Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 19861 

1 73 FR 29550 (May 21, 2008). 

2 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008). 3 80 FR 1274. 

number of small entities under the 

criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

Environmental Review 

The FAA has determined that this 

action qualifies for categorical exclusion 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act in accordance with FAA 

Order 1050.1F, ‘‘Environmental 

Impacts: Policies and Procedures,’’ 

paragraph 5–6.5a. This airspace action 

is not expected to cause any potentially 

significant environmental impacts, and 

no extraordinary circumstances exist 

that warrant preparation of an 

environmental assessment. 

Lists of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71 

Airspace, Incorporation by reference, 

Navigation (air). 

Adoption of the Amendment 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Federal Aviation Administration 

amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows: 

PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, 

B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 

TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND 

REPORTING POINTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 71 

continues to read as follows: 

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

40113, 40120, E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 

1959–1963 Comp., p. 389. 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

■ 2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.9Z, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, dated August 6, 2015, effective 

September 15, 2015, is amended as 

follows: 

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace. 

* * * * * 

ASO FL D Bartow, FL [Amended] 

Bartow Municipal Airport, FL 

(Lat. 27°56′36′′ N., long. 81°47′00′′ W.) 

That airspace extending upward from the 

surface to and including 1,600 feet MSL 

within a 4-mile radius of Bartow Municipal 

Airport. This Class D airspace area is 

effective during the specific dates and times 

established in advance by a Notice to 

Airmen. The effective date and time will 

thereafter be continuously published in the 

Airport/Facility Directory. 

Issued in College Park, Georgia, on March 

29, 2016. 

Ryan W. Almasy, 

Manager, Operations Support Group Eastern 

Service Center, Air Traffic Organization. 

[FR Doc. 2016–07783 Filed 4–5–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 93 

[Docket No.: FAA–2008–0221] 

Change of Newark Liberty International 

Airport (EWR) Designation 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Change of Newark Liberty 

International Airport (EWR) 

Designation. 

SUMMARY: This document announces 

that the FAA will designate Newark 

Liberty International Airport (EWR) as a 

Level 2, schedule-facilitated airport 

under the International Air Transport 

Association (IATA) Worldwide Slot 

Guidelines (WSG) effective for the 

Winter 2016 scheduling season, which 

begins on October 30, 2016. The FAA 

has determined this designation is 

necessary based on an updated demand 

and capacity analysis of the airport. The 

current FAA Order designating EWR as 

a Level 3, slot-controlled airport will 

expire on October 29, 2016. 

DATES: This designation takes effect on 

October 30, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Requests may be submitted 

by mail to Slot Administration Office, 

AGC–220 Office of the Chief Counsel, 

800 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; facsimile: 202– 

267–7277; or by email to: 7-AWAslotadmin@faa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions contact: Susan Pfingstler, 

System Operations Services, Air Traffic 

Organization, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 600 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone (202) 267–6462; email 

susan.pfingstler@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

By Order dated May 21, 2008, the 

FAA placed temporary limits on 

scheduled operations at EWR to mitigate 

congestion and delays at the airport.1

The Order addressed the FAA’s concern 

about a spillover effect in the summer 

2008 scheduling season resulting from 

the Agency’s Order limiting operations 

at John F. Kennedy International Airport 

(JFK), which took effect in March 2008.2

Under the EWR Order, the FAA (1) 

established hourly limits of 81 

scheduled operations during the peak 

period; (2) imposed an 80 percent 

minimum usage requirement for 

Operating Authorizations (OAs or slots) 

with defined exceptions; (3) provided a 

mechanism for withdrawal of OAs for 

FAA operational reasons; (4) established 

procedures to allocate withdrawn, 

surrendered, or unallocated OAs; and, 

(5) allowed for trades and leases of OAs 

for consideration for the duration of the 

Order. 

On January 8, 2015, the Department of 

Transportation (DOT) and FAA issued 

the Slot Management and Transparency 

for LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy 

International Airport, and Newark 

Liberty International Airport Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).3 The 

DOT and FAA are currently reviewing 

the comments received on the NPRM 

and considering the impacts of the EWR 

Level 2 designation on the rulemaking. 

Based on the FAA’s review of 

operational performance, demand, and 

capacity discussed in this document, 

Level 3 slot controls are no longer 

warranted for EWR. Rather, the FAA 

will transition EWR to a Level 2, 

schedule-facilitated airport, starting 

with the Winter 2016 scheduling 

season. In addition, the FAA also has 

updated the performance, demand, and 

capacity analyses for JFK and LGA and 

has determined that Level 3 slotcontrolled restrictions remain necessary 

for these airports. Therefore, through 

separate notices published in the 

Federal Register, the FAA will be 

extending the JFK and LGA Orders until 

October 27, 2018. 

This document confirms the EWR 

Order will expire on October 29, 2016. 

A copy of this document will be placed 

in Docket FAA–2008–0221. As 

explained herein, the FAA is 

designating EWR as a Level 2 airport 

effective October 30, 2016. As further 

explained in this document, the FAA 

has conducted a screening for potential 

impacts to noise and air emissions as a 

result of this change in designation at 

EWR and has determined that the 

proposed action does not have the 

potential to cause a significant impact. 

Capacity and Operational Performance 

Review 

The FAA regularly reviews 

operational performance and demand at 

the New York City area airports as part 

of ongoing efforts to improve the 

efficiency of the air traffic control 

system. Section 413 of the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act, Pub. L. 

112–95, 126 Stat. 11 (Feb. 14, 2012), 

requires the FAA to take actions to 

ensure that aircraft operations of air 

carriers do not exceed the hourly 


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19862 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

4On-time gate arrivals have a gate arrival delay 

of less than 15 minutes. The gate arrival delay is 

the difference in minutes between the actual time 

the aircraft arrives at the gate and the scheduled 

gate arrival time. 

5A copy of the MITRE summary of performance 

comparing 2015 and 2007 has been placed in the 

dockets for the EWR Order (Docket No. FAA–2008– 

0221), JFK Order (Docket No. FAA–2007–29320), 

LGA Order (Docket No. FAA–2006–25755) and the 

Slot Management and Transparency for LaGuardia 

Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and 

Newark Liberty International Airport NPRM 

(Docket No. FAA–2014–1073). 

6There are a few additional flights by carriers 

such as FedEx and UPS that are allocated slots and 

do not publish schedules in the FAA’s Innovata 

schedule database. 

maximum departure and arrival rate 

established by the Administrator for 

such operations. The FAA reviews data 

on actual operations, including the 

number of hourly and daily air traffic 

operations, runway capacity and 

utilization, aircraft fleet mix, scheduled 

and unscheduled demand, on-time 

performance relative to schedule, the 

number and duration of flight arrival 

and departure delays, airfield or other 

capacity changes, and air traffic control 

procedures. 

On an annual basis since adopting the 

2008 Order, the FAA has performed 

analyses to compare and contrast 

operational and performance data for 

each year subsequent to the peak 2007 

summer scheduling season to identify 

operational and performance trends. 

Such analyses have consistently placed 

particular emphasis on the May through 

August months since this period 

includes the peak summer demand. The 

on-time performance and delay metrics 

at EWR show significant improvements 

during such peak periods of demand. 

For example, on-time gate arrivals at 

EWR have increased by about 11 

percentage points when comparing May 

through August 2015 to the same period 

in 2007.4 On-time gate departures 

improved by approximately three 

percentage points. The mean arrival and 

departure delays are down by about 33 

percent, and the delays greater than 60 

minutes are down by 37 percent for 

arrivals and 38 percent for departures. 

The FAA recently modeled the 

summer 2015 demand against summer 

2015 runway capacity and then 

compared the results to the delay profile 

that was the basis for the 2008 Order. 

Operations in 2015 were down by 8 

percent, total minutes of arrival delays 

went from 16,100 to 10,100 for a 37 

percent decrease, mean arrival delays 

decreased from 24.0 minutes to 16.3 

minutes, and mean departure delays 

from 18.0 minutes to 14.2 minutes.5

The FAA also reviewed scheduled 

flights at EWR over the last few years. 

Scheduled demand was routinely below 

the 81 hourly scheduling limits in the 

Order, even during the busiest early 

morning, afternoon, and evening hours. 

For example, in the 3 p.m. through 8:59 

p.m. local hours, weekday scheduled 

demand in the May-August period 

averaged 71 flights per hour in 2011, 74 

flights per hour in 2013, and 72 flights 

per hour in 2015.6 Early summer 2016 

schedules reflect similar demand 

patterns. At the same time, the FAA 

denied requests for new flights as slots 

are allocated up to the scheduling 

limits. Carriers are generally 

maintaining historic slots and meeting 

the minimum usage rules under the 

Order; therefore, weekday slots in peak 

hours do not regularly revert to the FAA 

for reallocation. The result is scheduled 

demand that is well below the FAA 

scheduling limits and runway capacity 

at the airport to handle additional 

flights. This is unlike other FAA slotcontrolled airports, which have 

significantly fewer differences between 

the number of allocated slots and the 

scheduled demand, especially in peak 

periods. 

FAA Level 2 Determination and 

Planned Schedule Review 

In light of the FAA’s demand and 

capacity analysis at EWR, the FAA has 

determined that EWR does not warrant 

a Level 3 designation. The FAA’s 

analysis demonstrates that runway 

capacity exists for additional operations. 

However, under a Level 3 designation, 

the FAA must deny requests from 

carriers to add or retime operations 

based on allocated slots rather than 

scheduled and actual operations, 

provided the carrier satisfies the 

minimum slot usage requirements. 

Further, the FAA simply cannot 

increase the scheduling limits to 

compensate for slots that are underscheduled but meet the minimum usage 

rules, as this would require the FAA to 

determine that additional capacity 

exists for operations above the current 

scheduling limits. 

The FAA also considered whether 

EWR should be re-designated as a Level 

1 airport since EWR operated for many 

years without scheduling limits while 

nearby JFK and LGA were slot 

controlled. During this time, EWR 

provided access to the New York City 

area and, while delays were high 

compared to other airports, overall 

demand was generally consistent with 

runway capacity. However, there are 

practical limitations to the number of 

additional flights that EWR can accept 

from a runway and airport facilities 

perspective. Moreover, we expect there 

will be significant demand for access to 

EWR, given its location and that the JFK 

and LGA airports will remain slotcontrolled airports. Thus, the FAA has 

determined that the Level 2 schedule 

facilitation process and its related 

principles of voluntary cooperation will 

best balance the anticipated demand 

with the practical limitations on the 

number of additional flights possible at 

EWR. Following the effective date of the 

Level 2 designation, the FAA will 

continue to review whether Level 2 is 

appropriate or whether other action 

might be needed. The FAA does not 

expect to make any airport level changes 

based on short-term airline schedule 

plans or resulting delays. 

Consistent with existing FAA practice 

for schedule facilitation at Level 2 

airports, under the Level 2 designation 

at EWR, the FAA will request and 

review airline schedules for the 6 a.m. 

to 10:59 p.m. period and either approve 

the request or work with carriers to 

achieve schedule adjustments as needed 

to avoid exceeding the airport’s 

capacity. The success of Level 2 

schedule facilitation procedures 

depends upon a number of factors 

delineated in the WSG. The FAA will 

apply the priorities for schedule 

facilitation outlined in the WSG. In 

particular, priority will be given to 

carriers based on actual approved 

schedules and operations conducted in 

the previous corresponding season over 

new demand for the same timings. 

Additionally, although there is some 

runway capacity available at EWR, 

approval of new or retimed operations 

must avoid significant scheduled 

peaking and allow for recovery to avoid 

causing a consistent level of 

unacceptable delay, which could 

necessitate a return to Level 3. The FAA 

intends, if necessary, to deny schedule 

submissions that exceed the declared 

airport runway capacity and to offer 

alternative times to carriers. The WSG 

recognizes that some carriers might 

operate at times without approval from 

the airport’s schedule facilitator. 

Consistent with the WSG, carriers 

would not receive historic status for 

such flights if the airport level changes 

from Level 2 to Level 3. 

Finally, while the FAA is responsible 

for managing the airport’s runway 

capacity, there are terminal, gate, and 

other operational factors that may 

require schedule adjustments. The FAA 

recognizes that the entry at EWR has 

been limited by runway slot availability 

for the last 8 years and new entry and 

growth by incumbent carriers is 

expected. The Port Authority of New 

York and New Jersey (Port Authority) 

currently reviews schedules for 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 19863 

international passenger flights operating 

at Terminal B. A carrier must separately 

obtain approval from the Port Authority 

for Terminal B flights and request 

runway slots from the FAA under the 

current Level 3 designation Order. After 

the effective date for the Level 2 

designation, carriers would continue to 

work with the Port Authority to 

synchronize with the relevant terminals 

and gates at EWR to the extent 

practicable. Under existing practice, the 

FAA regularly works with the Port 

Authority and carriers to reconcile 

differences between available terminal/ 

gate and runway times. The FAA 

expects this process to continue under 

the Level 2 designation based on 

impacts to the availability of facilities. 

This necessary de-conflicting of carriers’ 

requested terminal/gate and runway 

schedules is likely to be most significant 

in the initial transition from Level 3 to 

Level 2 in the Winter 2016 and Summer 

2017 seasons. 

Environmental Considerations 

The FAA conducted an 

environmental screening for potential 

impacts to noise and air emissions 

relative to the change of the EWR 

designation from Level 3 to Level 2. 

Based on the screening, the FAA has 

determined that this action may be 

categorically excluded from further 

environmental analysis according to 

FAA Order 1050.1, ‘‘Environmental 

Impacts: Policies and Procedures,’’ 

paragraph 5–6.6.f. Specifically, 

paragraph 5–6.6.f states that 

‘‘Regulations, standards, and 

exemptions (excluding those which if 

implemented may cause a significant 

impact on the human environment)’’ are 

categorically excluded from further 

environmental review. 

The FAA conducted noise screening 

of the proposed action using Area 

Equivalent Method and determined that 

the action does not have the potential to 

cause a significant impact on noise 

levels of noise sensitive areas. In 

addition, the FAA conducted an 

analysis of air emissions using Aviation 

Environmental Design Tool and 

determined that the action does not 

have the potential to cause a significant 

impact on air quality or a violation of 

Federal, state, tribal, or local air quality 

standards under the Clean Air Act, 42 

U.S.C. §§ 7401–7671q. Therefore, 

implementation of the airport level 

change is not expected to result in 

significant adverse impacts to the 

human environment. The 

implementation of this action is not 

expected to result in any extraordinary 

circumstances in accordance with FAA 

Order 1050.1. A copy of the categorical 

exclusion has been placed in the docket 

associated with this action. 

Future Operational Demand and 

Performance Reviews 

The FAA will continue to regularly 

review and monitor performance at 

EWR, as well as carrier compliance with 

FAA-approved schedules. The FAA will 

continue to review data on actual 

operations, including the number of 

hourly and daily air traffic operations, 

runway capacity and utilization, aircraft 

fleet mix, scheduled and unscheduled 

demand, on-time performance relative 

to schedule, the number and duration of 

flight arrival and departure delays, 

airfield or other capacity changes, and 

air traffic control procedures. The FAA 

will publish a notice in April, 2016 

announcing the schedule submission 

deadline and the declared runway 

capacity limits for the Winter 2016 

scheduling season. 

The FAA expects that delays at EWR 

will increase over current levels as 

flights are added, but an incremental 

increase in delays would not necessarily 

mean the FAA would revert to Level 3. 

The FAA’s objective while working with 

carriers under the Level 2 process is to 

appropriately balance and maximize the 

use of the available runway capacity at 

EWR while maintaining an acceptable 

level of delay. 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 1, 2016. 

Daniel E. Smiley, 

Acting Vice President, System Operations 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2016–07910 Filed 4–1–16; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Part 171 

RIN 1400–AD44 

[Public Notice: 9510] 

Public Access to Information 

AGENCY: Department of State. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of State (the 

Department) finalizes its revisions to its 

regulations implementing the Freedom 

of Information Act (FOIA) and the 

Privacy Act. The final rule reflects 

changes in FOIA and other statutes and 

consequent changes in the Department’s 

procedures since the last revision of the 

Department’s regulations on this 

subject. 

DATES: This rule is effective on May 6, 

2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alice Kottmyer, Office of the Legal 

Adviser, Office of Management, U.S. 

Department of State, kottmyeram@

state.gov, (202) 647–2318. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

28, 2015, the Department published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

to update its FOIA and Privacy Act rules 

contained in 22 CFR part 171. See 80 FR 

44898, and the discussion therein. 

This rulemaking responds to public 

comments and finalizes the rule. The 

rule is finalized as published in the 

NPRM, except for minor format edits; 

modifications, as indicated below, in 

response to public comments; and the 

addition of one clause to § 171.24(a), 

which codifies a longstanding provision 

of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3)), 

and which was inadvertently omitted 

from the NPRM. Since § 171.24(a) is 

substantially the same as 5 U.S.C. 

552a(c)(3) in the Privacy Act itself, it 

need not be published for comment. 

Response to Public Comments 

The Department would like to thank 

the members of the public who invested 

time in reviewing the proposed changes 

to the FOIA and Privacy Act regulations, 

and for providing very useful feedback. 

First Public Comment 

The first commenter expressed 

concern about the proposal for the 

Department to charge a fee of 15 cents 

per page of duplication. The commenter 

pointed out that present day 

photocopying and scanning is relatively 

cheap, and expressed a belief that the 

Department’s lease arrangements reflect 

a significantly lesser per page cost than 

15 cents; in addition, he stated that 

other agencies’ costs vary and might be 

lower, and no evidence was provided on 

how the Department formulated the fee. 

He stated that some other agencies have 

lowered duplication costs in their 

regulations in the last two years to be in 

line with actual direct costs. 

Department Response 

The fee charged for photocopying at 

the Department is 15 cents per page, 

which is charged at a standard rate 

throughout the Department for copying 

services. This charge is based on the 

costs calculated by examining paper 

costs, machinery, and services provided 

to produce a photocopy. Other agencies 

and departments charge FOIA 

duplication fees that range from five 

cents to twenty cents per page. The 

Department’s duplication fee of fifteen 

cents per page is in line with what other 

agencies and departments charge for 

duplication. For this reason, the 

Department declines to change the 

duplication fee as suggested. 


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