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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

50889 

Vol. 73, No. 169 

Friday, August 29, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Part 309 

[Docket No. FSIS–2008–0022] 

RIN 0583–AD35 

Requirements for the Disposition of 

Cattle That Become Non-Ambulatory 

Disabled Following Ante-Mortem 

Inspection 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: On May 20, 2008, the 

Secretary of Agriculture announced that 

the Food Safety and Inspection Service 

(FSIS) would begin working on a 

proposed rule to prohibit the slaughter 

of all non-ambulatory disabled cattle, 

without exception. As announced by the 

Secretary, FSIS is proposing to amend 

the Federal meat inspection regulations 

to remove the provision that states that 

FSIS inspection personnel will 

determine the disposition of cattle that 

become non-ambulatory disabled after 

they have passed ante-mortem 

inspection on a case-by-case basis. This 

proposed rule will require that all cattle 

that are non-ambulatory disabled at the 

time they are presented for ante-mortem 

inspection at an official establishment, 

and all those that become nonambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection, be condemned and 

properly disposed of. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

September 29, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

proposed rule. Comments may be 

submitted by either of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

Web site provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this Web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. 

FSIS prefers to receive comments 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. 

Go to http://www.regulations.gov and, 

in the ‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’ 

box, select ‘‘Food Safety and Inspection 

Service’’ and ‘‘Proposed Rules’’ from the 

agency drop-down menu and then click 

on ‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select the FDMS Docket Number to 

submit or view public comments and to 

view supporting and related materials 

available electronically. After the close 

of the comment period, the docket can 

be viewed using the ‘‘Advanced Search’’ 

function in Regulations.gov. 

• Mail, including floppy disks or CD– 

ROM’s, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, Room 2534 

South Agriculture Building, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250. All submissions 

received by mail or electronic mail must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number FSIS–2008–0022. Documents 

referred to in this proposal, and all 

comments submitted in response to this 

notice will be available for public 

inspection in the FSIS Docket room at 

the address listed above between 8:30 

a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday. Comments will also be posted 

on the Agency’s Web site at: http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/. 

Individuals who do not wish FSIS to 

post their personal contact 

information—mailing address, e-mail, 

telephone number—on the Internet may 

leave this information off their 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Daniel Engeljohn, Deputy Assistant 

Administrator, Office of Policy and 

Program Development, FSIS, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–3700, (202) 205– 

0495. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On July 13, 2007, FSIS published the 

final rule, ‘‘Prohibition of the Use of 

Specified Risk Materials for Human 

Food and Requirements for the 

Disposition of Non-Ambulatory 

Disabled Cattle; Prohibition of the Use 

of Certain Stunning Devices Used To 

Immobilize Cattle During Slaughter’’ (72 

FR 38700). Hereafter in this preamble, 

that rule will be referred to as the 

Specified Risk Material (SRM) final rule. 

The SRM final rule affirmed, with 

certain amendments, interim regulations 

implemented by FSIS in 2004 to prevent 

potential human exposure to the bovine 

spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent 

(see ‘‘Prohibition of the Use of Specified 

Risk Materials for Human Food and 

Requirements for the Disposition of 

Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle’’ (69 

FR 1862, January 12, 2004)). One of the 

interim measures that the SRM final 

rule affirmed was the prohibition of the 

slaughter of non-ambulatory disabled 

cattle offered for slaughter for human 

food (9 CFR 309.3(e)). 

Consistent with the interim final rule, 

the SRM final rule requires that nonambulatory disabled cattle be 

condemned on ante-mortem inspection 

because these animals present a 

sufficient risk of introducing the BSE 

agent into the human food supply to 

render their carcasses ‘‘unfit for human 

food’’ under section 1(m)(3) of the 

Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 

U.S.C. 601(m)(3)) (72 FR 38700). In the 

preamble to the SRM final rule, FSIS 

also acknowledged that requiring the 

condemnation of non-ambulatory 

disabled cattle that are offered for 

slaughter may be necessary to ensure 

that these animals are humanely 

handled in connection with slaughter as 

required under the Humane Methods of 

Slaughter Act (HMSA) of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 

1901 et seq.) (72 FR 38721). 

In addition to affirming the 

requirement that non-ambulatory 

disabled cattle be condemned on antemortem inspection, the SRM final rule 

amended 9 CFR 309.3(e) to provide that 

FSIS personnel would determine, on a 

case-by-case basis, the disposition of 

cattle that become non-ambulatory 

disabled after they have passed antemortem inspection. The Agency made 

this revision to codify existing practices 

formerly described in FSIS Notice 5–04 

(‘‘Interim Guidance for Non-Ambulatory 

Disabled Cattle and Age 

Determination’’) and FSIS Notice 05–06 

(‘‘Re-examination of Bovine that become 

Non-Ambulatory After Passing Antemortem Inspection’’). These notices 

instructed FSIS public health 

veterinarians (PHVs) on the actions they 

were to take when cattle became nonambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection. 

Under the current regulations, 

slaughter establishments are expected to 

notify inspection personnel when cattle 

that have passed ante-mortem 


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50890 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

inspection subsequently become nonambulatory disabled before slaughter. If 

an FSIS PHV can verify that the animal 

became non-ambulatory disabled 

because it suffered an acute injury, such 

as a broken appendage or a severed 

tendon or ligament, it is tagged as ‘‘U.S. 

Suspect’’ (and is not tagged as ‘‘U.S. 

Condemned’’) and is eligible to proceed 

to slaughter (9 CFR 309.2). To ensure 

that non-ambulatory disabled cattle are 

humanely handled, the regulations 

require that establishment personnel 

move the animals to slaughter on 

equipment suitable for such purposes, 

or that establishment personnel stun the 

animals (9 CFR 313.2(d)). FSIS 

inspection personnel track ‘‘U.S. 

Suspect’’ cattle through the slaughter 

process for post-mortem (after slaughter) 

evaluation and reinspection (see FSIS 

Directive 6100.1, Ante-Mortem 

Livestock Inspection). If the PHV cannot 

determine whether the animal became 

non-ambulatory disabled from a specific 

injury, the animal is tagged as ‘‘U.S. 

Condemned’’ and is disposed of as 

provided in 9 CFR 309.13. 

All provisions in the SRM final rule, 

including the prohibition on the 

slaughter of non-ambulatory disabled 

cattle, apply to official establishments 

and custom slaughter operations. As 

discussed in the preamble to the SRM 

final rule, although custom slaughter 

operations are exempt from inspection 

under section 23(a) of the Federal Meat 

Inspection Act, the meat and meat food 

products prepared in custom operations 

are still subject to the FMIA’s 

adulteration and misbranding 

provisions (21 U.S.C. 623). Thus, 

custom operators are prohibited from 

slaughtering and preparing products 

from non-ambulatory disabled cattle 

because the carcasses of these animals 

are considered unfit for human food (72 

FR 38704). In the preamble to the SRM 

final rule, FSIS noted that FSIS 

inspectors are not available to determine 

the disposition of cattle that become 

non-ambulatory disabled in a custom 

operation. Therefore, as explained in the 

SRM final rule preamble, if an animal 

becomes non-ambulatory disabled from 

an acute injury after its owner has 

delivered it to a custom operation for 

slaughter, the custom operator may 

slaughter the animal for human food if 

both the operator and the owner of the 

animal did not observe any other 

clinical abnormalities that could be 

consistent with BSE before the animal 

sustained the acute injury (72 FR 

38704). 

Recent Events—Non-Ambulatory 

Disabled Cattle 

The SRM final rule allowed a case-bycase reinspection of cattle to address the 

rare situations where an animal that is 

deemed by FSIS as fit for human food 

at ante-mortem inspection subsequently 

suffers an acute injury. However, a 

recent significant event highlighted a 

vulnerability in the inspection system 

that needs to be addressed. This event 

indicated that the case-by-case 

disposition provision in 9 CFR 309.3(e) 

does not always ensure the proper 

disposition of cattle that become nonambulatory disabled after ante-mortem 

inspection. Establishments may present 

weakened cattle for slaughter in the 

hope that such cattle will remain 

ambulatory long enough to enter the 

slaughter operation. 

Although establishments must notify 

FSIS inspection program personnel 

when cattle become acutely injured after 

ante-mortem inspection so that FSIS 

inspection personnel can determine the 

disposition of the cattle, FSIS became 

aware of an incident in which 

inspection personnel were not notified. 

On January 30, 2008, FSIS received 

allegations regarding the inhumane 

handling of non-ambulatory disabled 

cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Meat 

Packing Company. An investigation into 

the allegations found evidence that the 

establishment did not consistently 

notify FSIS inspection personnel when 

cattle became non-ambulatory disabled 

after initial ante-mortem inspection. 

Instead of notifying FSIS inspectors, the 

establishment attempted to force 

animals that had gone down after 

passing ante-mortem inspection to rise 

by using electric prods and water 

sprays. Under the FMIA (21 U.S.C. 

