Office of the Secretary March 30, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 30, 2009, the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) published a final rule that requires, among other things, that U.S. carriers adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays that include an assurance that a carrier will not permit an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours in the case of domestic flights and for more than a set number of hours as determined by a carrier in the case of international flights without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane, with certain exceptions for safety, security or Air Traffic Control-related reasons. This rule becomes effective on April 29, 2010. Several airlines have requested an exemption from these requirements for operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), for seven months in 2010 during which runway construction is expected to be under way at that airport and the rule will otherwise be effective, one airline has asked that operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) be similarly exempted for the same time period, and another has requested that Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) be included in any relief granted by the Department. The Department is seeking comment on the exemption requests to assist it in deciding whether it should grant or deny these requests. The Department will publish a document in the Federal Register regarding its decision on the exemption requests after it has reviewed the comments submitted.

The Defense Logistics Agency proposes to delete a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

This notice is to advise interested parties of an extension to the Military Health System (MHS) demonstration project, under authority of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1092, entitled Web-Based TRICARE Assistance Program. This demonstration was effective August 1, 2009, as referenced in the original Federal Register (FR) Notice, 74 FR 3667, dated July 24, 2009. The demonstration project uses existing managed care support contracts (MCSC) to allow Web-based behavioral health and related services, including non-medical counseling and advice services to Active Duty Service members (ADSM), their families, and members and their dependents enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select, and those eligible for the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) who reside in the continental United States. The extension is necessary to allow more time to measure the effectiveness of the demonstration in meeting its goal of improving beneficiary access to behavioral health care by incorporating Web-based technology.