[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 179 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53114-53115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21204]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Part 382

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2008-0272 and DOT-OST-2008-0273]


 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary.

ACTION: Notice of availability of electronic submission.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation is publishing the following 
document regarding the provisions on conflict of laws and equivalent 
alternative determinations contained in the Office of the Secretary 
(OST) final rule on ``Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in 
Air Travel'' (73 FR 27614; May 13, 2008). The document announces the 
availability of electronic submissions for conflict of law waiver 
requests and applications for equivalent alternative determinations 
through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS). It also provides 
guidance to U.S. and foreign air carriers on how to submit such 
requests and applications through FDMS.

DATES: This document is effective on September 15, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Blane A. Workie, Chief, Aviation Civil 
Rights Compliance Branch, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W98-310, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 
366-9342.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 13, 2008, the Department of 
Transportation published a final rule amending its Air Carrier Access 
Act (ACAA) rules to apply to foreign air carriers and adding new 
provisions concerning passengers who use medical oxygen and passengers 
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The rule, which applies to U.S. 
carriers wherever their operations take place and foreign air carriers 
with respect to their flights that begin or end at a U.S. airport, 
allows carriers to apply to the Department of Transportation (DOT or 
Department) for a waiver from the requirements in the rule if a foreign 
legal requirement conflicts with a given provision of this rule. A 
carrier that submits a conflict of law waiver request on or before 
September 10, 2008, obtains a commitment from DOT not to take 
enforcement action related to the allegedly conflicting foreign law 
pending DOT's response to the waiver request.
    The rule also permits U.S. and foreign carriers to apply to the 
Department for a determination on what the final rule calls an 
``equivalent alternative.'' A carrier that submits an application for 
an equivalent alternative determination on or before September 10, 
2008, can implement its proposed equivalent alternative unless and 
until the Department disapproves it. However, a carrier that submits 
such an application after September 10, 2008, cannot use its proposed 
equivalent alternative unless and until the Department approves it.
    The rule specifies that carriers must send conflict of law waiver 
requests or applications for equivalent alternative determinations to 
the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings. 
It provides the following address for paper submissions of such 
requests/applications: Assistant General Counsel for Aviation 
Enforcement and Proceedings, C-70, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W96-322, Washington, DC 20590. It 
does not provide a mechanism for submitting the information 
electronically. The purpose of this notice is to inform airlines that 
they have the option of electronically submitting a conflict of law 
waiver request or an application for an equivalent alternative 
determination through FDMS as a substitute for paper submission. The 
Department believes that allowing carriers to submit the requested 
information through FDMS will make the process more efficient for 
carriers and will best ensure the timely receipt by the Office of the 
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 
(Aviation Enforcement Office) of the waiver requests and applications 
for equivalent alternative determinations. It should be noted that the 
filing of waiver requests or applications by mail is still permitted 
but this notice provides another mechanism for submitting such 
requests/applications.

Manner of Submitting a Conflict of Law Waiver Request and an 
Application for Equivalent Alternative Determination

Has a Public Docket Been Established?

    DOT has established an official public docket for conflict of law 
waiver requests under docket identification (ID) number DOT-OST-2008-
0272 and for applications for equivalent alternative determinations 
under docket identification ID DOT-OST-2008-0273. The official public 
docket will consist of the waiver requests or applications and other 
information related to those actions (e.g., approval or denial of 
requests/applications). Although a part of the official docket, the 
public docket is not intended to include Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials 
that is available for public viewing.

How Do I Submit a Conflict of Law Waiver Request or an Application for 
Equivalent Alternative Determination Through the Electronic Public 
Docket in FDMS?

    You may submit requests/applications electronically through FDMS by 
taking the following steps:
    a. Go directly to www.regulations.gov <http://www.regulations.gov/
<ls-thn-eq> and use the SEARCH DOCUMENTS field to input your docket 
number. Click the GO >> command to see your search results.
    b. Click on the ``Send a Comment or Submission'' link (the yellow 
speech bubble should be available) after insuring that you have the 
correct docket. This can be verified by checking the DOCKET ID 
information.
    c. You will now be sent to the PUBLIC COMMENT AND SUBMISSION FORM; 
here you will fill out submitter information, as well as attach any 
documents you wish to upload (note: you can have multiple submissions 
attached, the size limit is 10 megabytes). The only required field on 
this form is the GENERAL COMMENTS BOX. If uploading attachments you 
would first click ``browse'' to find the file you wish to attach, then 
click ``add attachment'' to attach the file to your comment.
    d. After uploading any attachments and filling in the form, you 
will click the ``NEXT STEP'' button to go to the REVIEW COMMENT page; 
here you can double check the information you provided and verify that 
everything is correct before going to the final step.
    e. Once you have clicked the SUBMIT button, you will be taken to 
the COMMENT SUBMITTED page, and given a receipt with a COMMENT TRACKING 
NUMBER. You will want to

[[Page 53115]]

write this down or print the page for your records. This information 
can be used to track your submission.

To ensure proper receipt by the Department, identify the appropriate 
docket ID number in the subject line on the first page of your request 
or application.

How Should I Submit Confidential Business Information (CBI) to the 
Agency?

    You should not submit information that you consider to be CBI 
through the electronic public docket in FDMS. If you wish to take 
advantage of the opportunity to electronically submit a conflict of law 
waiver request or an application for an equivalent alternative 
determination but a portion of your request or application contains 
CBI, then you should send by mail to the Aviation Enforcement Office 
the original document containing CBI and submit a second copy of the 
original document with the CBI redacted in FDMS. The date that you 
submit the document to FDMS will be considered the receipt date.
    The original document that you mail to the Aviation Enforcement 
Office should clearly indicate which material you believe contains 
confidential information. You can do this by marking ``confidential'' 
on each page of the original document that you would like to keep 
confidential and highlighting or underlining the CBI. You will also 
need to explain why the information is confidential (as a trade secret, 
other confidential commercial information, or sensitive security 
information (SSI)). In your explanation, you should provide enough 
information to enable the Department to determine whether the 
information provided is protected by law and must be handled 
separately. Information not marked as CBI will be included in FDMS 
without prior notice. Also, if you do not provide an explanation of why 
the information is confidential you risk the Department including it in 
the public docket. The Department will also place in the public docket 
those portions of submissions that a carrier may have redacted but that 
the agency determines are not trade secrets, other confidential 
commercial information, or SSI. DOT's policy is that waiver requests or 
applications for equivalent alternative determinations will be made 
available for public viewing in DOT's electronic public docket (i.e., 
FDMS) as DOT receives them and without change, unless the request or 
application contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

    Dated: September 8, 2008.
Samuel Podberesky,
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, 
U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. E8-21204 Filed 9-12-08; 8:45 am]
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