JAARS, Inc. 

Anti-Drug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program 

P.O. Box 248 

Waxhaw, NC 28173 

July 9, 2012 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations, M-30 

West Building Ground Floor 

Room W12-140 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

To Whom It May Concern, 

,;il;A1 

Human Resources Department 

Pamela J. Goss (DER) 

Phone: (704) 843-6150 

FAX: (704) 843-6400 

E-Mail: Pamela Goss@jaars.org 

( ,. ~--. 

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en 

This'1~Wef'iS't8 re'ql.i-esFM'renew~lfC)f a two-year' exemption that initially.was·;gr-a,nte.d J.n Noy~mJ1.~r, 2P08 • • 1.- •;· ~ r• ~, •r' . 1 r (, ' l . - ' · I .f·""' r 

and rerfe":"ed i_n 1\JME!mber 20TO to;a·lfowUAARS, lriC1;'·•to•operate onet()rug .find Akohoi,Testing f?f!Qgr;~m 

instead 'bft~dbr thre~ 'a's the t~guiatiorl's· required in 2008. !h'e dcrcumenlli.l.refer<t'P)~ J;~~rll:Ption-I':!Rr~ 

9782, Redu'laf8r/fiock~'Noi-'~AA2'0o'8-0no:' Thislexemptk>n exprres Novernbe~ 39, ~o.~i.:4DL~~."" · · 

superseded or rescinded. · ~~;.. l\~~.H_:' :.::J tf:.!.~ ~ -~':.~ .),. ,4 .'1 : • --~.'.<. • • '\4 J~ • rw- • ••• • j., .... >j,·: ~·] ~:·). l' ." 

~efore Exemption No. 9782 was issued, the Drugs and AlCohol Testing program at JAARS was adversely 

~ffected by the regulation stated in "The Guidance Alert related to FAA Regulations Affecting Multiple 

Certificate Holders or Locations." JAARS has a Part 135 and a Part 91.147 program, as well as an A3 Part 

145 Repair Station which operates under the Part 135 certificate. For reasons outlined below I seek 

another renewal of Exemption No. 9782 which will allow JAARS, Inc., to continue to operate one Drug 

and Alcohol Testing Program instead of two or three as the guidance alert requires. If possible, I would 

like to be granted a permanent exemption instead of a renewal only.. . .. . . . . , ""12 ''<.'.GC! 11.1~ V· 

f•' . .--' J -1"..> r-r,·,-:: :;: :, ~'-· ·. ; ..:.:.. :;e. i.' . .:·. ·,t;;::• :x·· .: ..... ' '.' L·l c \; ::: . s !: 'h•:/~·~2 "';~:.;; ~~q,·.GL'~·t:\ 

My reasons for seeking a renewal of this exemption are as follows: 

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~~ ... f""~ r ~, ·, ·•·· 1 .·· . ~· • ~ ..... .., -~ JAARS has ope·r-ate'd ·un·der the·e'xemptiofl'fcir th'e: past thrre~ and :one-.halfy.~ars.withq,ut ar;w aq~erse 

effect dDb:tB(the ~>Mrhpti01f'; We ha{/e· Mot incurred a ~positive-result on any•drug,or:·~lco~pJ ie;,st du~!ng 

that'hrn~·:\Cfurth'~:rtno}e;"an inspeetio\1 of 'our progf.am in1i£\Ugust, 201:1, .did nottur.n up ~my ~robleoif.,, 

witH'6'b~:ra~iHg uRd~r tHis exem'ptfon': •The inspectaf's''founc! n:ot~ling:i,;, our.p.rog(a~, tb~~:ne~~~~~~-'~;._ changed . . !.(:,. ·'\i\~ .. ~.u -~. :,~· .})~ _-~.l~., •<\ 

i' 

·r,, 1.800.890.0~~8 I P.O. BOX 248 WAXHAW NC 28173 I WWW.JAARS.ORG 

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The exemption tha~ I am asking to renew would not have any effect on public safety, either positively or 

negatively. Nor would granting the exemption benefit the public as a whole. It would enable JAARS to 

avoid asking for money to help pay for the expenses caused by compliance to the regulation, and in that 

sense, an exemption would benefit the public served by our organization. I am not aware of how 

compliance to the current regulation benefits the public at large, so I do not know how an exemption 

would adversely affect the public at large. 

