantee that all requests to adjust slot 

holdings will be confirmed. Requests 

received after January 5, 2015, will be 

evaluated after timely requests in the 

order they are received. As permitted 

under paragraph A.5 of the LGA Order, 

carriers are encouraged to engage in slot 

trades, when possible, to achieve 

desired timings. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

75612 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 243 / Thursday, December 18, 2014 / Notices 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

12, 2014. 

Mark W. Bury, 

Assistant Chief Counsel for International Law, 

Legislation, and Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29710 Filed 12–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2013–0042] 

Major Project Financial Plan Guidance 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final Notice. 

SUMMARY: This final notice announces 

the availability of Major Project 

Financial Plan Guidance. February 2, 

2015 

DATES: Effective Date: The final notice is 

effective February 2, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim 

Sinnette, Office of Innovative Program 

Delivery, 202–366–1561, 

james.sinnette@dot.gov or, Janet Myers, 

Office of the Chief Counsel, 202–366– 

2019, janet.myers@dot.gov, Federal 

Highway Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. Office hours for the FHWA are 

from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This document may be viewed online 

through the Federal eRulemaking portal 

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

Electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines are available on the Web 

site. It is available 24 hours each day, 

365 days this year. Please follow the 

instructions. An electronic copy of this 

document may also be downloaded 

from the Office of the Federal Register’s 

Web site at: http://www.archives.gov/

federal-register and the Government 

Printing Office’s Web site at: http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys. 

Background 

On September 6, 2013, FHWA 

published a notice and request for 

comments regarding the FHWA’s 

proposal to revise the Major Project 

Financial Plan Guidance. Major projects 

are defined in section 106(h) of title 23, 

United States Code (23 U.S.C. 106(h)), 

as projects receiving Federal financial 

assistance with an estimated total cost 

of $500 million or other projects as may 

be identified by the Secretary. Major 

projects are typically large, complex 

projects designed to address major 

highway needs and require the 

investment of significant financial 

resources. The preparation of the annual 

financial plan, as required by 23 U.S.C. 

106(h)(3), ensures that the necessary 

financial resources are identified, 

available, and monitored throughout the 

life of the project. 

The proposed Major Project Financial 

Plan Guidance replaces the existing 

January 2007 Major Project Financial 

Plan Guidance. Title 23 U.S.C. 106, as 

amended by section 1503 of the Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 

Act (MAP–21), allows financial plans to 

include a phasing plan when there are 

insufficient financial resources to 

complete the entire project. In addition, 

23 U.S.C. 106 now requires recipients of 

Federal financial assistance to assess the 

appropriateness of a public-private 

partnership (P3) to deliver the project. 

In addition to these MAP–21 changes, 

the proposed Major Project Financial 

Plan Guidance also incorporates a 

recommendation included in a 2009 

Government Accountability Office 

report titled ‘‘Federal-Aid Highway: 

FHWA Has Improved Its Risk 

Management Approach, but Needs to 

Improve Its Oversight of Project Costs’’ 

(GA–090–751). The report 

recommended that financial plans 

include the cost of financing the project. 

Discussion of Comments 

I. Summary 

All comments received in response to 

the notice and request for comments 

have been considered in adopting this 

final notice. Comments were received 

from the American Association of State 

Highway and Transportation Officials 

(AASHTO), Professional Engineers in 

California Government (PECG), Ernst & 

Young Infrastructure Advisors, LLC 

(E&Y), and representatives of seven 

State DOTs. The following discussion 

identifies and summarizes the major 

comments submitted by the commenters 

in response to the September 6, 2013, 

notice and the FHWA’s responses. 

II. General Comments—Approval of 

Financial Plans 

Comment: The AASHTO believes that 

the FHWA approval of financial plans 

for projects with an estimated cost of 

$500 million or more is not supported 

by the language of the statute (23 

U.S.C. 106(h)(1)) and recommends that 

the guidance be modified to require 

only that the project sponsor submit the 

financial plan to the DOT. The 

AASHTO notes that the DOT would still 

approve financial plans for projects 

receiving Transportation Infrastructure 

Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) 

assistance. The Nevada Department of 

Transportation (NDOT) notes that the 

statute only requires submission of 

financial plans and does not mention 

approval or concurrence. 

FHWA Response: The submission of 

major project financial plans is required 

by statute (23 U.S.C. 106(h)(1)). The 

FHWA’s review and approval of major 

project financial plans is to ensure that 

the plans contain the information 

required by 23 U.S.C. 106(h)(3), and is 

necessary for FHWA to carry out its 

stewardship and oversight 

responsibilities for major projects. No 

changes have been made to the 

guidance. 

Comment: AASHTO recommends 

adding a statement clarifying that the 

guidance does not impose any binding 

legal requirements. 

FHWA Response: FHWA 

acknowledges that this guidance does 

not impose any binding legal 

requirements. The purpose of this 

guidance is to clarify the FHWA review 

and approval of financial plans. As 

noted in the guidance, it applies only to 

the development and updates of major 

project financial plan. It does not apply 

to the application of any other Federal 

requirements. No changes have been 

made to the guidance. 

Comment: The NDOT recommends 

that the FHWA Division Office 

determine the acceptability of the 

financial plans and respond to the 

sponsor within 30 days. 

FHWA Response: The guidance states 

that FHWA will determine a financial 

plan’s acceptability within 60 days after 

receipt by the Office of Innovative 

Program Delivery Project Delivery 

Team. Due to the importance and 

complexity associated with financial 

plans and based on previous experience, 

FHWA believes that this timeframe is 

appropriate. No changes have been 

made to the guidance. 

III. General—Project Exemptions 

Comment: The Washington State 

Department of Transportation (WSDOT) 

and the Arkansas State Highway and 

Transportation Department (AHTD) 

recommend that financial plans 

underway prior to MAP–21 be 

exempted from this updated guidance. 

FHWA Response: Consistent with this 

comment the final notice states that this 

guidance will be in effect for all 

financial plans submitted to FHWA 45 

days after date of publication in the 

Federal Register. This identifies specific 

criteria that can be verified by FHWA 

and provide a timeline that will allow 

financial plans submitted prior to the 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES