69846 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. FAA–1999–5926]

RIN 2120–AG74

Modification of the Dimensions of the

Grand Canyon National Park Special

Flight Rules Area and Flight Free

Zones

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Delay of effective date.

SUMMARY: On April 4, 2000, the FAA

published two final rules for Grand

Canyon National Park (GCNP). One rule

limited the number of commercial air

tour operations in the GCNP Special

Flight Rules Area (SFRA); the other

modified the airspace of the SFRA. The

Commercial Air Tour Limitations final

rule was effective on May 4, 2000. The

airspace modifications were scheduled

to become effective December 1, 2000.

On July 31, 2000, the United States Air

Tour Association and seven air tour

operators in GCNP requested a stay of

the compliance date for the rules from

the FAA. On October 11, 2000, the FAA

published a denial of the stay request.

On October 25, 2000, the Air Tour

Providers filed with the D.C. Circuit

Court of Appeals a Motion for Stay and

Emergency Relief Pending Review of an

Agency Order. On November 2, 2000,

the FAA filed with the D.C. Circuit

Court of Appeals its Opposition to

Petitioners’ Motion for Stay Pending

Review and Notification of

Administrative Stay of Route and

Airspace Rules. This document delays

the effective date of the Airspace

Modification Final Rule so that the FAA

may investigate further some new safety

issues raised by the Air Tour Providers.

DATES: The final rule Modification of

the Dimensions of the Grand Canyon

National Park Special Flight Rules Area

and Flight Free Zones, was issued on

March 28, 2000, and published in the

Federal Register on April 4, 2000 (65 FR

17735). It was scheduled to become

effective on December 1, 2000. The FAA

is delaying the effective date of the final

rule until December 28, 2000. This

action does not affect the Commercial

Air Tour Limitations final rule that

became effective May 4, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You may view a copy of the

final rules, Commercial Air Tour

Limitations in the Grand Canyon

National Park Special Flight Rules Area

and Modification of the Dimensions of

the Grand Canyon National Park Special

Flight Rules Area and Flight Free Zones,

through the Internet at: http://

dms.dot.gov, by selecting docket

numbers FAA–99–5926 and FAA–99–

5927. You may also review the public

dockets on these regulations in person

in the Docket Office between 9:00 a.m.

and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. The Docket

Office is on the plaza level of the Nassif

Building at the Department of

Transportation, 7th Ave., SW, Room

401, Washington, DC, 20590.

As an alternative, you may search the

Federal Register’s Internet site at http:/

/www.access.gpo.gov/suldocs for

access to the final rules.

You may also request a paper copy of

the final rules from the Office of

Rulemaking, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20591, or by

calling (202) 267–9680.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Howard Nesbitt, Flight Standards

Service (AFS–200), Federal Aviation

Administration, Seventh and Maryland

Streets, SW, Washington, DC 20591;

Telephone: (202) 493–4981.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On April 4, 2000, the Federal

Aviation Administration published two

final rules, Area and Flight Free Zones

(Air Space Modification), and the

Commercial Air Tour Limitation in the

Grand Canyon National Park Special

Flight Rules Area (Commercial Air Tour

Limitation). See 65 FR 17763; 65 FR

17708; April 4, 2000. The FAA also

simultaneously published a notice of

availability of Commercial Routes for

the Grand Canyon National Park (Routes

Notice). See 65 FR 17689, April 4, 2000.

The Commercial Air Tour Limitations

final rule became effective on May 4,

2000. The Air Space Modification final

rule and the routes set forth in the

Routes Notice were scheduled to

become effective December 1, 2000. The

effective date of the Air Space

Modification final rule and the new

routes was delayed to provide the air

tour operators ample opportunity to

train on the new route system during

the non-tour season. The Final

Supplemental Environmental

Assessment for Special Flight Rules in

the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National

Park (SEA) was completed on February

22, 2000, and the Finding of No

Significant Impact was issued on

February 25, 2000.

On May 8, 2000, The United States

Air Tour Association and seven air tour

operators (hereinafter collectively

referred to as the Air Tour Providers)

file a petition for review of the two final

rules before the United States Court of

Appeals for the District of Columbia

Circuit. The FAA, The Department of

Transportation, the Department of

Interior, the National Park Service and

various federal officials were named as

respondents in this action. On May 30,

2000, the Air Tour Providers filed a

motion for stay pending review before

the Court of Appeals. The Federal

respondents in this case filed a motion

for summary denial on grounds that

petitioners had not exhausted their

administrative remedies. The Court

granted the federal respondents

summary denial on July 19, 2000. The

Grand Canyon Trust, the National Parks

and Conservation Association, the

Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society,

Friends of the Grand Canyon and Grand

Canyon River Guides, Inc. (The Trust)

filed a petition for review of the same

rules on May 22, 2000. The Court, by

motion of the federal respondents,

consolidated that case with that of the

Air Tour Providers. The Hualapai

Indian Tribe of Arizona filed a motion

to intervene in the Air Tour Providers

petition for review on June 23, 2000.

The Court granted that motion on July

19, 2000.

