48466 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 165 / Monday, August 30, 2021 / Notices 

1Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy 

International Airport, 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008), as 

most recently amended 85 FR 58258 (Sep. 18, 

2020); Operating Limitations at New York 

LaGuardia Airport, 71 FR 77854 (Dec. 27, 2006), as 

most recently amended 85 FR 58255 (Sep. 18, 

2020). 

2Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule 

Information for O’Hare International, John F. 

Kennedy International, and Newark Liberty 

International Airports for the Summer 2009 

Scheduling Season, 73 FR 54659 (Sept. 22, 2008); 

Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule 

Information for San Francisco International Airport 

for the Summer 2012 Scheduling Season, 76 FR 

64163 (Oct. 17, 2011); Notice of Submission 

Deadline for Schedule Information for Los Angeles 

International Airport for the Summer 2015 

Scheduling Season 80 FR 12253 (Mar. 6, 2015); 

Notice of Change of Newark Liberty International 

Airport Designation, 81 FR 19861 (Apr. 6, 2016). 

The FAA most recently reaffirmed the Level 2 

designations by 86 FR 24428 (May 6, 2021). These 

designations remain effective until the FAA 

announces a change in the Federal Register. 

business confidential version in the 

docket at Regulations.gov and it will be 

available for public inspection. 

As noted, USTR strongly urges 

submitters to file comments through 

Regulations.gov. You must make any 

alternative arrangements in advance of 

the relevant deadline and before 

transmitting a comment by contacting 

Jacob Ewerdt at notoriousmarkets@

ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–4510. 

USTR will post comments in the 

docket for public inspection, except 

properly designated BCI. You can view 

comments on Regulations.gov by 

entering docket number USTR–2021– 

0013 in the search field on the home 

page. 

Daniel Lee, 

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for 

Innovation and Intellectual Property (Acting), 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18562 Filed 8–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F1–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2021–0067] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Requests for Comments; 

Clearance of Renewed Approval of 

Information Collection: High Density 

Traffic Airports; Slot Allocation and 

Transfer Methods. 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 

invites public comments about our 

intention to request the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval to renew an information 

collection. The Federal Register Notice 

with a 60-day comment period soliciting 

comments on the following collection of 

information was published on March 

16, 2021. The FAA collects information 

from U.S. and foreign air carriers 

holding or requesting a slot at Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport 

(DCA), John F. Kennedy International 

Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia Airport 

(LGA); operating or requesting 

scheduled flights at Newark Liberty 

International Airport (EWR), Los 

Angeles International Airport (LAX), 

O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and 

San Francisco International Airport 

(SFO); and conducting unscheduled 

operations at DCA and LGA. The 

information collected is necessary to 

support the advance management of air 

traffic demand by the FAA Slot 

Administration in an effort to reduce 

potential delays. The FAA proposes 

renaming this information collection to 

‘‘FAA Runway Slot Administration and 

Schedule Analysis’’ to more accurately 

reflect the collection of information 

related to multiple airports subject to 

different FAA regulatory and voluntary 

processes under this program. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by September 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Gonabe, FAA Slot 

Administration, by email at: 

matthew.gonabe@faa.gov; phone: (609) 

485–9554. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for FAA’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information collection; and (d) 

ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. 

OMB Control Number: 2120–0524. 

Title: High Density Traffic Airports; 

Slot Allocation and Transfer Methods. 

Form Numbers: There are no FAA 

forms associated with this collection. 

Type of Review: Renewal of an 

information collection. 

Background: The Federal Register 

Notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on the following 

collection of information was published 

on March 16, 2021 (86 FR 14515). The 

FAA has implemented several 

initiatives to address air traffic 

congestion and delay at certain airports 

within the National Airspace System 

(NAS). DCA slot rules are established 

under 14 CFR part 93, subparts K and 

S. The FAA has issued Orders limiting 

operations at JFK and LGA.1 These 

Orders resulted from increasing 

congestion and delays at the airports 

requiring the FAA to allocate arrival and 

departure slots at JFK and LGA. In 

addition, the FAA has designated EWR, 

LAX, ORD, and SFO as Level 2 

schedule-facilitated airports under the 

IATA Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) 

now known as the Worldwide Airport 

Slot Guidelines (WASG).2 At Level 2 

airports, the FAA seeks the cooperation 

of all carriers planning operations, on a 

voluntary basis, to maintain close 

communications on runway schedules 

and facilitate adjustments, as needed. 

At DCA, U.S. and foreign air carriers, 

including commuter operators, must 

notify the FAA of: (1) Written consent 

and requests for confirmation of slot 

transfers; (2) slots required to be 

returned and slots voluntarily returned; 

(3) requests to be included in a lottery 

for the permanent allocation of available 

slots; (4) reports on usage of slots on a 

bi-monthly basis; and (5) requests for 

slots in low-demand hours or other 

temporary allocations. Operators must 

obtain a reservation from the FAA prior 

to conducting an unscheduled 

operation. At LGA, U.S. and foreign air 

carriers must notify the FAA of: (1) 

Written consent and requests for 

confirmation of slot transfers; (2) slots 

required to be returned and slots 

voluntarily returned; (3) requests to be 

included in a lottery for the permanent 

allocation of available slots; and (4) 

reports usage of slots on a bi-monthly 

basis. Carriers must also request and 

obtain a reservation from the FAA prior 

to conducting an unscheduled 

operation. At JFK, U.S. and foreign air 

carriers must notify the FAA of: (1) 

Written consent and requests for 

confirmation of slot transfers; (2) 

requests for seasonal allocation of 

historic and additional available slots; 

(3) reports on usage of slots on a 

seasonal basis; (4) the return of slots; 

and (5) changes to allocated slots. At 

EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO, all carriers 

are asked to notify the FAA of their 

intended operating schedules during 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 165 / Monday, August 30, 2021 / Notices 48467 

3See FAA–2021–0067–0002. 

designated hours on a semiannual basis 

(for each winter and summer scheduling 

season) based on the IATA WASG 

Calendar of Coordination Activities and 

provide updates throughout the year 

when there are significant schedule 

changes. 

The FAA estimates that all 

information from carriers is submitted 

electronically from data stored in carrier 

scheduling and operational databases. 

Requests for unscheduled flight 

reservations are submitted electronically 

via the internet. The FAA also proposes 

to re-name the collection to ‘‘FAA 

Runway Slot Administration and 

Schedule Analysis’’ to more accurately 

reflect the collection of information 

related to multiple airports subject to 

different FAA regulatory and voluntary 

processes. 

Summary of Comments: On April 5, 

2021, the FAA received an email from 

Airlines for America (A4A) requesting 

further supporting information for the 

FAA’s March 16, 2021, 60-day notice. 

Specifically A4A requested the 

estimates used to derive the total annual 

burden of 5602.6 hours expressed in the 

March 16, 2021, notice. In response, the 

FAA placed a summary of 

communication and draft detailed 

annual hourly burden tables to the 

docket.3

The FAA received three comments 

during the 60-day comment period from 

Exhaustless Inc., Eastern Airlines, LLC 

(Eastern), and A4A. Exhaustless, Inc. 

objects to this information collection 

and questions the FAA’s legal authority 

to manage slots and schedules at 

constrained airports in the United 

States. Comments submitted by 

Exhaustless, Inc. are outside the scope 

of this Paperwork Reduction Act 

proceeding. The purpose of this 

proceeding is to update the Agency’s 

estimates of the information collection 

burden associated with established FAA 

rules, regulations, orders, policy and 

processes associated with the FAA’s 

administration of runway slots and 

schedule review at affected airports in 

the United States. However, the FAA 

nevertheless reiterates that the FAA 

Administrator is required to ‘‘develop 

plans and policy for the use of the 

navigable airspace and assign by 

regulation or order the use of the 

airspace necessary to ensure the safety 

of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace,’’ and to issue regulations for 

‘‘using the navigable airspace 

efficiently.’’ 49 U.S.C. 40103(b). The 

FAA’s administration of the runway slot 

program, including the establishment of 

runway schedule limits and facilitation 

of schedules at Level 2 airports, is 

adopted under the Administrator’s 

mandate to efficiently manage the NAS. 

Eastern supports the information 

collection and ‘‘provides its 

recommendations to maximize the 

public benefit including: (1) Collecting 

information about the size of aircraft 

used in each slot; (2) collecting 

additional information on slot trades 

and transfers including consideration 

provided; (3) publishing slot 

administration reports in a machinereadable format; and (4) harmonizing 

slot administration data collection and 

reporting on a bi-monthly basis.’’ 

Eastern’s recommendations for 

collecting the size of the aircraft used in 

each slot, collecting additional 

information on slot trades and transfers 

including consideration provided, and 

harmonizing slot administration data 

collection and reporting among all the 

FAA slot controlled airports on a bimonthly basis are suggestions that are 

also outside the scope of this Paperwork 

Reduction Act proceeding. These 

recommendations do not relate to the 

burden associated with existing rules 

and policy in effect and instead, would 

require changes to the existing rules, 

orders and policies currently in effect. 

