Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 66763 

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN 

COMMISSION 

Commission Meeting 

AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission will hold its regular 

business meeting on December 5, 2014, 

in Annapolis, Maryland. Details 

concerning the matters to be addressed 

at the business meeting are contained in 

the Supplementary Information section 

of this notice. 

DATES: December 5, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: Lowe House Office 

Building, House of Delegates, 

Appropriation Hearing Room (Room 

#120), 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, Md. 

21401. (The recommended parking and 

transportation option is to park at the 

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 

and take the Annapolis Transit Trolley 

Shuttle from there—for all available 

parking options, see http://

www.downtownannapolis.org/_pages/

transport/tr_parking.htm.) 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason E. Oyler, Regulatory Counsel, 

telephone: (717) 238–0423, ext. 1312; 

fax: (717) 238–2436. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

business meeting will include actions or 

presentations on the following items: (1) 

Informational presentation of interest to 

the Lower Susquehanna Subbasin area; 

(2) resolution concerning FY–2016 

federal funding of the Susquehanna 

Flood Forecast and Warning System and 

National Streamflow Information 

Program; (3) rulemaking action to clarify 

the water uses involved in hydrocarbon 

development that are subject to the 

consumptive use regulations, as 

implemented by the Approval By Rule 

program; (4) resolution concerning 

delegation of authority; (5) ratification/ 

approval of contracts/grants; (6) 

regulatory compliance matters for Lion 

Brewery, LHP Management, and 

Southwestern Energy Company; (7) 

transfer of approval (Docket No. 

20081222) from Sunbury Generation LP 

to Hummel Station LLC; and (8) 

Regulatory Program projects. 

The rulemaking item listed for 

Commission action was the subject of a 

public hearing conducted by the 

Commission on November 6, 2014, and 

identified in the notice for such hearing, 

which was published in 79 FR 57850, 

September 26, 2014. Projects listed for 

Commission action are those that were 

the subject of a public hearing 

conducted by the Commission on 

November 6, 2014, and identified in the 

notice for such hearing, which was 

published in 79 FR 61683, October 14, 

2014. 

Opportunity to Appear and Comment 

Interested parties are invited to attend 

the business meeting and encouraged to 

review the Commission’s Public 

Meeting Rules of Conduct, which are 

posted on the Commission’s Web site, 

www.srbc.net. As identified in the 

public hearing notices referenced above, 

written comments on the rulemaking 

item and Regulatory Program projects 

that were the subject of public hearings, 

and are listed for action at the business 

meeting, are subject to a comment 

deadline of November 17, 2014. Written 

comments pertaining to any other 

matters listed for action at the business 

meeting may be mailed to the 

Susquehanna River Basin Commission, 

4423 North Front Street, Harrisburg, 

Pennsylvania 17110–1788, or submitted 

electronically through http://

www.srbc.net/pubinfo/

publicparticipation.htm. Any such 

comments mailed or electronically 

submitted must be received by the 

Commission on or before November 26, 

2014, to be considered. 

Authority: Pub. L. 91–575, 84 Stat. 1509 et 

seq., 18 CFR Parts 806, 807, and 808. 

Dated: October 31, 2014. 

Stephanie L. Richardson, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26594 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7040–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0782] 

Grand Canyon National Park Quiet 

Aircraft Technology Incentive: 

Seasonal Relief From Allocations in 

the Dragon and Zuni Point Corridors 

Authority: Moving Ahead for Progress in 

the 21st Century Act, Sec. 35001, Public Law 

112–141, 126 Stat. 843; National Parks Air 

Tour Management Act, Sec. 804, Public Law 

106–181, 114 Stat. 192. 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, Transportation; 

National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice and request for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Moving Ahead for 

Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP– 

21) in section 35001(b)(2) directs the 

Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) and the Secretary 

of the Interior to provide quiet aircraft 

technology incentives for commercial 

air tour operators at Grand Canyon 

National Park. The FAA and the 

National Park Service (NPS) propose to 

implement this directive by giving effect 

to section 804(c) of the National Parks 

Air Tour Management Act (NPATMA) 

to provide seasonal relief from 

allocations in the Dragon and Zuni 

Point corridors for commercial air tour 

operators that convert or have converted 

to quiet aircraft technology. The FAA 

and the NPS will ensure that seasonal 

relief from allocations complies with 

statutory conditions that the cumulative 

impact of such operations does not 

increase noise at the Grand Canyon and 

that this incentive does not diminish the 

statutory mandate to achieve the 

substantial restoration of natural quiet. 

