Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 250 / Monday, December 31, 2001 / Notices 67619

• The specific section of this notice to

which each comment applies; and

• The reason for each comment.

You may electronically submit,

deliver, mail, or fax your comments and

attachments to the Docket Management

Facility, using an address or fax number

listed under ADDRESSES. Please do not

submit the same comment or attachment

by more than one means. If you mail or

deliver your comments, they must be on

81⁄2-by-11 inch paper, and the quality of

the copy should be clear enough for

copying and scanning. If you mail your

comments, and you would like to know

whether the Facility received them,

please enclose a stamped, self-addressed

postcard or envelope. We will consider

all comments and material received

during the comment period.

How Can I Get More Information,

Including Copies of This Notice or

Related Documents?

The Docket Management Facility

maintains the public docket for this

notice. The number of the docket is

USCG–2001–11219. Comments, and

other documents related to this notice

will become part of this docket and will

be available for inspection or copying as

follows:

• In person: You may see the docket

in room PL–401, on the Plaza Level of

the Nassif Building at the same address,

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday

through Friday. The facility is closed on

Federal holidays.

• Electronically: You may read the

docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov. 

Where Can I Get Information on

Service for Individuals With

Disabilities?

To obtain information on facilities or

services for individuals with disabilities

or to ask that we provide special

assistance at the public meeting, please

notify Mr. Tom Lawler as soon as

possible. You will find his address and

phone number under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

Why Is the Coast Guard Holding This

Public Meeting?

Annually the Coast Guard holds a

meeting to respond to requests for a

comprehensive review of pilotage on the

Great Lakes aimed at improving safety,

reliability, and efficiency. Requests for

these annual meetings come from all

parts of the marine industry operating

on the Lakes.

What Issues Should I Discuss at the

Meeting or Address in Comments to the

Docket?

The public meeting on January 31,

2002, will provide a forum for members

of the public to discuss ways to improve

the safety, reliability and efficiency of

pilotage on the Great Lakes. You may

discuss or comment on means to these

ends. Interested parties should submit

issues for discussion at the public

meeting to the docket by January 22,

2002.

What Is the Agenda for the Public

Meeting?

Agenda

The agenda for the meeting on

January 31, 2002, is as follows:

• 12 p.m.–12:15 p.m. Introduction

and Overview.

• Review of Items from the 30 January

2001 Public Meeting, including:

Standards for hours on bridges, Status of

Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory

Committee, Status of plan for training

on Automatic Identification System,

Report of water levels in ports on Great

Lakes, Review of Applicant pilots’

application, Reporting of status of

problems on vessels,Source Forms,

Policy on Recuperative Rest, Review of

designated waters, and

• Discussion of issues submitted to

the docket.

Dated: December 18, 2001.

Howard L. Hime,

Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety

and Environmental Protection.

[FR Doc. 01–32043 Filed 12–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG–2001–11225]

Towing Safety Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Towing Safety Advisory

Committee’s (TSAC) Working Group for

Crew Alertness, and its Working Group

for the Review of a Report from the Gulf

Coast Mariner’s Association (GCMA),

will meet to discuss alertness risk

factors on towing vessels and a variety

of concerns expressed by the association

in the GCMA report. The meetings are

open to the public.

DATES: The Working Groups will meet

on Wednesday, January 16, 2002, from

1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursday,

January 17, 2002, from 8 a.m. to 12

noon. These meetings may close early if

all business is finished. Requests to

make oral presentations should reach

the Coast Guard on or before January 15,

2002.

ADDRESSES: The Working Groups will

meet in room 6103 of U.S. Coast Guard

Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW,

Washington, DC 20593–0001. Send

written materials and requests to make

oral presentations to Mr. Gerald P.

Miante, Commandant (G–MSO–1),

Room 1210, U.S. Coast Guard

Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW,

Washington, DC 20593–0001. This

notice and the Gulf Coast Mariners

Association Report #R–276 are available

in docket USCG–2001–11225, which is

on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

Security notice: All non-military/

government participants MUST first go

to the security office at Headquarters’

Second Street entrance with a photo ID

(driver’s license) and sign in. You will

then receive a pass for the day and be

provided an escort. This exercise must

be repeated on the second day of the

meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Gerald P. Miante, Assistant Executive

Director, TSAC, telephone 202–267–

0229, fax 202–267–4570, or e-mail at:

gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of

these meetings is given under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5

U.S.C. App. 2.

Agenda of Meetings

The agenda for the Crew Alertness

Working Group includes evaluating the

criticality of those risk factors identified

in distinct towing vessel operating

environments, drafting

recommendations for measures

consistent with the non-regulatory

philosophy of the Prevention through

People (PTP) program and the Crew

Alertness campaign, and making

recommendations on the best way to

communicate these recommendations to

the appropriate audiences. The agenda

for the Review Working Group is

limited to a review of the issues

contained in GCMA report #R–276 and

the drafting of recommendations. See

the ADDRESSES paragraph above for

information on viewing the report, #R–

276. Products from both working groups

will be presented to the full Committee

for approval and transmittal to the Coast

Guard at a later date.

Procedural

These meetings are open to the

public. Please note that the meetings

may close early if all business is

finished. Members of the public may

make presentations, oral or written, at

67620 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 250 / Monday, December 31, 2001 / Notices

either meeting. If you would like to

make an oral presentation at either

meeting, please notify the Assistant

Executive Director on or before January

15, 2002.

Information on Services for Individuals

With Disabilities

For information on facilities or

services for individuals with disabilities

or to request special assistance at the

meetings, contact the Assistant

Executive Director as soon as possible.

Dated: December 21, 2001.

Howard L. Hime,

Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety

and Environmental Protection.

[FR Doc. 01–32030 Filed 12–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA–2001–111229]

Firearms, Less-Than-Lethal Weapons,

and Emergency Services on

Commercial Air Flights

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: The FAA is requesting

comments on issues related to pilots

carrying firearms into the cockpit and

flight deck crewmembers carrying lessthan-lethal weapons on aircraft

providing air transportation or intrastate

air transportation. We are also

requesting comments on issues related

to provision of emergency services on

commercial air flights during

emergencies by law enforcement

officers, firefighters, and emergency

medical technicians. This action is part

of an effort to develop recommendations

for possible future action by the

Department of Transportation.

DATES: Send you comments to reach us

on or before February 14, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Mail your comments to—

Public Docket Office, Department of

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Room PL–401, Washington, DC

20590–0001.

Or send your comments through the

Internet to—http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent

Stephens, Manager, Air Carrier

Operations Branch, AFS–220, Air

Transportation Division, Flight

Standards Service, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;

telephone (202) 267–9518.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Your Comments Are Welcome

We invite your comments on the

issues described in this notice. The most

useful comments are those that are

specific and related to issues raised by

the notice. Factual information that

supports your ideas and suggestions is

extremely helpful in evaluating the

issues and determining what future

actions we should undertake.

To ensure consideration, you must

identify the Rules Docket number in

your comments, and you must submit

comments to one of the addresses

specified under the ADDRESSES section

of this preamble. We will consider all

communications received on or before

the closing date for comments. All

comments submitted will be available,

both before and after the closing date for

comments, in the Rules Docket for

examination by interested persons. We

will file in the Rules Docket a report

that summarizes each public contact

related to the substance of this notice.

You may review the public docket

containing comments on this notice in

person in the Dockets Office between 9

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays. The

Dockets Office is on the plaza level of

the Nassif Building at the Department of

Transportation at the address specified

in the ADDRESSES section. Also, you may

review the docket on the Internet at

http://dms.dot.gov.

If you want us to acknowledge receipt

of your comments submitted in

response to this notice, you must

include with your comments a selfaddressed, stamped postcard on which

you identify the Rules Docket number of

this notice. We will date stamp the

postcard and return it to you.

Availability of Documents

You can get an electronic copy of this

notice using the Internet through FAA’s

web page at http://www.faa.gov/avr/

arm/nprm/nprm.htm or through the

Federal Register’s web page at http://

www.access.gpo.gov/suldocs/aces/

aces140.htm

You can get a paper copy by

submitting a request to the Federal

Aviation Administration, Office of

Rulemaking, ARM–1, 800 Independence

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or

by calling (202) 267–9680. Make sure to

identify the docket number of this

rulemaking.

Background

As a result of the events of September

11, 2001, Congress passed and the

President signed the Aviation and

Transportation Security Act (ATSA), a

comprehensive measure designed to

protect the security of the Nation’s air

transportation system. See Pub. L. 107–

71, 115 Stat. 597, November 19, 2001.

The Department of Transportation is

this notice is seeking public comment to

assist it in developing recommendations

for possible future actions to implement

the following three sections of ASTA.

Sec. 126 of ATSA amends section

44903 of Title 49 of the United States

Code to provide in part that the

Secretary of Transportation, after

receiving recommendations from the

National Institute of Justice, may

authorize members of flight deck crews

on aircraft providing air transportation

or intrastate air transportation to carry a

less-than-lethal weapon. If the Secretary

grants authority to carry a less-thanlethal weapon, the Secretary must—

• Prescribe rules requiring that any

such crew member be trained in the

proper use of the weapon, and

• Prescribe guidelines setting forth

the circumstances under which such

weapons may be used.

Sec. 128 of ATSA provides that the

pilot of a passenger aircraft operated by

an air carrier in air transportation or

intrastate air transportation is

authorized to carry a firearm into the

cockpit if—

• The Under Secretary for

Transportation Security approves;

• The air carrier approves;

• The firearm is approved by the

Under Secretary; and

• The pilot has received proper

training for the use of the firearm, as

determined by the Under Secretary.

Sect. 131 of ATSA, in part, provides

that the Under Secretary for

Transportation Security must carry out

a program to permit law enforcement

officers, firefighters, and emergency

medical technicians to provide

emergency services on commercial air

flights during emergencies. To carry out

the program, the Under Secretary for

Transportation Security must establish

requirements for qualifications and

training of providers of emergency

services. If one of these individuals

meets such qualifications and training

requirements, ASTA provides that he or

she may not be held liable for damages.

As noted above, he FAA plans to

develop a set of recommendations to the

Department of Transportation for

carrying out these portions of ATSA. As

a preliminary step, we are asking for

public comment on a number of issues

that we have identified as potentially

being addressed in the

recommendations. We plan to consider

any comments we receive in response to

this request for comments in developing

specific recommendations. If the

Department of Transportation conducts