603(b)), any cattle that are slaughtered 

must be handled in accordance with the 

Humane Methods of Slaughter Act 

(HMSA) (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.). Under 

the meat inspection regulations, 

establishments are required to handle 

cattle to minimize excitement, 

discomfort, or injury (9 CFR 313.2). 

FSIS found that the establishment had 

treated the cattle inhumanely. 

Also, following the Hallmark/ 

Westland incident, on March 10, 2008, 

FSIS issued new instructions to 

inspection personnel concerning 

humane handling activities. FSIS Notice 

16–08 instructs inspection personnel to 

vary from day-to-day the times during 

their tour of duty that they verify that 

animals are being handled and treated 

humanely. The notice also instructs 

inspection personnel to encourage 

establishments to develop and 

implement a systematic approach for 

the humane handling of animals. 

On April 22, 2008, FSIS received a 

petition submitted jointly by three meat 

and dairy industry associations 

requesting that the Agency amend its 

regulations to prohibit the case-by-case 

determination of the status of nonambulatory disabled cattle that have 

passed ante-mortem inspection. 

According to the petition, consumer 

confidence in the U.S. beef supply has 

been damaged because the re-inspection 

of cattle did not occur as required under 

the current regulations. The petition 

asserts that the requested amendment is 

needed to bolster public confidence in 

the U.S. beef supply. FSIS has also 

received letters supporting this change 

to the regulations from an animal 

welfare organization and members of 

Congress. 

However, FSIS also received five 

letters, from State meat processors 

associations and a national meat 

processors association, opposing the 

petition. These letters request that the 

current regulations remain unchanged. 

The letters state that it is important to 

have the option for re-inspection of 

cattle that become non-ambulatory 

disabled after they have passed antemortem inspection to address situations 

where accidents may occur or animals 

may become exhausted during the stress 

of travel. 

Proposed Amendment to 9 CFR 309.3(e) 

FSIS is proposing to remove the 

provision in 9 CFR 309.3(e) that allows 

FSIS inspection personnel to determine 

the disposition of cattle that become 

non-ambulatory disabled after they have 

passed ante-mortem inspection on a 

case-by-case basis. If FSIS finalizes this 

proposed rule, cattle that become nonambulatory disabled from an acute 

injury after ante-mortem inspection will 

no longer be eligible to proceed to 

slaughter as ‘‘U.S. Suspects.’’ Instead, 

FSIS inspectors will tag these cattle as 

‘‘U.S. condemned’’ and prohibit these 

animals from proceeding to slaughter. 

If this proposal is adopted as a final 

rule, all non-ambulatory disabled cattle 

would be considered unfit for human 

food and thus adulterated. Moreover, 

cattle that become non-ambulatory 

disabled cattle after ante-mortem 

inspection will always be condemned. 

The case-by-case disposition 

determinations of non-ambulatory 

disabled cattle by inspection program 

personnel will be discontinued, 

increasing the time inspection program 

personnel can focus on other inspection 

activities. Because all non-ambulatory 

disabled cattle would be considered 

adulterated, FSIS would expect custom 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Proposed Rules 50891 

1FSIS Animal Disposition Reporting System 

(ADRS) database, 2007. Number does not include 

veal calves or other calves. 

2To estimate the number of such cattle, FSIS 

conducted two surveys on the number of cattle that 

became non-ambulatory after ante-mortem 

inspection then pased the re-inspection in July 

through December 2007. One survey focused on 

establishments that slaughter predominantly cull 

cattle, and the other focused on ones that slaughter 

steers and heifers. FSIS extrapolated the 6-month 

data to annual figures. 

3The survey did not include custom exempt 

slaughter. To estimate the number of nonambulatory disabled cattle in custom exempt 

slaughter that would likely be affected by this 

proposed rule, we applied the percentage of such 

cattle (0.004%) to the total number of customexempt slaughter cattle, which is 192,000 annually 

(data from National Agricultural Statistical Service, 

USDA and Association of Food and Drug Officials.) 

The result is about eight cattle per year at all custom 

slaughter facilities. Since the number is very small, 

including custom-exempt slaughter is expected to 

minimally change the analysis. 

4See Economic Analysis: Final Regulatory Impact 

Analysis Final Rule, Prohibition of the Use of 

Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and 

Requirements for the Disposition of NonAmbulatory Disabled Cattle Offered for Slaughter, 

and Prohibition of the Use of Certain Stunning 

Devices Used to Immobilize Cattle during Slaughter 

(FSIS Docket No. 03–025F), FSIS/USDA, June 28, 

2007. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

Regulations_&_Policies/ 

2007_Interim_&_Final_Rules_Index/index.asp. 

5The value is measured by dressed carcass 

equivalent, ibid, pp.161–169. 

operators not to slaughter cattle that 

become non-ambulatory disabled after 

they are delivered to the custom 

operation. 

In addition to proposing that all nonambulatory disabled cattle be 

condemned, FSIS is also proposing to 

require in 9 CFR 309.3(e) that 

establishments notify FSIS inspection 

personnel when cattle become nonambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection. The Agency is doing 

so to make clear that establishments 

have an affirmative obligation to make 

FSIS personnel aware when an animal 

goes down. This regulatory requirement 

should preclude establishments from 

attempting to force such animals to rise. 

FSIS is proposing this rule under 21 

U.S.C. 621, which gives FSIS the 

authority to adopt regulations for the 

efficient administration of the FMIA. 

The amendment in this proposal would 

better ensure effective implementation 

of ante-mortem inspection pursuant to 

21 U.S.C. 603(a) and of humane 

handling requirements established 

pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 603(b). 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under the Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. Under this proposed 

rule: (1) All State and local laws and 

regulations that are inconsistent with 

this rule will be preempted; (2) no 

retroactive effect will be given to this 

rule; and (3) no retroactive proceedings 

will be required before parties may file 

suit in court challenging this rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This rule was reviewed by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 and was 

determined to be significant. 

This proposed rule will require that 

all cattle that are non-ambulatory 

disabled at any time prior to slaughter, 

including those that become nonambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection, be condemned and 

properly disposed of. This rule is 

necessary to better ensure effective 

implementation of ante-mortem 

inspection pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 603(a) 

and of humane handling requirements 

established pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 

603(b). 

Cost of the Proposed Action 

Under this proposed rule, the beef 

industry will lose the market value of 

the non-ambulatory disabled cattle that 

the establishments could have 

slaughtered and harvested for human 

food after the cattle passed the reinspection. Based on the Agency’s 2007 

survey data, out of the approximately 

33.7 million cattle slaughtered in 2007,1

FSIS estimates that about 1,300 cattle—

about 600 cull cattle (i.e., mostly cows 

and bulls) and 700 steers and heifers—

were in this category.2 The August 2008 

data from the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) indicate that the market 

value for a cull cattle carcass and parts 

is between $500 and $1,000, and the 

market value for a steer or heifer carcass 

and parts is between $900 and $1,100. 

Therefore, the estimated total market 

value of the carcasses and parts from 

cattle that would be condemned under 

this proposed rule would be in the range 

of $930,000 to $1,370,000 per year 3.

This estimate is conservative in that it 

does not take into account the salvage 

value less the cost for handling and 

disposal of the condemned carcasses. 

Although the above discussion 

focuses on costs to the beef industry, the 

industry eventually will pass at least 

some part of the additional cost to 

consumers through higher prices or 

reduced production. This is an indirect 

cost to the consumers and is difficult to 

estimate ex-ante without data. 

This rule is expected to have an 

insignificant impact on U.S. trading 

partners, because the number of animals 

affected is extremely small, particularly 

given the existing ban on nonambulatory disabled cattle and the 

overall quantity of animals involved in 

the U.S. beef trade. 

Benefits of the Proposed Rule 

If adopted as a final rule, the 

proposed amendment would ensure 

effective implementation of antemortem inspection. This action will 

provide additional efficiencies to food 

safety inspection by removing the step 

that requires the inspection workforce to 

determine whether cattle can be tagged 

as ‘‘U.S. Suspect’’ if those cattle become 

non-ambulatory disabled after passing 

ante-mortem inspection. Countries 

exporting beef to the U.S. would realize 

the same efficiencies in their inspection 

programs dedicated to the inspection of 

beef destined for the U.S. The Agency 

believes that the total benefits 

(quantifiable and unquantifiable) of this 

proposed rule exceed the cost. 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

The FSIS Administrator has made an 

initial determination that this proposed 

rule will not have a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities, as defined by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601). In the 

Final Regulatory Impact Analysis of 

SRM final rule 4, the Agency estimated 

that the rule would possibly affect 3,340 

small and very small beef slaughter 

establishments. This includes 680 

federal inspected establishments, 1,346 

state inspection establishments, and 

1,314 custom exempt facilities. This 

proposed rule could potentially affect 

all these establishments because they 

may have cattle that become nonambulatory disabled after ante-mortem 

inspection. 

The estimated total annual cost of this 

proposed rule of $930,000 to $1,370,000 

is for the entire beef industry. The 

Agency estimates that small and very 

small establishments slaughter about 

95% to 98% of the 1,300 downers 

estimated from the survey. Therefore, 

the estimated annual cost to the small 

and very small establishments would be 

about $883,500 to $1,342,600, which is 

insignificant compared to the value of 

their annual production of about $8.4 

billion.5

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act and 

imposes no new paperwork or recordkeeping requirements. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, in an effort to 

ensure that minorities, women, and 

persons with disabilities are aware of 


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50892 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

this proposed rule, FSIS will announce 

it online through the FSIS Web page 

located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

Regulations_&_Policies/2008_Proposed 

_Rules_Index/index.asp. FSIS will also 

make copies of this Federal Register 

publication available through the FSIS 

Constituent Update, which is used to 

provide information regarding FSIS 

policies, procedures, regulations, 

Federal Register notices, FSIS public 

meetings, and other types of information 

that could affect or would be of interest 

to constituents and stakeholders. The 

Update is communicated via Listserv, a 

free electronic mail subscription service 

for industry, trade groups, consumer 

interest groups, health professionals, 

and other individuals who have asked 

to be included. The Update is also 

available on the FSIS Web page. 

Through the Listserv and Web page, 

FSIS is able to provide information to a 

much broader and more diverse 

audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email subscription service which 

provides automatic and customized 

access to selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_

events/email_subscription/. Options 

range from recalls to export information 

to regulations, directives and notices. 

Customers can add or delete 

subscriptions themselves, and have the 

option to password protect their 

accounts. 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 309 

Ante-Mortem Inspection. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, FSIS is proposing to amend 9 

CFR Chapter III as follows: 

PART 309—ANTE-MORTEM 

INSPECTION 

1. The authority citation for part 309 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 601–695; 7 CFR 2.18, 

2.53. 

2. Section 309.3(e) is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 309.3 Dead, dying, disabled, or diseased 

and similar livestock. 

* * * * * 

(e) Establishment personnel must 

notify FSIS inspection personnel when 

cattle become non-ambulatory disabled 

after passing ante-mortem inspection. 

Non-ambulatory disabled cattle that are 

offered for slaughter must be 

condemned and disposed of in 

accordance with § 309.13. 

* * * * * 

Done at Washington, DC, on August 25, 

2008. 

Alfred Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–20159 Filed 8–28–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0750; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–NE–21–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Dowty 

Propellers R175/4–30; R184/4–30–4; 

R193/4–30–4; R.209/4–40–4.5; R212/4–

30–4; R.245/4–40–4.5; R251/4–30–4; 

R257/4–30–4; and R.259/4–40–4.5 

Model Propellers 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to 

supersede an existing airworthiness 

directive (AD) for all Dowty Rotol 

propellers. That AD currently requires, 

for all Dowty Rotol propellers, visual 

inspections for seizure and for cadmium 

plating of the blade pitch change 

operating links and eyebolt fork 

assemblies. That AD also requires 

replacement or heat-treatment of the 

blade pitch change operating links and 

eyebolt fork assemblies, if necessary. 

This proposed AD would require the 

same actions, but only for certain model 

Dowty Propellers. This proposed AD 

results from the FAA determining that 

AD 70–16–02 does not apply to all 

propellers, since current Dowty Rotol 

propellers are differently designed. We 

are proposing this AD supersedure to 

specify the affected propeller models, 

and to prevent seizure or embrittlement 

and cracking of the blade pitch change 

operating links and eyebolt fork 

assemblies, which could result in 

reduced controllability of the airplane. 

DATES: We must receive any comments 

on this proposed AD by October 28, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to comment on this proposed 

AD. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Contact Dowty Propellers, Anson 

Business Park, Cheltenham Road East, 

Gloucester GL 29QN, UK; telephone: 44 

(0) 1452 716000; fax: 44 (0) 1452 

716001, for the service information 

identified in this proposed AD. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terry Fahr, Aerospace Engineer, Boston 

Aircraft Certification Office, FAA, 

Engine and Propeller Directorate, 12 

New England Executive Park, 

Burlington, MA 01803; e-mail: 

terry.fahr@faa.gov; telephone (781) 238–

7155; fax (781) 238–7170. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposal. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–

2008–0750; Directorate Identifier 2008–

NE–21–AD’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of the proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of the Web 

site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including, if provided, the name of the 

individual who sent the comment (or 

signed the comment on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477–78). 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 


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