This incentive is proposed to be made 

available in the Dragon and Zuni Point 

corridors during the first quarter 

(January–March) beginning in 2015, 

may be extended to include part or all 

of the fourth quarter beginning in 2016, 

and will remain in effect unless it 

violates the statutory conditions or until 

a longer term approach for managing air 

tour noise is in place. 

DATES: Send comments on or before 

December 10, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2014–0782 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations 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. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

Privacy: All comments received will 

be posted, without change, to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides. Using the search function of 

the docket Web site, anyone can find 

and read the electronic form of all 

comments received into any docket, 

including the name of the individual 

sending the comment (or signing the 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
66764 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 

comment for an association, business, 

labor union, etc.). DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement can be found in 

the Federal Register published on April 

11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–19478), as well 

as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

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

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or go to the Docket 

Operations 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: 

Keith Lusk, Program Manager, Federal 

Aviation Administration, P.O. Box 

92007, Los Angeles, California 90009– 

2007; telephone (310) 725–3808; 

email keith.lusk@faa.gov 

Robin Martin, Chief, Office of Planning 

and Compliance, Grand Canyon 

National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand 

Canyon, Arizona 86023–0129; 

telephone (928) 638–7684; email 

Robin_Martin@nps.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Authority 

1. The National Park Overflights Act 

of 1987, Public Law 100–91, directed 

the Secretary of the Interior and the 

Administrator of the FAA to take 

actions to provide for the substantial 

restoration of the natural quiet and 

experience of Grand Canyon National 

Park and the protection of public health 

and safety from adverse effects 

associated with aircraft overflight. As 

part of these actions, operational limits 

for commercial air tour operations at 

Grand Canyon National Park (the park) 

were imposed by FAA regulations at 14 

CFR part 93 issued on April 4, 2000. 

With some exceptions not relevant to 

this notice, these regulations establish 

an allocation scheme for the park, 

require commercial air tour operators to 

use one allocation for each flight that is 

a commercial air tour, and prohibit 

operators from conducting more 

commercial air tours in any calendar 

year than the number of allocations 

specified on the certificate holder’s 

operations specifications issued by the 

FAA. 14 CFR 93.319. These regulations 

also define and describe quiet aircraft 

technology (QT). 14 CFR 93.303 and 

appendix A to subpart U of part 93. 

2. The National Parks Air Tour 

Management Act (NPATMA), Public 

Law 106–181, was signed into law on 

April 5, 2000. Under section 804(c), 

commercial air tour operations by any 

fixed-wing or helicopter aircraft that 

employs QT and that replaces an 

existing aircraft are not subject to the 

operational flight allocations that apply 

to other commercial air tour operations 

at the park, provided that the 

cumulative impact of such operations 

does not increase noise at the Grand 

Canyon. Section 804(d) provides that a 

commercial air tour operation by an 

aircraft in a commercial air tour 

operator’s fleet on the date of enactment 

of NPATMA that meets QT 

requirements or is subsequently 

modified to meet QT requirements may 

be used for commercial air tour 

operations under the same terms and 

conditions as section 804(c) without 

regard to whether it replaces an existing 

aircraft. In addition, NPATMA expressly 

states that it does not relieve or 

diminish the statutory mandate to 

achieve substantial restoration of 

natural quiet and experience at the park. 

3. Section 35001 of the Moving Ahead 

for Progress in the 21st Century Act 

(MAP–21), Public Law 112–141, July 6, 

2012, directs the Secretary of the 

Interior and the Administrator of the 

Federal Aviation Administration to 

provide incentives for commercial air 

tour operators that convert to QT, 

determined in accordance with the 

regulations then in effect. MAP–21 gives 

as an example of an incentive increasing 

the flight allocations for operators of QT 

on a net basis consistent with section 

804(c) of NPATMA, provided that the 

cumulative impact of such operations 

does not increase noise at the Grand 

Canyon. 

