17756 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2016 / Notices 

relevant state and regional authorities. 

The panel was established in 1992 to 

advise the U.S. Section of the NPAFC on 

research needs and priorities for 

anadromous species, such as salmon, 

and ecologically related species 

occurring in the high seas of the North 

Pacific Ocean. The upcoming Panel 

meeting will focus on a review of the 

agenda for the 2016 annual meeting of 

the NPAFC (May 16–20, 2016; Busan, 

Republic of Korea). Background material 

is available from the point of contact 

noted above and by visiting 

www.npafc.org. 

Dated: March 22, 2016. 

William Gibbons-Fly, 

Director, Office of Marine Conservation, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2016–07178 Filed 3–29–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[STB Docket No. EP 670 (Sub-No. 1)] 

Notice of Rail Energy Transportation 

Advisory Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board. 

ACTION: Notice of Rail Energy 

Transportation Advisory Committee 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a 

meeting of the Rail Energy 

Transportation Advisory Committee 

(RETAC), pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 

U.S.C. app. 2 10(a)(2). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Friday, April 15, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. 

C.D.T. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the BNSF Railway Corporate 

Headquarters at 2650 Lou Menk Drive, 

Fort Worth, Texas 76131–2830. 

Members of the public who wish to 

attend are encouraged to contact 

Katherine Bourdon (see contact 

information below) in advance to avoid 

delays in security processing on the day 

of the meeting. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katherine Bourdon (202) 245–0285; 

Katherine.Bourdon@stb.dot.gov. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at: 

(800) 877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RETAC 

was formed in 2007 to provide advice 

and guidance to the Board, and to serve 

as a forum for discussion of emerging 

issues related to the transportation of 

energy resources by rail, including coal, 

ethanol, and other biofuels, 

Establishment of a Rail Energy 

Transportation Advisory Committee, 

Docket No. EP 670. The purpose of this 

meeting is to continue discussions 

regarding issues such as rail 

performance, capacity constraints, 

infrastructure planning and 

development, and effective coordination 

among suppliers, carriers, and users of 

energy resources. Potential agenda items 

for this meeting include a performance 

measures review, industry segment 

updates by RETAC members, and a 

roundtable discussion. 

The meeting, which is open to the 

public, will be conducted in accordance 

with the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2; Federal Advisory 

Committee Management regulations, 41 

CFR pt. 102–3; RETAC’s charter; and 

Board procedures. Further 

communications about this meeting may 

be announced through the Board’s Web 

site at WWW.STB.DOT.GOV. 

Written Comments: Members of the 

public may submit written comments to 

RETAC at any time. Comments should 

be addressed to RETAC, c/o Katherine 

Bourdon, Surface Transportation Board, 

395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 

20423–0001 or Katherine.Bourdon@

stb.dot.gov. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 1321, 49 U.S.C. 

11101; 49 U.S.C. 11121. 

Decided: March 24, 2016. 

By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Brendetta S. Jones, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2016–07122 Filed 3–29–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–2836] 

Guidance on the Procedures and 

Process To Petition the Secretary 

Under the Airport and Airway 

Improvement Act 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final policy. 

SUMMARY: This final policy establishes 

the procedures and processes to petition 

the Secretary under the Airport and 

Airway Improvement Act 49 U.S.C. 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). The Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) issued guidance 

on the procedures and process to 

petition the Secretary under 49 U.S.C. 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) in the Federal 

Register on August 4, 2015. This 

guidance is intended to provide detail 

and clarity about who may petition the 

Secretary, when such a petition may be 

filed, how the petition may be made, 

and the procedures and process to 

petition the Secretary under this Section 

of the Airport and Airway Improvement 

Act. 

DATES: Effective Date: The Guidance 

becomes effective immediately upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By 

Federal Register Notice issued on 

August 4, 2015 (80 FR 46380), the FAA 

notified the public of the issuance for 

public comment of proposed Guidance 

on the Procedures and Process to 

Petition the Secretary under the 

Airports and Airway Improvement Act. 

FAA requested comments, suggestions 

and recommendations that would assist 

the agency in assessing and 

understanding the potential effects and 

implications of providing guidance on 

the procedures for and process of the 

right to petition the Secretary under 49 

U.S.C. Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). The 

Notice called for public comments to be 

received by FAA on or before October 

5, 2015. No comments were received by 

that date. Other than editorial changes 

and one minor clarification, this final 

Guidance is identical to the proposed 

guidance. 

I. Background 

In 1982, Congress enacted the Airport 

and Airway Improvement Act (AAIA) 

(Pub. L. 97–248). Relevant portions of 

the AAIA are codified in 49 U.S.C. 

Chapter 471, Subchapter I, Airport 

Improvement. The AAIA, among other 

items, established the current-day 

Airport Improvement Program (AIP) that 

is administered by the FAA’s Office of 

Airports. Through the AIP, the FAA 

provides grants to public agencies—and, 

in limited cases, to private airport 

owners and operators—for the planning 

and development of public-use airports 

that are included in the National Plan of 

Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). 

The current AIP program built on earlier 

grant programs that are funded through 

a variety of user fees and fuel taxes. For 

more information on the history of the 

AIP and predecessor grant programs, see 

http://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/. 

The AAIA also provides certain 

prerequisites and conditions that an 

airport sponsor must meet in order to be 

eligible for consideration of AIP 

funding. In 1992, Congress amended 

various provisions of the AAIA with the 

Airport and Airway Safety, Capacity, 

Noise Improvement, and Intermodal 

Transportation Act, Public Law 102– 

581. Section 113(b), Public Access and 

Participation with Respect to Airport 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2016 / Notices 17757 

1For clarity, this guidance will continue to use 

the term ‘‘Secretary’’ in this context. 

2Should the FAA prepare an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for a project to which 

§ 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) applies, or an EIS under MAP– 

21, Section 1319, the time to file a petition to the 

Secretary will begin to run when the community is 

informed of its right to file such a petition by the 

airport sponsor and will expire 30 days after such 

notification. 

Projects, amended Section 509(b)(6)(A) 

of the AAIA (49 U.S.C. 47106(c)(1)(A)) 

by inserting the following: 

(ii) the sponsor of the project certifies to 

the Secretary that the airport management 

board either has voting representation from 

the communities where the project is located 

or has advised the communities that they 

have the right to petition the Secretary 

concerning a proposed project. 

The Secretary of the U.S. Department 

of Transportation has delegated the 

responsibility to respond to a petition 

under Section 47106 to the 

Administrator of the FAA, 49 CFR 

1.83(a)(9). The Administrator has 

further delegated the authority to 

administer this provision to the 

Associate Administrator for the Office of 

Airports (ARP–1). Order 1100.154A.1

The requirement for a sponsor to 

provide such certification to the FAA is 

incorporated into FAA Order 5050.4B, 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Implementing Instructions for 

Airport Actions, par. 1203. 

II. Purpose 

After receiving a small number of 

submissions under this provision, the 

Associate Administrator for the Office of 

Airports has determined it would be 

helpful and appropriate to provide the 

public with more guidance on the 

procedures and processes associated 

with this provision: 

The Secretary may approve an application 

under this subchapter for an airport 

development project involving the location of 

an airport or runway or a major runway 

extension only if the sponsor certifies to the 

Secretary that the airport management board 

has voting representation from the 

communities in which the project is located 

or has advised the communities that they 

have the right to petition the Secretary about 

a proposed project[.] 

49 U.S.C. Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). 

III. Final Guidance 

A. Where To File 

The Secretary of the U.S. Department 

of Transportation has delegated the 

responsibility to respond to a petition 

under Section 47106 to the 

Administrator of the FAA. Accordingly, 

any petition under this statutory 

provision should be addressed to the 

Associate Administrator for the Office of 

Airports, 800 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20591. 

B. Form and Substance 

The statute does not prescribe any 

specific format for the submission of a 

petition. The petition should be a 

concise statement describing the project 

to which the petitioner objects, and 

clearly indicating the petitioner’s 

specific objection to the project. The 

petition must also include a description 

of the result the petitioner is seeking. 

The petition should normally not 

exceed ten (10) pages. Upon application 

from the petitioner, the Secretary will 

consider extending the length of a 

petition for a large, complex project. 

Petitions must be legible and must be 

signed by the petitioner(s), who must be 

a duly authorized representative(s) of 

the community (see Section III.D.4 of 

this Federal Register notice). The FAA 

will not consider any petition that is not 

signed by the petitioner(s). 

