27060 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 107 / Friday, June 5, 2009 / Notices 

1Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at Newark 

Liberty International Airport, 73 FR 29,550 (May 21, 

2008). 

2The FAA is separately accepting comments on 

a proposal to extend the January 15, 2008 order 

limiting scheduled operations at John F. Kennedy 

Liberty International Airport (JFK). The public may 

file or review documents related to the JFK order 

in Docket FAA–2007–29320. 

for the District of Columbia Circuit prior 

to the rule’s December 9, 2008 effective 

date. The FAA is currently soliciting 

comments on a proposal to rescind the 

final rule. 74 FR 22714 (May 14, 2009). 

As a result of the FAA’s reconsideration 

of the rule, the court is holding in 

abeyance the briefing schedule in the 

rule’s associated litigation. 

In light of the events that have 

transpired since the January 2008 order 

took effect, it is now unlikely that the 

FAA will have an effective final rule on 

the January 2008 order’s original 

expiration date. In the absence of the 

FAA’s extension of the order, the FAA 

anticipates a return of the congestionrelated delays that precipitated the 

voluntary schedule reductions and 

adjustments reflected in the January 

2008 order. The hourly capacity at JFK 

has not increased significantly since the 

order took effect last spring. Because the 

demand for operations at New York-area 

airports remains high, the FAA has 

determined that an extension of the 

January 2008 order appears to be 

appropriate while the FAA identifies 

the appropriate long-term solution to 

congestion at JFK. 

Order to Show Cause: To prevent a 

recurrence of overscheduling at JFK 

during the interim between the 

expiration of the January 2008 order on 

October 24, 2009, and the effective date 

of a replacement rule, the FAA 

tentatively intends to extend the January 

2008 order. The limit on scheduled 

operations that is embodied in the order 

reflects the FAA’s agreements with U.S. 

and foreign air carriers. As a result, 

maintaining the order for an additional, 

finite period constitutes a reasonable 

approach to preventing unacceptable 

congestion and delays at JFK until a 

long-term measure is implemented. The 

January 2008 order, as extended, would 

expire on October 30, 2010. 

Accordingly, the FAA directs all 

interested persons to show cause why 

the FAA should not make final its 

tentative findings and tentative decision 

to extend the January 2008 order 

through October 30, 2010, by filing their 

written views in Docket FAA–2007– 

29320. The FAA does not intend this 

request for the views of interested 

persons to address any issues related to 

the existing final rule or any future 

congestion management rule. Therefore, 

any submission to the current docket 

should be limited to the proposed 

extension of the January 2008 order. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 

2009. 

Rebecca MacPherson, 

Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations. 

[FR Doc. E9–13192 Filed 6–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0221] 

Operating Limitations at Newark 

Liberty International Airport 

ACTION: Notice of order to show cause 

and request for information. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing an order 

to show cause, which solicits the views 

of interested persons on the FAA’s 

tentative determination to extend 

through October 30, 2010, the May 15, 

2008 order limiting the number of 

scheduled aircraft arrivals at Newark 

Liberty International Airport during 

peak operating hours. The text of the 

order to show cause is set forth in this 

notice. 

DATES: Any written information that 

responds to the FAA’s order to show 

cause must be submitted by June 19, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

information, identified by docket 

number FAA–2008–0221, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://regulations.gov and follow the 

online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments by mail to 

Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, M–30, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. Persons 

wishing to receive confirmation of 

receipt of their written submission 

should include a self-addressed 

stamped postcard. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver comments to 

Docket Operations in Room W12–140 

on the ground floor of the West Building 

at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• Facsimile: Fax comments to the 

docket operations personnel at 202– 

493–2251. 

Privacy: We will post all comments 

that we receive, without change, at 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information that you 

provide. Using the search function of 

the docket website, anyone can find and 

read the electronic form of all comments 

in any of our dockets, including the 

name of the individual sending the 

comment or signing the comment on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, or other entity or organization. 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register at 65 FR 19477–78 (April 11, 

2000), or you may find it at http:// 

docketsinfo.dot.gov. 

Reviewing the Docket: To read 

background documents or comments 

received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time and 

follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket; or go to Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 on the 

ground floor of the West Building at 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 

Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; 

telephone—(202) 267–8323; e-mail— 

james.tegtmeier@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Order To Show Cause 

The Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA) has tentatively determined that it 

will extend through October 30, 2010, 

the FAA’s May 15, 2008 order limiting 

scheduled operations at Newark Liberty 

International Airport (EWR) (May 2008 

order).1 This order to show cause invites 

air carriers and other interested persons 

to submit comments in Docket FAA– 

2008–0221 on this proposal to extend 

the duration of the May 2008 order.2

The May 2008 order followed a period 

of elevated, congestion-related delays at 

the New York area’s three commercial 

airports, culminating in the FAA’s 

issuance of an order limiting scheduled 

operations at JFK in January 2008. To 

prevent new flights from moving to 

EWR, which was already prone to 

delays and scheduled near or above its 

average hourly runway capacity during 

many peak hours, the FAA engaged the 

U.S. and foreign air carriers serving 

EWR to reduce the number of scheduled 

operations during peak hours and to 

move operations to less congested 

hours. The May 2008 order captured the 

agreed upon schedules and limited the 

number of scheduled operations 

conducted by U.S. and foreign air 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 107 / Friday, June 5, 2009 / Notices 27061 

carriers at EWR during peak operating 

hours. The order took effect June 20, 

2008, and in the absence of an 

extension, it will expire on October 24, 

2009. 

The FAA established the order’s 

October 2009 expiration date to permit 

time to promulgate a final rule that 

would control congestion at EWR, and 

the FAA adopted a final rule to manage 

congestion at EWR that would have 

continued operational limits at the 

airport beyond October 2009. 73 FR 

60544 (Oct. 10, 2008). However, the rule 

was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the District of Columbia Circuit prior 

to the rule’s December 9, 2008 effective 

date. The FAA is currently soliciting 

comments on a proposal to rescind the 

final rule. 74 FR 22714 (May 14, 2009). 

As a result of the FAA’s reconsideration 

of the rule, the court is holding in 

abeyance the briefing schedule in the 

rule’s associated litigation. 

In light of the events that have 

transpired since the May 2008 order 

took effect, it is now unlikely that the 

FAA will have an effective final rule on 

the May 2008 order’s original expiration 

date. In the absence of the FAA’s 

extension of the order, the FAA 

anticipates a return of the congestionrelated delays that precipitated the 

voluntary schedule reductions and 

adjustments reflected in the May 2008 

order. The hourly capacity at EWR has 

not increased significantly since the 

order took effect late last spring. 

Because the demand for operations at 

New York-area airports remains high, 

the FAA has determined that an 

extension of the May 2008 order appears 

to be appropriate while the FAA 

identifies the appropriate long-term 

solution to congestion at EWR. 

Order To Show Cause: 

To prevent a recurrence of 

overscheduling at EWR during the 

interim between the expiration of the 

May 2008 order on October 24, 2009, 

and the effective date of a rule, the FAA 

tentatively intends to extend the May 

2008 order. The limit on scheduled 

operations that is embodied in the order 

reflects the FAA’s agreements with U.S. 

and foreign air carriers. As a result, 

maintaining the order for an additional, 

finite period constitutes a reasonable 

approach to preventing unacceptable 

congestion and delays at EWR until a 

longer term measure is implemented. 

The May 2008 order, as extended, 

would expire on October 30, 2010. 

Accordingly, the FAA directs all 

interested persons to show cause why 

the FAA should not make final its 

tentative findings and tentative decision 

to extend the May 2008 order through 

October 30, 2010, by filing their written 

views in Docket FAA–2008–0221. The 

FAA does not intend this request for the 

views of interested persons to address 

any issues related to the existing final 

rule or any future congestion 

management rule. Therefore, any 

submission to the current docket should 

be limited to the proposed extension of 

the May 2008 order. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 

2009. 

Rebecca MacPherson, 

Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations. 

[FR Doc. E9–13190 Filed 6–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

notice is hereby given that the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) received 

a request for a waiver of compliance 

from certain requirements of its safety 

standards. The individual petition is 

described below, including the party 

seeking relief, the regulatory provisions 

involved, the nature of the relief being 

requested, and the petitioner’s 

arguments in favor of relief. 

BNSF Railway 

[Docket Number FRA–2008–0032] 

The BNSF Railway (BNSF) seeks a 

waiver of compliance from certain 

provisions of 49 CFR Part 232, Brake 

System Safety Standards for Freight and 

Other Non-Passenger Trains and 

Equipment. Specifically, they are 

requesting a waiver from the 

requirements for performing the single 

car air brake test as prescribed in 49 

CFR 232.305(b)(2), ‘‘A railroad shall 

perform a single car air brake test on a 

car when * * * a car is on a shop or 

repair track, as defined in 232.303(a), for 

any reason and has not received a single 

car air brake test within the previous 12- 

month period.’’ 

BNSF requests that the single car air 

brake tests be waived for the 

replacement of wheels, as this would 

allow for the efficient systemwide 

removal and replacement of damaged 

wheels to include high-impact wheels. 

BNSF would like to perform these 

repairs in-train on cars in yards across 

their system without having to perform 

a single car air brake test on such cars. 

BNSF contends this practice would be 

consistent with the regulatory exception 

provided in 49 CFR 232.303(a)(2), 

which states that wheel change-outs on 

intermodal loading ramps are not 

defined as ‘‘major repairs,’’ and 

therefore excepts such intermodal 

ramps from the definition of a shop or 

repair track, which excepts such wheel 

change-outs from single car air brake 

tests. 

BNSF further contends that the 

removal and replacement of wheels 

does not affect the brake system and 

believes that subjecting these cars to 

single car air brake requirements is 

unnecessary. BNSF states that by 

granting this request, they will be able 

to process more wheel change-outs, 

thereby increasing the ability to make 

these safety improvements. BNSF does 

not believe that granting this waiver will 

have an adverse effect on the safety of 

railroad operations. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–2008– 

0032) and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Communications received within 45 

days of the date of this notice will be 

considered by FRA before final action is 

taken. Comments received after that 

date will be considered as far as 

practicable. All written communications 

concerning these proceedings are 

available for examination during regular 

business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the 

above facility. All documents in the 

public docket are also available for 

inspection and copying on the Internet 

at the docket facility’s Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 


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