II. Current QT Incentives 

This proposed incentive is one of 

several that the FAA and the NPS are 

providing for operators that convert or 

have converted to QT to encourage 

greater use of QT. The NPS, in 

consultation with the FAA, reduced the 

fees applicable to commercial air tour 

operations at the Grand Canyon by 20 

percent (from $25 to $20 per flight) for 

an air tour using QT. This fee reduction 

went into effect on January 1, 2014. 

On February 3, 2014, the FAA, in 

consultation with the NPS, announced 

its intention to distribute FAA-held 

allocations to commercial tour operators 

in proportion to the number of QT 

operations flown in the first six months 

of 2014. 79 FR 6267. These allocations 

are to be used for QT flights during the 

2014 air tour season and beyond. 

III. Seasonal Relief From Allocations 

for QT in the Dragon and Zuni Point 

Corridors 

The FAA and the NPS propose to 

provide an additional QT incentive in 

the Dragon and Zuni Point corridors 

where QT can have the greatest positive 

effect on park resources and where the 

need for relief from allocations has been 

demonstrated. Under this proposed 

incentive, commercial air tour operators 

flying QT aircraft in the Dragon and 

Zuni Point corridors will initially be 

relieved from having such operations 

count against their annual allocations in 

the first quarter (January 1–March 31) of 

2015. During this first quarter, QT 

flights will not use an allocation, while 

non-QT flights must still use an 

allocation. All commercial air tour 

flights, QT and non-QT, must use an 

allocation for the remainder of the year 

(April 1–December 31). However, 

operators will continue to benefit from 

the seasonal relief since they may use 

allocations in April through December 

that would otherwise have been used for 

QT flights conducted in January through 

March. 

The first quarter of the calendar year 

has historically had the lowest level of 

commercial air tour operations. 

Providing this incentive initially in the 

first quarter of 2015 is a prudent action 

that gives the FAA and the NPS an 

opportunity to evaluate the impact of 

the incentive, including the extent to 

which commercial air tour operators 

continue to use QT in the remainder of 

the year, which will produce additional 

noise benefits for the park. The FAA 

and the NPS want to incentivize 

commercial air tour operators to 

maximize the use of QT throughout the 

year. To that end, the seasonal relief 

from allocations may be extended to 

part or all of the fourth quarter (October 

1–December 31) in 2016 and following 

years, in addition to the first quarter, 

based on an evaluation of the preceding 

year. In 2015, the more that increased 

QT use reduces the noise level below 

the noise baseline described in the 

following paragraph, the greater the 

prospect for operators to have additional 

seasonal relief from allocations in 2016. 

To meet the statutory conditions in 

NPATMA and MAP–21, the FAA and 

the NPS must ensure that the 

cumulative impact of QT operations 

relieved from allocations does not 

increase noise at the park. For this 

proposed seasonal relief incentive, this 

means that the annual noise from both 

QT and non-QT commercial air tour 

flights conducted in the Dragon and 

Zuni Point corridors must not exceed 

the annual noise level of commercial air 

tour flights in these corridors under the 

current allocation system. The FAA and 

the NPS have modeled the noise of 

commercial air tour allocations in the 

Dragon and Zuni Point corridors as 

flown with the 2012 commercial air tour 

fleet mix and route structure—resulting 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 66765 

1LEQ12 stands for Equivalent Sound Level for 12 

hours, which is a cumulative measure of the noise 

exposure of A-weighted sound levels over a 12-hour 

period. For this purpose, the LEQ was calculated 

annually and averaged over the park to get a single 

LEQ12 value. 

in a noise baseline of LEQ12 58.1 dB.1

To determine if there is an increase in 

noise associated with this incentive, the 

FAA and the NPS will model the annual 

noise from all commercial air tour 

operations conducted in the Dragon and 

Zuni Point corridors and compare the 

annual noise with the seasonal relief 

incentive in place with the noise 

baseline of all commercial air tour 

allocations in these corridors. Noise will 

be determined to increase if the annual 

modeled LEQ12 noise of commercial air 

tour operations in the Dragon and Zuni 

Point corridors exceeds LEQ12 58.1 dB. 

If noise in any year exceeds the noise 

baseline, the seasonal relief incentive 

will be modified or discontinued as 

determined necessary to comply with 

the statutory condition. 

To ensure that this incentive will not 

diminish the achievement of substantial 

restoration of natural quiet and 

experience at the park, all commercial 

air tour aircraft including QT must 

adhere to the existing route structure 

throughout the park, including the 

Dragon and Zuni Point corridors. 

This incentive applies only to 

commercial air tour operators that 

currently have allocations in the Dragon 

and Zuni Point corridors; i.e., operators 

must have allocations in these corridors 

in order to be relieved from allocations. 

It does not apply elsewhere in the Grand 

Canyon Special Flight Rules Area 

(SFRA). There is an ample unused 

surplus of commercial air tour 

allocations in the SFRA outside of the 

Dragon and Zuni Point corridors; 

therefore, operators conducting air tours 

in these other SFRA areas do not need 

relief from allocations and would not be 

incentivized to convert to QT by a 

seasonal relief incentive. 

If the seasonal relief in the Dragon 

and Zuni Point corridors is a successful 

QT incentive, it is proposed to remain 

in effect unless it violates the statutory 

condition that the cumulative effect of 

such operations must not increase noise 

at the Grand Canyon or diminishes the 

achievement of substantial restoration of 

natural quiet, in which case it will be 

either modified or discontinued; or until 

a longer term approach for managing air 

tour noise in the park is in place. 

The FAA and the NPS commit to 

developing a long term approach for 

managing noise in the park in an 

expeditious manner. Any long term 

approach will continue to incentivize 

conversion to QT and will not penalize 

earlier conversion to QT realized 

through the seasonal relief incentive. 

IV. Implementation Steps 

All comments on this proposed 

incentive will be considered and will 

inform the agencies’ next steps. If the 

agencies proceed with the seasonal 

relief incentive as proposed in this 

notice or as modified in response to 

comments, the FAA will implement the 

incentive by amending the operations 

specifications of commercial air tour 

operators holding allocations in the 

Dragon and Zuni Point corridors to 

allow them to conduct air tours with QT 

aircraft without using an allocation for 

such tours in the specified seasonal time 

periods. The FAA and the NPS will 

cooperatively ensure that the statutory 

conditions protecting the park are met. 

V. Environmental Considerations 

This action involving the FAA’s 

amendment of operations specifications 

is categorically excluded from more 

detailed environmental review because 

it would not have a significant effect on 

the environment. The FAA and the NPS 

have designed this incentive to ensure 

compliance with the statutory 

conditions that the cumulative impact 

of QT operating without allocations 

does not increase noise and that the 

incentive does not diminish the 

statutory mandate to achieve the 

substantial restoration of natural quiet at 

the park. 

Issued in Hawthorne, CA, on October 7, 

2014. 

Glen A. Martin, 

Regional Administrator, Western-Pacific 

Region, Federal Aviation Administration. 

Issued in Lakewood, CO, on October 16, 

2014. 

Sue E. Masica, 

Regional Director, Intermountain Region, 

National Park Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26668 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Summary Notice No. PE–2014–131] 

Petition for Exemption; Summary of 

Petition Received 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption 

received. 

SUMMARY: This notice contains a 

summary of a petition seeking relief 

from specified requirements of 14 CFR. 

The purpose of this notice is to improve 

the public’s awareness of, and 

participation in, this aspect of FAA’s 

regulatory activities. Neither publication 

of this notice nor the inclusion or 

omission of information in the summary 

is intended to affect the legal status of 

the petition or its final disposition. 

DATES: Comments on this petition must 

identify the petition docket number and 

must be received on or before December 

1, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by Docket Number FAA– 

2014–0597 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Government-wide rulemaking Web 

site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov 

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to the Docket 

Management Facility; U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590. 

• Fax: Fax comments to the Docket 

Management Facility at 202–493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Bring comments 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. 

Privacy: We will post all comments 

we receive, without change, to http://

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: 

Brenda Robeson, ARM–210, Federal 

Aviation Administration, Office of 

Rulemaking, 800 Independence Ave. 

SW., Washington, DC 20591; email 

Brenda.Robeson@faa.gov; (202) 267– 

4712. 

This notice is published pursuant to 

14 CFR 11.85. 


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