C. Time To File a Petition 

A petition filed under section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) should be filed only 

after the Airport Sponsor notifies a 

community of its right to file a petition. 

Petitions to the Secretary pursuant to 

Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) must be 

submitted within thirty (30) days after 

the FAA gives notice that the sponsor 

has presented evidence that the 

requirements of Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) have been fulfilled. 

Although the environmental analysis 

and the grant decisions are separate 

processes and decisions, grant-related 

findings that are preconditions of 

issuing a grant are often made in the 

environmental Record of Decision 

(ROD). Typically, the FAA demonstrates 

that the sponsor has satisfied the 

requirements of Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) in its Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). 

Generally, the FEIS will contain a 

certification from the Airport Sponsor 

either that each community in which 

the project is located has a voting 

member on its airport management 

board, or that each community in which 

the project is located has been advised 

of its right to petition the Secretary. 

Normally the Airport Sponsor will have 

notified each of the communities prior 

to the publication of an FEIS, allowing 

communities at least 30 days to prepare 

and file a petition.2 The thirty-day time 

to file ensures that communities without 

voting representation on the airport 

management board have the same 

ability to object to or provide input on 

a project prior to a final decision that 

grant-related preconditions have been 

met as those communities that do have 

voting representation on the airport 

management board. Additionally, the 

30-day period coincides with the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

(CEQ) requirement that imposes a 30- 

day ‘‘cooling off’’ period on federal 

agencies between the publication of an 

FEIS and a ROD. However, the FAA 

may also provide notice that the sponsor 

has fulfilled the requirements of Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) through a Draft EA, a 

Final EA, a Draft EIS, or via a separate 

Federal Register Notice. This type of 

FAA notice would also start the 30-day 

time limit for a community to file a 

petition pursuant to Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). 

D. Definitions 

(1) Location of an Airport 

For purposes of Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii), location of an airport 

means approval of an airport at a 

location where no airport exists. This 

definition is consistent with the 

definition of the term airport location 

approval found in FAA Order 5050.4B, 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Implementing Instructions for 

Airport Actions (April 2006). Order 

5050.4B defines airport location 

approval as approval of a new public 

use airport at a location where no 

airport exists. (Order 5050.4B, ¶¶ 9.p 

and 203). In interpreting Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii), it is appropriate to be 

consistent with other FAA 

interpretations of similar terms. 

Defining the term location of an airport 

consistently with the definition in the 

most current version of Order 5050.4B 

avoids confusion that could be caused 

by applying different definitions 

depending on the circumstances of the 

inquiry. 

(2) Location of a Runway 

While other FAA documents have 

referred to the location of a runway, 

none have defined the term. Because the 

term is similar to the term ‘‘location of 

an airport,’’ it is appropriate to define 

the terms in a similar manner. For 

purposes of Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii), 

location of a runway refers to decisions 

approving the site of a new or relocated 

runway where a runway does not 

currently exist. 

(3) Major Runway Extension 

Order 5050.4B defines a major 

runway extension as one that creates a 

significant impact to an affected 

environmental resource (including 

noise), or one that permanently removes 


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17758 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2016 / Notices 

3A relocated threshold leaves the pavement 

usable only for taxiing. 

4Pavement beyond a dislocated threshold is 

available for takeoff. 

a relocated threshold.3 Removal of a 

dislocated threshold is not considered a 

runway extension.4 The definition of 

major runway extension that appears in 

Order 5050.4B, ¶9.l will be used in 

interpreting Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). 

(4) Communities in Which the Project Is 

Located 

The term community is not defined in 

the statute. In the enabling legislation, 

this provision was entitled ‘‘Public 

Participation With Respect to Airport 

Projects.’’ The term ‘‘community’’ will 

be defined as a jurisdictional authority, 

that is, a political subdivision of a state, 

such as a town, township, city, or 

county. Defining community as a 

jurisdictional authority is consistent 

with the context of Section 47106(c). 

For example, in subsection (A)(i) the 

statute speaks of ‘‘objectives of any 

planning that the community has 

carried out.’’ Typically, only political 

subdivisions of a state, such as those 

described above, would have planning 

authority. Similarly, in the FAA’s 

experience, only a jurisdictional 

authority or political subdivision would 

be considered for voting representation 

on the airport’s governing authority. It is 

only in the absence of such voting 

representation of a jurisdictional 

authority or political subdivision that 

the statute provides the opportunity to 

petition the Secretary. 