Eastern’s recommendation that FAA 

should publish slot administration 

reports in a machine-readable format is 

valuable feedback, though unrelated to 

the collection of information. The FAA 

currently publishes slot holder and 

operator reports, and uneven transfer 

reports in a PDF file format at https:// 

www.faa.gov/about/office_org/ 

headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/ 

systemops/perf_analysis/slot_

administration/data/ and intends to 

review options for publishing additional 

data in a more accessible format for data 

analysis by interested stakeholders. 

A4A’s comment ‘‘requests a different 

and simplified information collection 

process for managing the slot holdings 

of carriers with combined inventory and 

marketing control to drastically reduce 

information collection burdens.’’ 

Essentially, A4A proposes 

programmatic changes to allow 

mainline and regional carriers to 

transfer slots among one another 

without requiring notification of each 

individual transfer to the FAA. A4A 

also asserts that FAA has 

underestimated the burden associated 

with transfers and provided data that 

they believe more accurately reflects the 

volume of transfers and associated 

burden. A4A indicates it ‘‘conducted a 

survey of members to determine the 

actual number of slot transfers between 

operating and marketing carriers at 

DCA, LGA, and JFK for the month of 

July 2019, and found there were 36,180 

such slot transfers. There were 14,125 

slot transfers at DCA, 14,897 slot 

transfers at LGA, and 7,158 slot transfers 

at JFK, this is aggregated data, not 

estimates.’’ Using the FAA’s estimate of 

6 minutes per slot transfer, A4A 

comments ‘‘this results in 3,618 hours 

for the month of July 2019 or an annual 

burden of 43,416 hours or more than 

770% of FAA’s burden estimate.’’ A4A 

asserts that this data further supports a 

change in the process for how transfers 

are managed because both FAA and 

carriers could benefit from reduced 

burden. 

The FAA has reviewed the data 

presented by A4A as aggregated from 

information on actual transfers provided 

by its members. For July 2019, the data 

is generally consistent with the number 

of FAA slot transfers in effect during 

that month between carriers with 

combined inventory and marketing 

control. The A4A data is also generally 

consistent with published flight 

schedules when looking at the 

breakdown between the marketing and 

operating carriers. The large disparity 

between the FAA and A4A estimates 

appears to be a result of A4A using a 

different methodology for determining 

the volume of transfer requests 

submitted to the FAA. 

The A4A calculations appear to 

consider each day that a slot transfer is 

in effect as a unique transfer that creates 

a unique burden-producing event with 

associated costs. Under the 

methodology used by A4A, the transfer 

of a daily slot for the entire month of 

July 2019 at a single airport would 

create 31 unique burdens. The transfer 

of the daily slot extrapolated on an 

annual basis would have created 365 

unique burdens in 2019. The FAA does 

not agree with the methodology or 

burden estimates as proposed by A4A as 

it does not reflect how slot transfers 

between carriers under combined 

inventory and marketing control or 

those between other carriers are 

typically submitted to the FAA. Most 

slot transfers are not submitted by 

carriers to the FAA for single effective 

dates but rather for longer periods. The 

most common effective dates are for 

several weeks, months, or for all or most 

of a scheduling season. The FAA 

considers each slot transfer request from 

carriers, as well as the FAA reply, as a 

burden-producing event rather than the 

number of days in which a transfer is 

effective. 

A4A’s requested change for a different 

and simplified information collection 

process for managing the slot holdings 

of carriers with combined inventory and 

marketing control is outside the scope of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
48468 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 165 / Monday, August 30, 2021 / Notices 

4See FAA’s January 29, 2018 Response to Delta 

Air Lines Request for Transfer Process Change, a 

copy has been included in the docket for this 

proceeding. 

this Paperwork Reduction Act 

proceeding. Rather, as the FAA has 

previously stated, implementing such a 

change would require rulemaking at 

DCA and a substantive change to the 

Orders Limiting Operations, in effect at 

JFK and LGA.4

Respondents: 119 unique carriers; 

unknown number of operators 

conducting unscheduled operations at 

LGA and DCA. 

Frequency: Information is collected as 

needed; some reporting on bimonthly or 

semiannual basis. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: 6 minutes per slot transaction 

per respondent (i.e. transferor and 

transferee); 6 minutes per slot return; 6 

minutes per schedule update; 6 minutes 

per request for inclusion in a lottery; 2 

minutes per unscheduled slot request; 

1.5 hours per schedule submission; and 

1 hour per slot usage report. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

5,602.6 hours. 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 26, 

2021. 