On July 31, 2000, the Air Tour

Providers filed a motion for stay before

the FAA. Both the Hualapai Indian

Tribe and the Trust filed oppositions to

the Air Tour Providers’ stay motion. On

October 11, 2000, (65 FR 60352) the

FAA published a disposition of the stay

request, denying the stay. On October

25, 2000, the Air Tour Providers filed a

Motion for Stay and Emergency Relief

Pending Review of an Agency Order

with the Court of Appeals. The federal

respondents filed their Opposition to

Petitioner’s Motion for Stay Pending

Review and Notification of

Administrative Stay of Route and

Airspace Rules on November 2, 2000.

Agency Action

The Air Tour Providers have raised

some specific safety allegations about

the routes in the Dragon Corridor (Green

Route 2 and 2R), Zuni Point Corridor

(Green 1; Black 1) and east of the Desert

View Flight Free Zone (Black 2 and

Green 3). These safety issues were not

previously raised to the FAA and thus

the FAA has not had the opportunity to

investigate the merit of these

allegations. The FAA takes these

allegations very seriously and thus has

sent out a group of FAA safety

inspectors to verify the significance of

these allegations. Based on the

information obtained from these

investigators, the FAA will determine

how to best resolve any safety issues of

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 69847

merit. The FAA will report its findings

to the Court by November 28, 2000.

Because of the interrelationship

between the new routes and the airspace

changes adopted in the final rule, the

FAA is delaying the effective date of the

Airspace Modification until December

28, 2000. If the FAA determines that any

of the safety issues raised by Petitioners

have merit, then it will take the

necessary steps to resolve them before

making any of the routes effective and

thus necessitating the implementation

of the airspace modification final rule.

Immediate Effective Date

The FAA finds that good cause exists

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) for this final rule

to become final rule upon issuance. The

FAA and NPS must implement new air

tour routes, flight-free zones, and flight

corridors at the same time in order to

transition to a new operating

environment in GCNP. The FAA has

determined that because new safety

concerns have been raised that need to

be investigated further, it is paramount

that their rule become effective

immediately.

Economic Evaluation

In issuing the final rule for the

Modification of the Dimensions of the

Grand Canyon National Park Special

Flight Rules Area and Flight Free Zone,

the FAA prepared a cost benefit analysis

of the rule. A copy of the regulatory

evaluation is located in docket Number

99–5926, Amendment No. 93–80. This

delay of the effective date for the final

rule will not affect that evaluation,

although the delay in the

implementation of the EFZs may be

temporarily cost relieving for air tour

operators.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended, the

FAA completed a final regulatory

flexibility analysis of the final rule. This

extended delay of the effective date will

not affect that supplemental analysis.

Federalism Implications

This amendment will not have

substantial direct effects on the states,

on the relationship between the national

government and the states, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. Therefore, in

accordance with Executive Order 12612,

it is determined that this amendment

would not have sufficient Federalism

implications to warrant the preparation

of a Federalism Assessment.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (the Act), enacted as

Public Law 104–4 on March 22, 1995,

requires each Federal agency, to the

extent permitted by law, to prepare a

written assessment of the effects of any

Federal mandate in a proposed or final

agency rule that may result in the

expenditure of $100 million or more

(when adjusted annually for inflation)

in any one year by State, local, and

tribal governments in the aggregate, or

by the private sector. Section 204(a) of

the Act, 2 U.S.C. 1534(a), requires the

Federal agency to develop an effective

process to permit timely input by

elected officers (or their designees) of

State, local, and tribal governments on

a proposed ‘‘significant

intergovernmental mandate.’’ A

‘‘significant intergovernmental

mandate’’ under the Act is any

provision in a Federal agency regulation

that would impose an enforceable duty

upon State, local, and tribal

governments in the aggregate of $100

million (adjusted annually for inflation)

in any one year. Section 203 of the Act,

2 U.S.C. 1533, which supplements

section 204(a), provides that, before

establishing any regulatory

requirements that might significantly or

uniquely affect small governments, the

agency shall have developed a plan,

which, among other things, must

provide for notice to potentially affected

small governments, if any, and for a

meaningful and timely opportunity for

these small governments to provide

input in the development of regulatory

proposals. The FAA has determined that

this rule will not impose any unfunded

mandates.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 93

Air traffic control, Airports,

Navigation (Air).

Adoption of Amendments

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) amends 14 CFR

part 93 as follows:

PART 93—SPECIAL AIR TRAFFIC

RULES AND AIRPORT TRAFFIC

PATTERNS

1. The authority citation for part 93

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40106,

40109, 40113, 44502, 44514, 44701, 44719,

46301.

§§ 93.305 and 93.307 [Amended]

2. Sections 93.305 and 93.307

published on December 31, 1996 (61 FR

69330), corrected at 62 FR 2445 (January

16, 1997), and delayed at 65 FR 5397

(February 3, 2000) and made effective

December 1, 2000 in a rule published on

April 4, 2000 (65 FR 17736) because

effective December 28, 2000.

§§ 93.301, 93.305, 93.307, 93.309

[Amended]

3. The amendments to Section 93.301,

93.305, 93.307 and 93.309 published on

April 4, 2000 (65 FR 17736) now

become effective on December 28, 2000.

Dated: Issued in Washington D.C. on

November 14, 2000.

Jane F. Garvey,

Administrator, Federal Aviation

Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–29622 Filed 11–16–00; 10:18

am]

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