I am not asking for a change to the regulation and subsequent publishing in the Federal Register. I seek 

only an exemption to the regulation because of our unique situation, which is explained in detail below. 

JAARS, Inc., has three groups required to be in the FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program: 

1. A Part 91.147 group, which makes use of pilots who also fly under the Part 135 group. 

2. An A3 Part 145 repair station group which services the planes used by both the Part 91.147 

group and the Part 135 group. Some of the workers in the repair station group are also 

pilots. 

3. A Part 135 group which includes all the pilots who fly under the Part 91.147 and the Part 135 

groups. All of the mechanics and pilot/mechanics who work in our A3 Part 145 repair 

station are also covered under the Part 135 program which contracts the services of our Part 

145 repair station. Currently there are a total of 56 workers on the safety-sensitive list for 

this organization. 

The organizational set-up that I have described for our Aviation Department enables JAARS, Inc., to fulfill 

its primary mission, which is to provide transportation support for individuals and families involved in 

linguistic and literacy work in remote places of the world. Our pilots and mechanics either have been or 

will be assigned to serve as "jungle aviators" in hard to get to places in Africa, Southeast Asia, or interior 

regions of South America. Regardless of whether they currently work in the USA as Part 135 pilots or as 

Part 91.147 pilots, they need to be qualified as well to repair their own planes if necessary. This is why 

the repair station is an integral part of our operation and why there is so much overlap in 

responsibilities. 

In the past, we have noted to you that if maintaining confidentiality is the primary rationale fo·r separate 

DERs and recordkeeping systems, that due to our situation· and how interrelated our program is, that 

would be virtually impossible. We also have noted in the past that the regulation as stated in the 

guidance alert imposes a financial hardship by increasing expenses if we were required to have more 

than one DER. It would also be challenging to find a DER just for the six pilots involved in the Part 

91.147 group as the learning curve for the DERs is quite steep. 

In summary, an exemption should be granted to JAARS, Inc., that permits us to run our three required 

drug and alcohol testing programs using only one DER and having only one training program. 

-I have included a copy of the Exemption No. 9782 that was granted in November 2011. As a matter of 

record of compliance, JAARS in fact, has complied with the "Conditions and Limitations" imposed as a 

condition of exemption. JAARS will continue to do that if this petition in granted. 

Sincerely, 

Pamela 

fJ~~ Goss, DER 
. . ' 

U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Jul 15 2010 

Mr. Dale Woods 

Designated Employer Representative 

JAARS,Inc. 

P.O. Box 248 

Waxhaw, NC 28173 

Dear Mr. Woods: 

Exemption No. 9782A 

800 Independence Ave .. SW 

Washington, D.C. 20591 

Regulatory Docket No. F AA-2008-071 0 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption No. 9782. 

It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the conditions and 

limitations. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated July 1, 2010, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of JAARS, Inc. (JAARS), for an extension of Exemption No. 9782. That exemption 

from part 120 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations allows JAARS which is operating 

under separate parts of the regulations, to cover its safety-sensitive employees under one 

testing program. 

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary ofthe petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a 

_ precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to JAARS. 

AAM-10-324-E 
r • 

Our Decision 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 9782 

remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the 

authority provided by 49 U.S. C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has 

delegated to me, I grant your petition, subject to the following conditions and limitations. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Employees of JAARS are subject to the drug and alcohol regulations at all times 

while conducting operations under part 13 5 or part 91. 

2. The drug and alcohol testing program must be implemented under the auspices of 

the J AARS part 13 5 operation, not under part 91. 

The Effect of Our Decision 

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 9782 to November 30, 2012, 

unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

All conditions and limitations of Exemption No. 9782 remain the same. This letter must be 

attached to, and is a part of, Exemption No. 9782. 

Sincerely, 

Frederick E. Tilton, M.D. 

Federal Air Surgeon 

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