[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 19148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9638]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 28, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 19148]]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 193

[Docket No. FAA-2009-0245]


Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program; National Wildlife 
Aircraft Hazard Database

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of determination not to proceed with proposed order 
designating information as protected from disclosure.

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposed that bird strike information voluntarily 
reported to the Agency and entered into the FAA's National Wildlife 
Aircraft Hazard Database be designated by an FAA order as protected 
from public disclosure in accordance with the provisions of 14 CFR part 
193. After further review and consideration, the FAA has determined not 
to proceed with an order designating the wildlife database as protected 
under part 193.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Weller, Airport Safety and 
Operations Division, AAS-300, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-3778.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of This Notice

    You can get an electronic copy of this notice using the Internet 
by:
    (1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket 
Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search);
    (2) Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations-policies/; or
    (3) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

Background

    Under 49 U.S.C. 40123, certain voluntarily provided safety and 
security information is protected from disclosure to encourage persons 
to provide the information to the FAA. The FAA must issue an order to 
make certain findings before the information is protected from 
disclosure. The FAA's rules implementing that section are in 14 CFR 
part 193. If the Administrator issues an order designating information 
as protected under 49 U.S.C. 40123, that information will not be 
disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or other 
laws except as provided in 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 14 CFR part 193.
    On March 19, 2009, the FAA published a proposed order that, if 
adopted, would have designated certain information in the FAA's 
wildlife database as information protected under part 193. This 
proposed order was issued under 14 CFR 193.111, which sets out the 
notice procedure for designating information as protected. The FAA 
invited interested persons to participate in this proposal by 
submitting written comments, data, or views. We also invited comments 
relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts 
that might result from adopting the proposals in this document. The 
comment period concluded on April 20, 2009. The FAA received 47 
comments, the majority of which were not in favor of protecting the 
database.
    After further review and consideration, the FAA has determined not 
to proceed with an order designating information in the National 
Wildlife Aircraft Strike database as protected under part 193 at this 
time. The FAA will modify the public Wildlife Aircraft Strike Web site 
to make the database available to all users consistent with the Freedom 
of Information Act (FOIA) and Agency policy.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2009.
Catherine M. Lang,
Acting Associate Administrator for Airports.
[FR Doc. E9-9638 Filed 4-24-09; 8:45 am]
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