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

40077 

Vol. 82, No. 163 

Thursday, August 24, 2017 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Parts 1 and 2 

[Docket No. APHIS–2017–0062] 

RIN 0579–AE35 

Animal Welfare; Procedures for 

Applying for Licenses and Renewals 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are soliciting public 

comment on potential revisions to the 

licensing requirements under our 

Animal Welfare Act regulations to 

promote compliance with the Act, 

reduce licensing fees, and strengthen 

existing safeguards that prevent any 

individual whose license has been 

suspended or revoked, or who has a 

history of noncompliance, from 

obtaining a license or working with 

regulated animals. We are soliciting 

public comment on these topics to help 

us consider ways to reduce regulatory 

burden and more efficiently ensure the 

sustained compliance of licensees with 

the Act. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before October 23, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0062. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2017–0062, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0062 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading 

room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kay Carter-Corker, Director, National 

Policy Staff, Animal Care, APHIS, 

USDA, 4700 River Road Unit 84, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–3748. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Animal Welfare Act (AWA or the Act, 

7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.), the Secretary of 

Agriculture is authorized to promulgate 

standards and other requirements 

governing the humane handling, care, 

treatment, and transportation of certain 

animals by dealers, research facilities, 

exhibitors, operators of auction sales, 

and carriers and intermediate handlers. 

The Secretary has delegated 

responsibility for administering the 

AWA to the Administrator of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS). Within APHIS, the 

responsibility for administering the 

AWA has been delegated to the Deputy 

Administrator for Animal Care. 

Regulations and standards established 

under the AWA are contained in the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in 9 

CFR parts 1, 2, and 3 (referred to below 

as the regulations). Part 1 contains 

definitions for terms used in parts 2 and 

3. Part 2 provides administrative 

requirements and sets forth institutional 

responsibilities for regulated parties, 

including licensing requirements for 

dealers, operators of auction sales, and 

exhibitors. Dealers, exhibitors, and 

operators of auction sales are required to 

comply in all respects with the 

regulations and standards, pursuant to 9 

CFR 2.100(a). 

Under the current regulations, an 

applicant for an initial license is 

required to submit an application form, 

an application fee, and an annual 

license fee to APHIS-Animal Care (9 

CFR 2.1(c)), acknowledge receipt of a 

copy of the regulations and agree to 

comply with them by signing the 

application form (9 CFR 2.2(a)), and 

demonstrate compliance with the AWA 

regulations and standards before APHIS 

can issue a license (9 CFR 2.3(a)). Once 

a licensee receives a license, a licensee 

renews his or her license by submitting 

an annual renewal form and license fee 

(9 CFR 2.1(d)(1)). 

Although an applicant for renewal 

certifies, to the best of his or her 

knowledge and belief, that he or she is 

in compliance with all regulations and 

standards, the current regulations do not 

require the applicant to demonstrate 

compliance before APHIS renews his or 

her license. The current regulations also 

do not require a licensee to demonstrate 

compliance when the licensee makes 

any subsequent changes to his or her 

animals or facilities, including 

noteworthy changes in the number or 

type of animals used in regulated 

activity. 

In this advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking, we are soliciting public 

comment on potential revisions to the 

licensing requirements to better promote 

sustained compliance with the AWA, 

reduce licensing fees and burdens, and 

strengthen existing safeguards that 

prevent individuals and businesses who 

are unfit to hold a license (such as any 

individual whose license has been 

suspended or revoked or who has a 

history of noncompliance) from 

obtaining a license or working with 

regulated animals. Potential regulatory 

changes we are considering include: 

• Establishing a firm expiration date 

for licenses (e.g., after a 3–5 year 

period), after which the licensee would 

once again be required to affirmatively 

demonstrate compliance before 

obtaining another license; 

• Specifying procedures to ensure 

licensees have ample time to apply for 

licenses and demonstrate compliance 

prior to the expiration of an existing 

license, and issuing conditional licenses 

to licensees with histories of 

compliance should they be in jeopardy 

of an inadvertent lapse in licensure 

during the license application process; 

• Requiring licensees to affirmatively 

demonstrate compliance when making 

noteworthy changes subsequent to the 

issuance of a license in regard to the 

number, type, or location of animals 

used in regulated activities; 

• Eliminating the application fee and 

annual license fee and assessing 

reasonable fees only for licenses issued 

(as in the example above, such as every 

3–5 years); 

• Requiring license applicants to 

disclose any animal cruelty convictions 

or other violations of Federal, State, or 

local laws or regulations pertaining to 

animals; 

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40078 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

• With respect to pre-licensing 

inspections to assess compliance, 

reducing from three to two the number 

of opportunities an applicant has to 

correct deficiencies and take corrective 

measures before the applicant forfeits 

his or her application and fee and must 

reapply for a license; 

• Closing a loophole in the current 

regulations that allows individuals and 

businesses, although they do not operate 

as bona fide exhibitors, to become 

licensed as such in order to circumvent 

State laws restricting ownership of 

exotic and wild animals to AWAlicensed exhibitors; 

• Strengthening existing prohibitions 

to expressly restrict individuals and 

businesses whose licenses have been 

suspended or revoked from working for 

other regulated entities, and prevent 

individuals with histories of 

noncompliance (or orders suspending or 

revoking a license) from applying for 

new licenses through different 

individuals or business names; and 

• Streamlining the procedures for 

denying a license application, 

terminating a license, and summarily 

suspending a license. 

To aid in the development of those 

potential regulatory changes, we invite 

data and information from the public 

regarding potential economic effects, 

including benefits and costs, on dealers, 

operators of auction sales, and 

exhibitors, and potential alternatives to 

reduce regulatory burdens and more 

efficiently and consistently ensure 

sustained compliance of licensees with 

the AWA. In addition, we invite 

comments from the public on the 

following questions: 

1. Should we propose to establish a 

firm expiration date for licenses (such as 

3–5 years) and if so, what should that 

date be and why? Please provide 

supporting data. 

2. What fees would be reasonable to 

assess for licenses issued? Are the 

existing license fees (9 CFR 2.6) 

reasonable, or should they be adjusted 

to take additional factors into 

consideration, such as the type of 

animals used in regulated activities? 

Please provide data in support of any 

proposed adjustments to the license 

fees. 

3. In addition to the existing 

prohibitions on any person whose 

license has been suspended or revoked 

from buying, selling, transporting, 

exhibiting, or delivering for 

transportation animals during the 

period of suspension or revocation (9 

CFR 2.10(c)), should such persons be 

prohibited from engaging in other 

activities involving animals regulated 

under the AWA, such as working for 

other AWA-regulated entities or using 

other individual names or business 

entities to apply for a license? Please 

suggest specific activities that should be 

covered and provide supporting data 

and information. 

4. Do you have any other specific 

concerns or recommendations for 

reducing regulatory burdens involving 

the licensing process or otherwise 

improving the licensing requirements 

under the AWA? 

This action has been determined to be 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. This action is 

not a regulatory action under Executive 

Order 13771. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131–2159; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.7. 

Done in Washington, DC, this day of 

August 21, 2017. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17967 Filed 8–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2017–0618; Airspace 

Docket No. 17–ASW–9] 

Proposed Establishment of Class D 

Airspace; Burns Flat, OK; Revocation 

of Class D Airspace; Clinton-Sherman 

Airport, OK; and Amendment of E 

Airspace for the Following Oklahoma 

Towns: Burns Flat, OK; Clinton, OK; 

and Elk City, OK 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

establish Class D airspace at ClintonSherman Airport, Burns Flat, OK; 

remove Class D airspace at ClintonSherman Airport, Clinton-Sherman 

Airport, OK; and amend Class E 

airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface at ClintonSherman Airport, Burns Flat, OK; 

Clinton Municipal Airport, Clinton, OK; 

and Elk City Regional Business Airport, 

Elk City, OK. The FAA is proposing this 

action due to the decommissioning of 

the Sayre co-located VHF 

omnidirectional range and tactical air 

navigation (VORTAC) facility, which 

provided navigation guidance for the 

instrument procedures to these airports. 

The VORTAC is being decommissioned 

as part of the VHF omnidirectional 

range (VOR) Minimum Operational 

Network (MON) Program. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 10, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this 

proposal to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 

366–9826, or 1–800–647–5527. You 

must identify FAA Docket No. FAA– 

2017–0618; Airspace Docket No. 17– 

ASW–9 at the beginning of your 

comments. You may also submit 

comments through the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. You may review 

the public docket containing the 

proposal, any comments received, and 

any final disposition in person in the 

Dockets Office between 9:00 a.m. and 

5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FAA Order 7400.11A, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, and 

subsequent amendments can be viewed 

online at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/ 

publications/. For further information, 

you can contact the Airspace Policy 

Group, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (202) 267–8783. The Order is 

also available for inspection at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of FAA 

Order 7400.11A at NARA, call (202) 

741–6030, or go to http://

www.archives.gov/federal_register/ 

code_of_federal-regulations/ibr_

locations.html. 

FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, is 

published yearly and effective on 

September 15. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Operations Support 

Group, Central Service Center, 10101 

Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 

76177; telephone (817) 222–5711. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. 

Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 

authority of the FAA Administrator. 

Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 

describes in more detail the scope of the 

agency’s authority. This rulemaking is 

promulgated under the authority 

described in Subtitle VII, Part A, 

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