Matthew S. Gonabe, 

Program Specialist, FAA Slot Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18768 Filed 8–26–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on Proposed Highway in California 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Limitation on Claims 

for Judicial Review of Actions by the 

California Department of Transportation 

(Caltrans). 

SUMMARY: The FHWA, on behalf of 

Caltrans, is issuing this notice to 

announce actions taken by Caltrans that 

are final. The actions relate to the 

proposed Road Safety Enhancement 

Project to enhance roadway safety and 

reduce collisions to rock barriers on 

State Route 33 (SR 33) from post-mile 

(PM) 18.88 to PM 19.04, in Ventura 

County, State of California. Those 

actions grant licenses, permits, and 

approvals for the project. 

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA, on 

behalf of Caltrans, is advising the public 

of final agency actions subject to 23 

U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A claim seeking 

judicial review of the Federal Agency 

Actions on the highway project will be 

barred unless the claim is filed on or 

before January 27, 2022. If the Federal 

law that authorizes judicial review of a 

claim provides a time period of less 

than 150 days for filing such claim, then 

that shorter time period still applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

Caltrans, contact Susan Tse Koo, Senior 

Environmental Planner at (213) 269– 

1106 or email at Susan.Tse@dot.ca.gov. 

For FHWA, contact David Tedrick at 

(916) 498–5024 or email David.Tedrick@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective 

July 1, 2007, FHWA assigned, and 

Caltrans assumed, environmental 

responsibilities for this project pursuant 

to 23 U.S.C. 327. Notice is hereby given 

that Caltrans and has taken final agency 

actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1) by 

issuing licenses, permits, and approvals 

for the following highway project in the 

State of California: Caltrans proposes 

the Road Safety Enhancement Project to 

enhance roadway safety and reduce 

collisions to rock barriers by widening 

the roadway by four feet nine inches on 

the southbound direction of the SR 33 

from PM 18.88 to PM 19.04 in Ventura 

County through a continuous cantilever 

slab. The height of the retaining rock 

block wall will be reduced on the north 

end, and the existing metal beam 

guardrail will be removed to 

accommodate an overhang. The 

overhang is expected to extend less than 

three feet out of the roadway. This will 

result in an additional six inches of lane 

width for each lane (northbound and 

southbound) as well as a two-foot 

shoulder to widen the turning radius. 

The existing rock block barrier will be 

replaced by a new cast-in-place textured 

stamped concrete barrier plus 

construction of a two-foot wide and sixinch deep shallow concrete-lined 

drainage ditch along the northbound 

shoulder to funnel spring water runoff 

into North Fork Matilija Creek. In 

addition, the project also includes 

updated advanced curve warning signs 

and a high friction surface treatment 

(HFST) that will be applied to a 

perennially wet section of the travelled 

roadway. The purpose of the proposed 

project is to enhance roadway safety 

and, reduce severity of collisions and 

collisions to the rock barrier. 

The actions by the Federal agencies, 

and the laws under which such actions 

were taken, are described in the Initial 

Study (IS) with Mitigated Negative 

Declaration (MND)/Environmental 

Assessment (EA) with Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) approved on 

May 12, 2021, and in other documents 

in the FHWA project records. The MND/ 

FONSI can be viewed and downloaded 

from CEQAnet at https://

ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2020100364/3. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions as of the issuance date 

of this notice and all laws under which 

such actions were taken, including but 

not limited to: 

(1) National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969; 

(2) Federal Aid Highway Act of 1970; 

(3) U.S. EPA Section 404(b)(1) 

Guidelines (40 Code of Federal 

Regulations [CFR] 230); 

(4) Clean Air Act Amendments of 

1990 (CAAA); 

(5) Clean Water Act of 1977 and 1987; 

(6) California Environmental Quality 

Act; 

(7) Sections 1600–1603 of the 

California Fish and Game Code; 

(8) Sections 4150 and 4152 of the 

California Fish and Game Code; 

(9) Safe Drinking Water Act of 1944, 

as amended; 

(10) Migratory Bird Treaty Act; 

(11) Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

Act of 1934, as amended; 

(12) National Marine Fisheries 

Services; 

(13) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, as amended; 

(14) Occupational Safety and Health 

Act (OSHA); 

(15) Atomic Energy Act; 

(16) Toxic Substances Control Act 

(TSCA); 

(17) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 

and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal Programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1)) 

Issued on: August 24, 2021. 

Rodney Whitfield, 

Director, Financial Services, Federal Highway 

Administration, California Division. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18550 Filed 8–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Buffalo-Amherst-Tonawanda 

Corridor Transit Expansion, Erie 

County, New York 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES