6802 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 29 / Tuesday, February 13, 2007 / Notices 

Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036; 

telephone (202) 833–9339; fax (202) 

833–9434; Web site http://www.rtca.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee (Pub. L. 92–463, 5 

U.S.C., Appendix 2), notice is hereby 

given for a Special Committee 207 

meeting. The agenda will include: 

• March 8: 

• Opening Plenary Session (Welcome, 

Introductions, and Administrative 

Remarks). 

• Review of Meeting Summary. 

• Review of workgroup leader 

meetings. 

• Workgroup Reports. 

• Overview. 

• Workgroup 2: System 

Performance Requirements. 

• Workgroup 3: Subsystem 

Functional Performance Requirements. 

• Workgroup 4: System Verification 

and validation. 

• Workgroup 5: Biometrics. 

• Workgroup 6: Credentials. 

• Workgroup 7: Perimeter. 

• ICAO Update. 

• Closing Plenary Session (Other 

Business, Establish Agenda, Date and 

Place of Following Meetings). 

Attendance is open to the interested 

public but limited to space availability. 

With the approval of the chairmen, 

members of the public may present oral 

statements at the meeting. Persons 

wishing to present statements or obtain 

information should contact the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. Members of the public 

may present a written statement to the 

committee at any time. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 6, 

2007. 

Francisco Estrada C., 

RTCA Advisory Committee. 

[FR Doc. 07–627 Filed 2–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

RTCA Special Committee 135: 

Environmental Conditions and Test 

Procedures for Airborne Equipment 

Joint With EUROCAE Working Group 

14 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special 

Committee 135 meeting joint with 

EUROCAE Working Group 14. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

to advise the public of a meeting of 

RTCA Special Committee 135: 

Environmental Conditions and Test 

Procedures for Airborne Equipment 

joint with EUROCAE Working Group 

14. 

DATES: The meeting will be held March 

13–15, 2007 starting at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

Hotel Paradou, near Eurocopter Saussetles-Pins, France. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Due 

to the particular organization of this 

meeting please make your booking and 

provide information on your stay to 

Marc Poncon as soon as possible at 

marc.poncon@eurocopter.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, 5 U.S.C., Appendix 2), notice is 

hereby given for a Special Committee 

135 meeting joint with EUROCAE 

Working Group 14. The agenda will 

include: 

• March 13–15. 

• Chairman’s Opening Remark, 

Introductions. 

• Welcome from EUROCAE WG–14 

Chairman. 

• Approval of Summary from the 

Forty-Eighth SC 135 Meeting and 

Sixtieth WG 14 Meeting. 

• RTCA Paper No. 023/SC135–659. 

• EUR 396–06/GT 14–127. 

• Review Change Proposals for First 

Draft of DO–160F/ED (draft section on 

RTCA Web site). 

• Review Schedule to Release DO–

16–ED14 F. 

• Closing Plenary Session (New/ 

Unfinished Business, Date and Place of 

Next Meeting). 

Attendance is open to the interested 

public but limited to space availability. 

With the approval of the chairmen, 

members of the public may present oral 

statements at the meeting. Persons 

wishing to present statements or obtain 

information should contact the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. Members of the public 

may present a written statement to the 

committee at any time. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5, 

2007. 

Francisco Estrada C., 

RTCA Advisory Committee. 

[FR Doc. 07–628 Filed 2–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Notice of Final Opinion on the 

Transferability of Interim Operating 

Authority Under the National Parks Air 

Tour Management Act 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final opinion. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

FAA’s final opinion on the 

transferability of interim operating 

authority under the National Parks Air 

Tour Management Act. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James W. Whitlow, Deputy Chief 

Counsel for Policy and Adjudications, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–3773. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice sets forth the FAA’s final opinion 

on the transferability of interim 

operating authority. 

On April 5, 2000, Congress passed the 

National Parks Air Tour Management 

Act (Act). The Act set up a process by 

which the FAA and the National Park 

Service (NPS) would work together to 

establish air tour management plans for 

all units of the national park system and 

abutting tribal lands having commercial 

air tours. On October 25, 2002, the FAA 

published a final rule in 14 CFR part 

136, National Parks Air Tour 

Management (67 FR 65662), pursuant to 

a mandate specified in the Act. This 

final rule completed the definition of 

‘‘commercial air tour operation’’ by 

establishing the altitude (5,000 feet 

above ground level) below which an 

operator flying over a national park for 

the purpose of sightseeing is classified 

as a commercial air tour operator. The 

rule also codified provisions of the Act 

in the FAA’s regulations at 14 CFR part 

136. 

Under the Act, the air tour 

management plan (ATMP) process is 

initiated when a commercial air tour 

operator files an application for 

operating authority with the FAA to 

conduct commercial air tours over a 

national park or abutting tribal land (49 

U.S.C. 40128(a); 14 CFR 136.7). Once an 

application is filed, the FAA, in 

cooperation with the Director of the 

National Park Service, must develop 

and implement an ATMP for the park or 

abutting tribal land. Operators 

conducting commercial air tours over a 

unit of the national park system or 

abutting tribal land during the 12 month 

period prior to adoption of the Act are 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 29 / Tuesday, February 13, 2007 / Notices 6803 

classified under the Act as existing 

commercial air tour operators (49 U.S.C. 

40128(f); 14 CFR 136.3). These existing 

operators are eligible to receive interim 

operating authority (IOA), under 

conditions set forth in the Act. IOA 

allows these operators to continue 

conducting commercial air tours over 

the parks or tribal lands pending 

completion of the ATMP. With a few 

limited exceptions, no other operators 

are permitted to operate pending 

completion of the ATMP. 

Since the Act did not directly address 

the issue of IOA transferability, the FAA 

must determine whether allowing 

transferability of IOA from one operator 

to another is consistent with the Act’s 

provisions and overall goals. By notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 28, 2006, the FAA solicited 

comments on a draft opinion that 

concluded permitting the transferability 

of IOA is neither consistent with 

provisions of the Act nor its overall 

goals. On July 26, 2006, the FAA 

extended the comment period to 

September 13, 2006. 

The FAA received six comments in 

response to that notice. The majority of 

commenters raised two common points. 

First, because of the amount of time it 

takes to complete an ATMP, failure to 

allow free transferability of IOA will 

inevitably result in an overall reduction 

of the number of air tour flights 

available to the public. Secondly, 

allowing the transfer of IOA among 

existing and new operators would not 

increase the overall number of potential 

IOA at a park and is fully consistent 

with the intent of Congress. 

The FAA acknowledges that, if IOA is 

not transferable, the number of air tours 

at a park may be reduced if an air tour 

operator goes out business without a 

successor purchaser. It must also be 

acknowledged, though, that Congress 

clearly intended IOA to be temporary in 

nature and severely limited FAA and 

NPS’ ability to grant increases of IOA to 

existing operators or new entrants. The 

statutory scheme for IOA as expressed 

in the Act does not support the concept 

that Congress intended to allow the free 

trafficking in IOA. It cannot be 

presumed that, while Congress 

authorized FAA and the NPS to reduce, 

or even eliminate IOA prior to the 

implementation of an ATMP, it 

intended to preserve the existing level 

of air tours by permitting unrestricted 

transfer of IOA. 

Some commenters argued that the 

transferability mechanism for Grand 

Canyon should serve as a model for 

IOA. Others requested that, if it is 

decided IOA is not transferable, that 

decision should not apply to operating 

authority (OA) granted under an ATMP. 

If IOA were transferable, then the Grand 

Canyon transfer mechanism in 14 CFR 

93.321 could serve as a model; however, 

Grand Canyon’s transfer mechanism 

was created by regulation under 

different statutory authority. It does not 

serve as a precedent for the 

transferability of IOA. On the other 

hand, this opinion only addresses the 

transferability of IOA. Transferability of 

OA will be covered separately, as part 

of the ATMP process. 

After due consideration of the 

comments received, the FAA issues the 

following final opinion on the 

transferability of IOA. 

Opinion: Congress required ATMPs to 

be established over units of the national 

park system and abutting tribal lands to 

ensure that the agencies analyze the 

environmental impact of commercial air 

tours upon such land and ‘‘develop 

acceptable and effective measures to 

mitigate or prevent the significant 

adverse impacts, if any, of commercial 

air tour operations upon the natural and 

cultural resources, visitor experiences 

and tribal lands’’ (49 U.S.C. 

40128(b)(1)(B); 14 CFR 136.9(a)). Under 

the Act, commercial air tours are not 

permitted until an ATMP is completed 

for the park, unless the operator is an 

existing air tour operator as defined in 

the Act and receives IOA, has received 

authority to operate under part 91 with 

a letter of agreement from the 

Administrator and the NPS 

superintendent for that national park 

unit (49 U.S.C. 40128(a)(3); 14 CFR 

136.7(g)), or has received authority to 

operate as a new entrant prior to the 

completion of the ATMP (49 U.S.C. 

40128(c)(3)(C); 14 CFR 136.11(c)). 

Congress set up the IOA process as a 

way of ensuring that those commercial 

air tour operators conducting 

commercial air tours over national parks 

at the time of Act’s enactment would 

not be put out of business while the 

FAA, in cooperation with NPS, 

analyzed the environmental impact of 

the air tours on the national park unit 

and developed an ATMP. The IOA then 

ends 180 days after the ATMP is 

adopted. 

IOA is granted to specific operators 

over specific parks. Those operators 

who conducted commercial air tour 

operations in the 12 months preceding 

enactment (April 5, 2000) over the 

particular units of the park system for 

which they are applying for authority 

qualify for IOA. Those operators receive 

an allocation equal to the number of 

operations they conducted in the 12 

month period preceding enactment, or 

an average, based on the three years 

preceding enactment. Thus, under the 

terms of the Act, only existing operators 

initially qualify for IOA. 

Additionally, a particular operator’s 

IOA may not exceed the number of 

allocations earned by that operator for a 

calendar year, unless it was increased 

pursuant to the Act’s provisions, which 

require concurrence between the FAA 

and NPS. The FAA and NPS may grant 

such increases under limited 

circumstances, and the allocations 

involved in the increase are not subject 

to sale. The FAA, in cooperation with 

NPS, may grant IOA to a new entrant air 

tour operator only if the FAA 

determines the authority is necessary to 

ensure competition in the provision of 

commercial air tour operations over the 

park or tribal lands. 

Given the specificity of the IOA 

authority and the limitations placed on 

that authority, FAA has concluded that 

Congress did not intend for the 

operators to possess it as a valuable 

right to be bought and sold. IOA was 

designed as a temporary solution to 

allow operators already conducting air 

tours at the time of the enactment of the 

Act to continue to operate pending 

completion of the ATMP, or new 

entrants to begin operation to ensure 

competition. If FAA were to conclude 

that IOA can be transferred, then 

operators could grow an existing 

business by adding IOA allocations to 

their current allotment from other 

operators and new entrants could obtain 

IOA allocations and start operations 

without FAA and/or NPS approval. 

Such an interpretation would be 

inconsistent with the overall structure 

of the Act. 

In consideration of the foregoing, it is 

the opinion of the FAA that IOA is not 

transferable. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 7, 

2007. 

James W. Whitlow, 

Deputy Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 07–625 Filed 2–12–07: 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2007–26977] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Notice of Request for 

Extension of Currently Approved 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Request for Extension 

of Currently Approved Information 

Collection. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES