Electronic Subscription Service for Airworthiness Directives and Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins, 9394-9397 [07-921]
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9394
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices
b Outer/Middle Marker
b Published Instrument Approach
b Localizer
b Other (specify)
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E. Project Cost:
Federal amount requested: llllll
Total local cash financial contribution:
llllllllllllllllll
l
Airport funds: lllllllllll
Non-Airport funds: lllllllll
State cash financial contribution: lll
Existing funds: lllllllllll
New funds: lllllllllllll
Airport In-kind contribution: (amount &
description) llllllllllll
Other In-Kind contribution: (amount &
description) llllllllllll
Total cost of project: lllllllll
begin accepting grant applications via https://
www.grants.gov. In order for an application
to be considered in the Small Community Air
Service Development Program, the
community must submit its application of
form SF424—Application for Federal
Domestic Assistance—via https://
www.grants.gov. Below are instructions on:
• How to FIND the SCASDP application
online at https://www.grants.gov;
• How to register to submit applications;
and
• How to APPLY or complete and submit
the application form SF424.
Finding the SCASDP Grant Opportunity on
Grants.Gov
Start your search for the Small Community
Air Service Development Program grant
opportunity by entering https://
www.grants.gov and clicking the Find Grant
Opportunities tab at the top of the page. In
the search box titled ‘‘Search for Catalog of
F. Enplanements:
Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
2000 llllllllllllllll number’’ enter 20.930. You will see a
2001 llllllllllllllll summary of the SCASDP requirements.
2002 llllllllllllllll Register to Submit Applications
2003 llllllllllllllll
Prior to applying, you must register to
2004 llllllllllllllll create a Grants.gov account and receive
2005 llllllllllllllll approval from your organization to submit
applications. Detailed instructions on how to
G. Is this application subject to review
complete the registration is available on
by State under Executive Order 12372
https://www.grants.gov.
process?
1. Register your Organization.
• Obtain a Data Universal Number System
b a. This application was made avail(DUNS) number.
able to the State under the Executive
• Register the organization with a Central
Order 12372 Process for review on Contractor Registry (CCR).
(date) . lllllllllllllll
2. Register yourself as an Authorized
b b. Program is subject to E.O. 12372,
Organization Representative (AOR).
but has not been selected by the State
• Obtain a username and password.
• Register with Grants.gov.
for review.
3. Get Authorized as an AOR by your
b c. Program is not covered by E.O.
Organization.
12372.
• Obtain E-Business Point of Contact
H. Is the Applicant delinquent on any
authorization.
Federal debt? (if ‘‘yes’’, provide
Applying for the Grant
explanation)
Once you have located the Small
b No
Community Air Service Development
b Yes (explain)
llllllllll Program grant opportunity, you will need to
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Appendix C
Filing Form SF424—Application for Federal
Domestic Assistance
Grants.gov, originally called the E-Grants
Initiative, a mandate of the President’s
Management Agenda, states,
‘‘Agencies will allow applicants for Federal
Grants to apply for and ultimately manage
grant funds online through a common Web
site, simplifying grants management and
eliminating redundancies.’’
Public Law 106–107, the legislation that
mandates streamlining and improved
accountability for Federal grants, and related
references in the President’s Management
Agenda, requires that Federal grant
management activities be standardized. As a
result, the Office of Management and Budget
recently issued a policy directive requiring
that all Federal agencies post grant
opportunities online as of November 7, 2006.
Therefore, this year, to comply with the
Grants.gov initiative, the Department will
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15:01 Feb 28, 2007
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enter the Funding Opportunity and/or the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Application
(CFDA) number 20.930 to access the
application package and instructions online.
However, you must complete the registration
process before applying (see B above). In
order to view the application package and
instructions, you will also need to download
and install the PureEdge Viewer.
1. Download PureEdge Viewer [Required].
2. Download an Application Package.
3. Complete an Application Package.
4. Submit an Application Package.
Enter the SCASDP CFDA number (20.930)
to download the application form SF424 and
begin the process to apply for the grant
through https://www.grants.gov. It is a 4-step
process:
Apply Step 1: Download the Grant
Application Form SF424 and Application
Instructions
You will need to enter the Funding
Opportunity and/or CFDA number to access
the application package and instructions.
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Download and install the PureEdge Viewer
(available on https://www.grants.gov). This
small, free program will allow you to access,
complete, and submit applications
electronically and securely.
Apply Step 2: Complete the Selected Grant
Application Package
You can complete the application offline—
giving you the flexibility to complete grant
applications when and where you want. It
also enables you to easily route it through
your organization for review, or completion
of various components, just like any other
e-mail attachment.
Apply Step 3: Submit a Completed Grant
Application Package
You will submit the application online.
When you are ready to submit the completed
application form SF424, you must have
already completed the Get Started Steps. You
will then need to log into https://
www.grants.gov using the username and
password you entered when you registered
with a Credential Provider to submit the
application.
Note: To submit electronic grant
applications, you must be fully authorized by
your organization, i.e., been given status as
an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR). You can easily check your status by
logging into https://www.grants.gov by
accessing the Applicant link at the top of the
screen. If you have registered your user name
and password with Grants.gov, you will be
able to log in. After logging in, access the
‘Manage Profile’ link. Your status, located
below your title, will state: ‘‘AOR—request
sent’’ or ‘‘AOR—Approved’’. If your status is
‘AOR—request sent’, you cannot yet submit
grant applications. You may correct this by
contacting your E-Business Point of Contact
(POC). He or she will need to log in by
accessing the Ebiz link at the top of the
screen. They will need your organization’s
DUNs number and MPIN, to approve you as
an AOR.
Apply Step 4: Track the Status of a
Completed Grant Application Package
Once you have submitted an application,
you can check the status of your application
submission. You can identify your
application by CFDA Number, Funding
Opportunity Number, Competition ID, and/or
Grants.gov Tracking Number.
[FR Doc. E7–3581 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Electronic Subscription Service for
Airworthiness Directives and Special
Airworthiness Information Bulletins
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of policy change.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice publishes
additional information about the FAA’s
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planned transition to electronic
distribution of airworthiness directives
(ADs) and special airworthiness
information bulletins (SAIB) through an
e-mail subscription service. This notice
gives more details and the schedule for
the electronic distribution system, and
addresses comments we received in
response to Aircraft Engineering
Division’s previous notice about the
plan. The previous notice was titled
‘‘Printing and Distribution Changes for
Airworthiness Directives and Special
Airworthiness Information Bulletins’’
and was published in the Federal
Register on August 24, 2006.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
planned policy changes electronically
by logging onto the following Web site:
https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/
or you may e-mail comments to: 9-amcair-140-policy. You may mail a hard
copy of your comments to: Federal
Aviation Administration, Aircraft
Engineering Division, Delegation and
Airworthiness Programs Branch, AIR–
140, MMAC, P.O. Box 26460, Oklahoma
City, OK 73125. Attn: Mary Ellen
Anderson. Finally, you may deliver
comments to: Federal Aviation
Administration, Room 815, 800
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20591.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Ellen Anderson, Federal Aviation
Administration, Aircraft Certification
Service, Aircraft Engineering Division,
Delegation and Airworthiness Programs
Branch, AIR–140, 6500 S. MacArthur
Blvd., ARB 308; Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma 73169; phone: (405) 954–
7071; fax: (405) 954–2209.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to
comment on the planned policy changes
by submitting written data, views, or
arguments to the above address.
Comments received may be examined,
both before and after the closing date, at
the Federal Aviation Administration,
Room 815, 800 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20591, weekends
except Federal holidays, between 8:30
a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Director, Aircraft
Certification Service, will consider all
comments received on or before the
closing date.
Background
ADs are enforceable rules that apply
to products (aircraft, aircraft engines,
propellers, and appliances), published
to address an unsafe condition per CFR
Part 39 criteria. All ADs are currently
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available to the public via: (1) Federal
Register at https://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
advanced.html; (2) FAA’s Regulatory
and Guidance Library (RGL) Web site at
https://rgl/faa.gov; and (3) paper
mailings to all registered owners and
operators of the affected product.
We also issue a type of AD called an
emergency AD when an unsafe
condition exists that requires immediate
corrective action. We mail or fax
emergency ADs to all registered owners
and operators of the affected product,
and publish a final rule version soon
after in the Federal Register.
SAIBs provide recommended actions
that owners and operators may use to
improve the safety of their products.
Because the information contained in
SAIBs is not mandatory, we do not
publish SAIBs in the Federal Register.
Effective January 2007, we added SAIBs
to our RGL Web site, making it much
easier to access and search on these
safety documents.
Paper mailing of ADs and SAIBs is a
slow, expensive, and inefficient method
of delivering safety-related information
to affected parties, requiring a massive
paper printing and distribution
management system. In 2005, we
processed and mailed more than
1,000,000 copies of ADs to affected
owners and operators. It often takes 5 to
6 days for the owner or operator to
receive the mailed copy. And, because
of inaccurate or obsolete addresses in
FAA’s Aircraft Registry database, we
typically receive thousands of returned
ADs. In light of these difficulties as well
as ongoing budgetary constraints, we are
pursuing ways to improve our efficiency
in distribution of safety information.
Discussion
This notice introduces ‘‘GovDelivery’’
for all ADs and SAIBs—an e-mail
subscription management system
designed specifically for the public
sector. Owners, operators, and any
interested party will be able to sign up
through FAA’s RGL Web site at https://
rgl.faa.gov, and will receive both ADs
and SAIBs once subscription is
completed. Subscribers will be able to
select to receive all documents or only
those pertaining to a specific product
make and model. They will also have
the option to receive general categories
such as ‘small airplane’ or ‘engine.’ The
subscription service will generally
deliver the AD or SAIB to each e-mail
address within minutes after
publication in our RGL Web site. All
ADs will continue to be published in
the Federal Register, and all ADs and
SAIBs will continue to be available at
our RGL Web site.
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Once we are assured that the
GovDelivery service is working
correctly, we will transition away from
paper mailings of ADs. We are asking
industry representative groups to help
with this transition by making aviation
stakeholders aware of the new
subscription service for ADs and SAIBs.
While we anticipate that GovDelivery
service will provide a timely and costeffective method of ensuring that
affected parties receive the safety
information they need, we will be
monitoring the system to validate that
the service is meeting the needs of our
customers.
We issued a previous notice in the
Federal Register on August 24, 2006,
titled ‘‘Printing and Distribution
Changes for Airworthiness Directives
and Special Airworthiness Information
Bulletins.’’ That notice outlined
immediate changes to our mailing
processes for ADs and SAIBs. We
provided the public the opportunity to
comment on that notice and have
considered all comments we received.
Our responses to those comments are
provided following the policy discussed
below.
Policy
We expect to make the GovDelivery
electronic e-mail service available for
ADs and SAIBs available in May 2007.
All interested parties are encouraged to
subscribe to this service on our RGL
Web site at https://rgl.faa.gov. Once
GovDelivery is available and we are
confident in the accurate and timely
electronic dissemination of ADs and
SAIBs to our subscribers, we will begin
implementation of the following
changes to our AD/SAIB distribution
processes:
(a) We will phase out paper mailing
of ADs within a two-month period after
GovDelivery becomes available except
as described in (b) below. We will
manage the phase-out based on the
number and types of subscribers signed
up in the GovDelivery system.
(b) For now, we will continue to mail
or fax emergency ADs to affected
owners and operators. We are working
on a method to deliver emergency ADs
electronically in future, that will assure
and record receipt when sent to affected
parties.
(c) We will discontinue the existing
emergency AD subscription service that
is currently available on the RGL Web
site, since the GovDelivery service will
send emergency ADs (and their final
rule versions) to subscribers who have
selected to receive ADs of that make/
model or category.
(d) We will discontinue the existing
SAIB subscription service that is
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices
currently available on the FAA Web
site, to allow integration with the AD
portion of the subscription service.
(e) We will no longer mail or e-mail
ADs or SAIBw to FAA offices and civil
airworthiness authorities (CAAs) of
other countries. Instead, we will
encourage all interested FAA personnel
as well as the CAAs to sign-up through
GovDelivery to receive these
documents.
Comments to Previous Notice
Several commenters expressed
support for the planned electronic
distribution of ADs and SAIBs. One
commenter stated that it would be easier
to receive ADs and SAIBs electronically
instead of ‘‘logging on and searching
through databases to find applicable
ADs and SAIBs.’’ We agree. GovDelivery
service will allow subscribers to receive
ADs and SAIBs by e-mail.
Recommendation to Continue Paper
Mailings
AOPA recommended that we
continue paper mailing of ADs and
SAIBs until we make enhancements to
our e-mail subscription service to
ensure the continued availability and
dissemination of relevant safety
information. We partially agree. Due to
the existing e-mail service for SAIBs we
discontinued these mailings in 2006.
However, we will continue mailing ADs
until we are assured the new
GovDelivery service is available and
working correctly for both ADs and
SAIBs. To publicize the service we have
added ‘‘alerts’’ on our RGL AD web page
and are announcing the coming
GovDelivery service on the back of
every AD mailed out.
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Recommendation To Update the SAIB
e-mail Subscription Service
AOPA recommended we enhance the
existing SAIB e-mail service to allow
selection of SAIBs based on aircraft or
engine make and model. We agree.
GovDelivery service will allow the user
to subscribe to and receive SAIBs
selected by make/model instead of
having to receive all issued SAIBs.
Continuation of FAA AD Bi-Weekly
A representative for a repair station
asked whether the FAA will continue to
compile and issue the bi-weekly list of
ADs. We are making no change to the
AD Bi-weekly process at this time, and
will continue to publish the Bi-Weekly
report until further notice.
Recommendation To Continue Mailing
‘‘Engine type’’ ADs
Continental Airlines, AOPA, NATCA
and others expressed concern that we
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misstated the user’s ability to ‘register
an engine’ in the FAA Aircraft Registry.
We agree that this terminology was
incorrect, since aircraft owners cannot
register their engine in the Registry.
When they register an airframe they can
choose to also identify the engine
installed on the airframe; our intent was
to use this engine data to support AD
mailings. However, we have decided to
continue mailing ADs to all owners of
engine models identified in an AD, as
well as owners of airframe models
called out in the ‘‘installed on, but not
limited to’’ applicability. We will
continue this practice until we
implement the GovDelivery service.
Recommendation To Mail/Final Rule
version of Emergency ADs
AOPA and NATCA stated that
sometimes the content of an emergency
AD changes between its issuance and
the issuance of the final rule version,
and for this reason we should mail the
final rule copy of the emergency AD as
well. We disagree. The final rule version
must be substantively equal to the
emergency AD to avoid serious legal
consequences. If it changes in substance
from the emergency AD version, we
assign a different AD number and issue
another AD. Since the final rule version
is equivalent it is not necessary to mail
it in addition to the emergency AD. Not
that once the GovDelivery service is in
place, both versions (the emergency AD
and its final rule) will be e-mailed to
subscribers for the AD’s applicability.
Notification of the Public About This
Policy Change
NATCA wrote that the distribution of
paper copies of ADs has been the
standard for decades. This is a
significant policy change that should be
made aware to the public and open for
public debate. NATCA requests that we
withdraw the notice and resubmit it for
comment. NATCA also states that FAA
has been heavy-handed in lowering the
safety level of aircraft by making
significant changes in (other) policies.
This final policy change must not be
implemented for a period of time (six
months) and be distributed in writing
(published on paper) to all affected
organizations, foreign authorities, and
every registered aircraft owner, operator,
repair stations, airline, etc. this would
allow those in the public that do not
currently have internet access time to
obtain access.
We partially agree. Since the previous
notice, issued in August 2006,
contained a request for comments, we
see no need to withdraw the notice and
resubmit it. We also do not concur that
we have in any way lowered the safety
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level of aircraft. Rather, we expect to
improve safety by increasing the
timeliness and accuracy of our delivery
system. However, we agree that the
public should have the opportunity to
review and comment on these changes,
which was the purpose of the previous
notice as well as this one. With these
notices we will have informed
interested parties more than six months
prior to our expected implementation
date.
Conflict With Existing FAA Policy
NATCA stated that this notice is in
conflict with (AD Manual) M–8040.1,
Section 17 that mandates the procedures
the FAA will follow to distribute paper
copies to the public. The proposed
policy must note any and all FAA
policies/orders that will be affected. We
agree that changes to the AD Manual
will be necessary in order to align with
this planned policy change. We will
include these changes in a future
revision to the AD Manual once this
policy is finalized.
Notification of the Union About This
Policy Change
NATCA commented that FAA has
failed to coordinate this planned policy
change with the NATCA union. This is
a significant change in the working
conditions of the NATCA bargaining
unit employees in AIR, especially AIR–
140. If the agency proceeds with these
changes, NATCA expects the agency to
comply with the legal requirements to
notify and negotiate with NATCA prior
to implementation. No training has been
identified for the workforce.
FAA will comply with all legal
requirements. Per the requirements we
have assessed this planned policy
change and have determined that there
is no significant change to working
conditions and any impact to bargaining
unit employees is ‘de minimis.’ No new
skills, resources, equipment, or training
are expected to be required to order to
implement this change.
Questionable Use of Federal Funds
NATCA stated that FAA should make
public the current costs of publishing
ADs and SAIBs, and it should be made
part of the public record where the
money that should have been used for
publishing will be spent instead. It
should also be noted if this is a
‘‘business plan’’ item and if any
managers will receive an award/bonus/
pay increase due to the implementation
of this notice.
We considered current costs as a
factor in deciding to change this policy,
and have estimated the savings in
reduced printing costs at about $240,000
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per year. However, we have no way of
determining where these funds will be
spent instead, so are unable to provide
this information. No managers have
received or will receive extra
compensation for its implementation.
This policy change is not a ‘‘business
plan’’ item but supports an FAA Flight
Plan item.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 26,
2007.
Susan J.M. Cabler,
Acting Manager, Aircraft Engineering
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 07–921 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am]
the plaza level of the Nassif Building,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone may search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of DOT’s dockets by
the name of the individual submitting
the comment (or of the person signing
the comment, if submitted on behalf of
an association, business, labor union, or
other entity). You may review DOT’s
complete Privacy Act Statement in the
Federal Register (65 FR 19477, Apr. 11,
2000). This statement is also available at
https://dms.dot.gov.
BILLING CODE 4910–13–M
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–25246]
Qualification of Drivers; Exemption
Applications; Vision
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of final disposition.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its
decision to exempt 33 individuals from
the vision requirement in the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSRs). The exemptions will enable
these individuals to operate commercial
motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate
commerce without meeting the
prescribed vision standard. The Agency
has concluded that granting these
exemptions will provide a level of safety
that is equivalent to, or greater than, the
level of safety maintained without the
exemptions for these CMV drivers.
DATES: The exemptions are effective
March 1, 2007. The exemptions expire
on March 2, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical
Qualifications Division, (202) 366–4001,
maggi.gunnels@dot.gov, FMCSA,
Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Room 8301,
Washington, DC 20590–0001. Office
hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Electronic Access
You may see all the comments online
through the Document Management
System (DMS) at https://dmses.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
dms.dot.gov and/or Room PL–401 on
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Background
On January 3, 2007, FMCSA
published a notice of receipt of
exemption applications from certain
individuals, and requested comments
from the public (72 FR 180). That notice
listed 33 applicants’ case histories, but
it incorrectly indicated there were 32.
The 33 individuals applied for
exemptions from the vision requirement
in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), for drivers who
operate CMVs in interstate commerce.
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315,
FMCSA may grant an exemption for a 2year period if it finds ‘‘such exemption
would likely achieve a level of safety
that is equivalent to, or greater than, the
level that would be achieved absent
such exemption.’’ The statute also
allows the Agency to renew exemptions
at the end of the 2-year period.
Accordingly, FMCSA has evaluated the
33 applications on their merits and
made a determination to grant
exemptions to all of them. The comment
period closed on February 2, 2007.
Vision and Driving Experience of the
Applicants
The vision requirement in the
FMCSRs provides:
A person is physically qualified to
drive a commercial motor vehicle if that
person has distant visual acuity of at
least 20/40 (Snellen) in each eye
without corrective lenses or visual
acuity separately corrected to 20/40
(Snellen) or better with corrective
lenses, distant binocular acuity of a least
20/40 (Snellen) in both eyes with or
without corrective lenses, field of vision
of at least 70 in the horizontal meridian
in each eye, and the ability to recognize
the colors of traffic signals and devices
showing standard red, green, and amber
(49 CFR 391.41(b)(10)).
FMCSA recognizes that some drivers
do not meet the vision standard, but
have adapted their driving to
accommodate their vision limitation
and demonstrated their ability to drive
safely. The 33 exemption applicants
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9397
listed in this notice are in this category.
They are unable to meet the vision
standard in one eye for various reasons,
including amblyopia, macular scar,
retinal detachment, corneal scarring,
prosthesis, corneal opacity, optic
atrophy, ocular histoplasmosis
syndrome, retinal vein occlusion,
cataract, and loss of vision due to
trauma. In most cases, their eye
conditions were not recently developed.
All but ten of the applicants were either
born with their vision impairments or
have had them since childhood. The ten
individuals who sustained their vision
conditions as adults have had them for
periods ranging from 4 to 25 years.
Although each applicant has one eye
which does not meet the vision standard
in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), each has at
least 20/40 corrected vision in the other
eye, and in a doctor’s opinion, has
sufficient vision to perform all the tasks
necessary to operate a CMV. Doctors’
opinions are supported by the
applicants’ possession of valid
commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) or
non-CDLs to operate CMVs. Before
issuing CDLs, States subject drivers to
knowledge and skills tests designed to
evaluate their qualifications to operate a
CMV. All these applicants satisfied the
testing standards for their State of
residence. By meeting State licensing
requirements, the applicants
demonstrated their ability to operate a
commercial vehicle, with their limited
vision, to the satisfaction of the State.
While possessing a valid CDL or nonCDL, these 33 drivers have been
authorized to drive a CMV in intrastate
commerce, even though their vision
disqualified them from driving in
interstate commerce. They have driven
CMVs with their limited vision for
careers ranging from 4 to 25 years. In the
past 3 years, five of the drivers have had
convictions for traffic violations and
two of them were involved in crashes.
The qualifications, experience, and
medical condition of each applicant
were stated and discussed in detail in
the January 3, 2007 Notice (72 FR 180).
Basis for Exemption Determination
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315,
FMCSA may grant an exemption from
the vision standard in 49 CFR
391.41(b)(10) if the exemption is likely
to achieve an equivalent or greater level
of safety than would be achieved
without the exemption. Without the
exemption, applicants will continue to
be restricted to intrastate driving. With
the exemption, applicants can drive in
interstate commerce. Thus, our analysis
focuses on whether an equal or greater
level of safety is likely to be achieved by
permitting each of these drivers to drive
E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM
01MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 40 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9394-9397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-921]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Electronic Subscription Service for Airworthiness Directives and
Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of policy change.
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SUMMARY: This notice publishes additional information about the FAA's
[[Page 9395]]
planned transition to electronic distribution of airworthiness
directives (ADs) and special airworthiness information bulletins (SAIB)
through an e-mail subscription service. This notice gives more details
and the schedule for the electronic distribution system, and addresses
comments we received in response to Aircraft Engineering Division's
previous notice about the plan. The previous notice was titled
``Printing and Distribution Changes for Airworthiness Directives and
Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins'' and was published in the
Federal Register on August 24, 2006.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the planned policy changes
electronically by logging onto the following Web site: https://
www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/ or you may e-mail comments to: 9-amc-
air-140-policy. You may mail a hard copy of your comments to: Federal
Aviation Administration, Aircraft Engineering Division, Delegation and
Airworthiness Programs Branch, AIR-140, MMAC, P.O. Box 26460, Oklahoma
City, OK 73125. Attn: Mary Ellen Anderson. Finally, you may deliver
comments to: Federal Aviation Administration, Room 815, 800
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Ellen Anderson, Federal Aviation
Administration, Aircraft Certification Service, Aircraft Engineering
Division, Delegation and Airworthiness Programs Branch, AIR-140, 6500
S. MacArthur Blvd., ARB 308; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73169; phone:
(405) 954-7071; fax: (405) 954-2209.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to comment on the planned policy
changes by submitting written data, views, or arguments to the above
address. Comments received may be examined, both before and after the
closing date, at the Federal Aviation Administration, Room 815, 800
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, weekends except Federal
holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Director, Aircraft
Certification Service, will consider all comments received on or before
the closing date.
Background
ADs are enforceable rules that apply to products (aircraft,
aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances), published to address an
unsafe condition per CFR Part 39 criteria. All ADs are currently
available to the public via: (1) Federal Register at https://
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html; (2) FAA's Regulatory and Guidance
Library (RGL) Web site at https://rgl/faa.gov; and (3) paper mailings to
all registered owners and operators of the affected product.
We also issue a type of AD called an emergency AD when an unsafe
condition exists that requires immediate corrective action. We mail or
fax emergency ADs to all registered owners and operators of the
affected product, and publish a final rule version soon after in the
Federal Register.
SAIBs provide recommended actions that owners and operators may use
to improve the safety of their products. Because the information
contained in SAIBs is not mandatory, we do not publish SAIBs in the
Federal Register. Effective January 2007, we added SAIBs to our RGL Web
site, making it much easier to access and search on these safety
documents.
Paper mailing of ADs and SAIBs is a slow, expensive, and
inefficient method of delivering safety-related information to affected
parties, requiring a massive paper printing and distribution management
system. In 2005, we processed and mailed more than 1,000,000 copies of
ADs to affected owners and operators. It often takes 5 to 6 days for
the owner or operator to receive the mailed copy. And, because of
inaccurate or obsolete addresses in FAA's Aircraft Registry database,
we typically receive thousands of returned ADs. In light of these
difficulties as well as ongoing budgetary constraints, we are pursuing
ways to improve our efficiency in distribution of safety information.
Discussion
This notice introduces ``GovDelivery'' for all ADs and SAIBs--an e-
mail subscription management system designed specifically for the
public sector. Owners, operators, and any interested party will be able
to sign up through FAA's RGL Web site at https://rgl.faa.gov, and will
receive both ADs and SAIBs once subscription is completed. Subscribers
will be able to select to receive all documents or only those
pertaining to a specific product make and model. They will also have
the option to receive general categories such as `small airplane' or
`engine.' The subscription service will generally deliver the AD or
SAIB to each e-mail address within minutes after publication in our RGL
Web site. All ADs will continue to be published in the Federal
Register, and all ADs and SAIBs will continue to be available at our
RGL Web site.
Once we are assured that the GovDelivery service is working
correctly, we will transition away from paper mailings of ADs. We are
asking industry representative groups to help with this transition by
making aviation stakeholders aware of the new subscription service for
ADs and SAIBs. While we anticipate that GovDelivery service will
provide a timely and cost-effective method of ensuring that affected
parties receive the safety information they need, we will be monitoring
the system to validate that the service is meeting the needs of our
customers.
We issued a previous notice in the Federal Register on August 24,
2006, titled ``Printing and Distribution Changes for Airworthiness
Directives and Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins.'' That
notice outlined immediate changes to our mailing processes for ADs and
SAIBs. We provided the public the opportunity to comment on that notice
and have considered all comments we received. Our responses to those
comments are provided following the policy discussed below.
Policy
We expect to make the GovDelivery electronic e-mail service
available for ADs and SAIBs available in May 2007. All interested
parties are encouraged to subscribe to this service on our RGL Web site
at https://rgl.faa.gov. Once GovDelivery is available and we are
confident in the accurate and timely electronic dissemination of ADs
and SAIBs to our subscribers, we will begin implementation of the
following changes to our AD/SAIB distribution processes:
(a) We will phase out paper mailing of ADs within a two-month
period after GovDelivery becomes available except as described in (b)
below. We will manage the phase-out based on the number and types of
subscribers signed up in the GovDelivery system.
(b) For now, we will continue to mail or fax emergency ADs to
affected owners and operators. We are working on a method to deliver
emergency ADs electronically in future, that will assure and record
receipt when sent to affected parties.
(c) We will discontinue the existing emergency AD subscription
service that is currently available on the RGL Web site, since the
GovDelivery service will send emergency ADs (and their final rule
versions) to subscribers who have selected to receive ADs of that make/
model or category.
(d) We will discontinue the existing SAIB subscription service that
is
[[Page 9396]]
currently available on the FAA Web site, to allow integration with the
AD portion of the subscription service.
(e) We will no longer mail or e-mail ADs or SAIBw to FAA offices
and civil airworthiness authorities (CAAs) of other countries. Instead,
we will encourage all interested FAA personnel as well as the CAAs to
sign-up through GovDelivery to receive these documents.
Comments to Previous Notice
Several commenters expressed support for the planned electronic
distribution of ADs and SAIBs. One commenter stated that it would be
easier to receive ADs and SAIBs electronically instead of ``logging on
and searching through databases to find applicable ADs and SAIBs.'' We
agree. GovDelivery service will allow subscribers to receive ADs and
SAIBs by e-mail.
Recommendation to Continue Paper Mailings
AOPA recommended that we continue paper mailing of ADs and SAIBs
until we make enhancements to our e-mail subscription service to ensure
the continued availability and dissemination of relevant safety
information. We partially agree. Due to the existing e-mail service for
SAIBs we discontinued these mailings in 2006. However, we will continue
mailing ADs until we are assured the new GovDelivery service is
available and working correctly for both ADs and SAIBs. To publicize
the service we have added ``alerts'' on our RGL AD web page and are
announcing the coming GovDelivery service on the back of every AD
mailed out.
Recommendation To Update the SAIB e-mail Subscription Service
AOPA recommended we enhance the existing SAIB e-mail service to
allow selection of SAIBs based on aircraft or engine make and model. We
agree. GovDelivery service will allow the user to subscribe to and
receive SAIBs selected by make/model instead of having to receive all
issued SAIBs.
Continuation of FAA AD Bi-Weekly
A representative for a repair station asked whether the FAA will
continue to compile and issue the bi-weekly list of ADs. We are making
no change to the AD Bi-weekly process at this time, and will continue
to publish the Bi-Weekly report until further notice.
Recommendation To Continue Mailing ``Engine type'' ADs
Continental Airlines, AOPA, NATCA and others expressed concern that
we misstated the user's ability to `register an engine' in the FAA
Aircraft Registry. We agree that this terminology was incorrect, since
aircraft owners cannot register their engine in the Registry. When they
register an airframe they can choose to also identify the engine
installed on the airframe; our intent was to use this engine data to
support AD mailings. However, we have decided to continue mailing ADs
to all owners of engine models identified in an AD, as well as owners
of airframe models called out in the ``installed on, but not limited
to'' applicability. We will continue this practice until we implement
the GovDelivery service.
Recommendation To Mail/Final Rule version of Emergency ADs
AOPA and NATCA stated that sometimes the content of an emergency AD
changes between its issuance and the issuance of the final rule
version, and for this reason we should mail the final rule copy of the
emergency AD as well. We disagree. The final rule version must be
substantively equal to the emergency AD to avoid serious legal
consequences. If it changes in substance from the emergency AD version,
we assign a different AD number and issue another AD. Since the final
rule version is equivalent it is not necessary to mail it in addition
to the emergency AD. Not that once the GovDelivery service is in place,
both versions (the emergency AD and its final rule) will be e-mailed to
subscribers for the AD's applicability.
Notification of the Public About This Policy Change
NATCA wrote that the distribution of paper copies of ADs has been
the standard for decades. This is a significant policy change that
should be made aware to the public and open for public debate. NATCA
requests that we withdraw the notice and resubmit it for comment. NATCA
also states that FAA has been heavy-handed in lowering the safety level
of aircraft by making significant changes in (other) policies. This
final policy change must not be implemented for a period of time (six
months) and be distributed in writing (published on paper) to all
affected organizations, foreign authorities, and every registered
aircraft owner, operator, repair stations, airline, etc. this would
allow those in the public that do not currently have internet access
time to obtain access.
We partially agree. Since the previous notice, issued in August
2006, contained a request for comments, we see no need to withdraw the
notice and resubmit it. We also do not concur that we have in any way
lowered the safety level of aircraft. Rather, we expect to improve
safety by increasing the timeliness and accuracy of our delivery
system. However, we agree that the public should have the opportunity
to review and comment on these changes, which was the purpose of the
previous notice as well as this one. With these notices we will have
informed interested parties more than six months prior to our expected
implementation date.
Conflict With Existing FAA Policy
NATCA stated that this notice is in conflict with (AD Manual) M-
8040.1, Section 17 that mandates the procedures the FAA will follow to
distribute paper copies to the public. The proposed policy must note
any and all FAA policies/orders that will be affected. We agree that
changes to the AD Manual will be necessary in order to align with this
planned policy change. We will include these changes in a future
revision to the AD Manual once this policy is finalized.
Notification of the Union About This Policy Change
NATCA commented that FAA has failed to coordinate this planned
policy change with the NATCA union. This is a significant change in the
working conditions of the NATCA bargaining unit employees in AIR,
especially AIR-140. If the agency proceeds with these changes, NATCA
expects the agency to comply with the legal requirements to notify and
negotiate with NATCA prior to implementation. No training has been
identified for the workforce.
FAA will comply with all legal requirements. Per the requirements
we have assessed this planned policy change and have determined that
there is no significant change to working conditions and any impact to
bargaining unit employees is `de minimis.' No new skills, resources,
equipment, or training are expected to be required to order to
implement this change.
Questionable Use of Federal Funds
NATCA stated that FAA should make public the current costs of
publishing ADs and SAIBs, and it should be made part of the public
record where the money that should have been used for publishing will
be spent instead. It should also be noted if this is a ``business
plan'' item and if any managers will receive an award/bonus/pay
increase due to the implementation of this notice.
We considered current costs as a factor in deciding to change this
policy, and have estimated the savings in reduced printing costs at
about $240,000
[[Page 9397]]
per year. However, we have no way of determining where these funds will
be spent instead, so are unable to provide this information. No
managers have received or will receive extra compensation for its
implementation. This policy change is not a ``business plan'' item but
supports an FAA Flight Plan item.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2007.
Susan J.M. Cabler,
Acting Manager, Aircraft Engineering Division, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 07-921 Filed 2-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