Defining community as a 

jurisdictional authority or political 

subdivision is also consistent with the 

definition of community in Order 

5050.4B, ¶1203(b)(1). 

Accordingly, only a political 

subdivision of a state that enjoys general 

jurisdiction, or a Tribal government 

meets the definition of community in 

this context. Political subdivisions of a 

state that have a specific, substantive 

authority, such as water districts or 

school districts, do not adequately 

represent the interests of the community 

at large. They are not required to 

balance the interests of the whole 

community on a wide range of issues. 

Rather, they seek to promote their 

specific substantive interest. 

Additionally, water districts or school 

districts would not normally be invited 

to sit on an airport management board. 

Thus, only a political subdivision of a 

state which enjoys general jurisdiction 

is a community entitled to file a petition 

under Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii). 

Finally, under the statute, a 

community is only eligible to petition 

under Section 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) if the 

project is located in the community. If 

land is disturbed in the community, 

then the project is considered to be 

located in that community. The courts 

have also provided instruction on when 

a project is located in a community. In 

City of Bridgeton v. FAA, 212 F. 3d 448 

(8th Cir. 2000), the court determined 

that a community in which there was no 

construction and no significant noise 

impact could not challenge the failure to 

notify it that it could petition the 

Secretary. Thus, outside the 

construction context, a project may be 

located in a community only if the 

project will have a significant impact on 

the community. For example, where a 

project will cause a significant noise 

impact on a community, the project is 

located in that community. If the project 

does not create a significant impact in 

the community, the community will 

have no right to petition the Secretary. 

E. Other Considerations 

There are currently ten states that 

participate in the FAA’s State Block 

Grant Program (SBGP). Under the 

program, the State agency (usually the 

aviation division of the state 

Department of Transportation) assumes 

responsibility for administering AIP 

grants for non-primary airports 

(including several categories of AIP 

funds). See 49 U.S.C. Section 47128. As 

part of the responsibility, the state 

assumes various responsibilities for the 

FAA including reviewing and approving 

proposed changes to the Airport Layout 

Plan (ALP) and compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). 

The FAA interprets 49 U.S.C. Section 

47106(c)(1)(A)(ii) as not being generally 

applicable to a project approved and 

administered as part of a state block 

grant. The plain language of this 

statutory provision states that this 

Section is triggered when a proponent 

submits a project grant application to 

the FAA. In the case of the SBGP, no 

such request is made because most of 

the funds are given to the states as a 

block (except for AIP Discretionary 

funds), and the state assumes 

responsibility for administering those 

funds. Participants in the SBGP are 

required to engage communities 

according to FAA guidance and to 

circulate the draft EA if warranted. 

However, in cases where the project 

may involve a request for AIP 

Discretionary funding, or other 

extraordinary circumstances, the FAA 

may determine that a community 

meeting the requirements set forth 

herein may have the right to petition the 

Secretary in connection with an AIP 

grant. Petitions involving a SBGP 

project must include facts describing the 

extraordinary circumstances that they 

believe justify the Secretary entertaining 

the petition. 

F. Agency Response 

The FAA will provide a written 

response to a petition to the Secretary. 

The FAA may respond by outlining the 

issues raised in the petition and 

providing its responses either within the 

environmental ROD, or it may elect to 

respond in a separate document. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 47106(c)(1)(A)(ii), 14 

CFR part 1. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 22, 

2016. 

Elliott Black, 

Director, Office of Airport Planning and 

Programming APP–001. 

[FR Doc. 2016–07165 Filed 3–29–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2016–0010] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Notice of Request for 

Approval of a New Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of request for approval of 

a new information collection. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the 

information collection request described 

in this notice to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

approval of a new information 

collection. We published a Federal 

Register Notice with a 60-day public 

comment period on this information 

collection on June 23, 2015. We are 

required to publish this notice in the 

Federal Register by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Please submit comments by 

April 29, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

within 30 days to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 725 

17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 

Attention DOT Desk Officer. You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including: (1) 

Whether the proposed collection is 

necessary for the FHWA’s performance; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to 

enhance the quality, usefulness, and 

clarity of the collected information; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES