60 Day Federal register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices
2. MassDEP’s petition to intervene is
granted.
3. Interested parties may submit new
or supplemental comments by March
28, 2014. Replies to those comments are
due by April 14, 2014.
4. This decision is effective on its
service date.
By the Board, Chairman Elliott and Vice
Chairman Begeman.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014–04624 Filed 2–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
[Docket ID Number RITA 2008–0002]

Agency Information Collection;
Activity Under OMB Review; Report of
Financial and Operating Statistics for
Small Aircraft Operators
Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics invites the
general public, industry and other
governmental parties to comment on the
continuing need for and usefulness of
BTS collecting financial, traffic and
operating statistics from small
certificated and commuter air carriers.
Small certificated air carriers (operate
aircraft with 60 seats or less or with
18,000 pounds of payload capacity or
less) currently must file the two
quarterly schedules listed below:
F–1 Report of Financial Data,
F–2 Report of Aircraft Operating
Expenses and Related Statistics, and
Commuter air carriers must file the
Schedule F–1 Report of Financial
Data.
Commenters should address whether
BTS accurately estimated the reporting
burden and if there are other ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information collected.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted by May 2, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marianne Seguin, Office of Airline
Information, RTS–42, Room E34–418,
RITA, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Washington, DC 20590–0001,
Telephone Number (202) 366–1457, Fax
Number (202) 366–3383 or EMAIL
marianne.seguin@dot.gov.
Comments: Comments should identify
the associated OMB approval #2138–

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0009 and Docket ID Number RITA
2008–0002. Persons wishing the
Department to acknowledge receipt of
their comments must submit with those
comments a self-addressed stamped
postcard on which the following
statement is made: Comments on OMB
#2138–0009, Docket—RITA 2008–0002.
The postcard will be date/time stamped
and returned.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval No. 2138–0009.
Title: Report of Financial and
Operating Statistics for Small Aircraft
Operators.
Form No.: BTS Form 298–C.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection for the
financial data.
Respondents: Small certificated (29)
and commuter air carriers (24).
Schedule F1:
Number of Respondents: 53.
Number of Annual Responses: 212.
Total Burden per Response: 4 hours.
Total Annual Burden: 848 hours.
Schedule F2:
Number of Respondents: 29.
Number of Annual Responses: 116.
Total Burden per Response: 12 hours.
Total Annual Burden: 1,392 hours.
Needs and Uses: Program uses for
Form 298–C financial data are as
follows:
Mail Rates
The Department of Transportation
sets and updates the Intra-Alaska Bush
mail rates based on carrier aircraft
operating expense, traffic, and
operational data. Form 298–C cost data,
especially fuel costs, terminal expenses,
and line haul expenses are used in
arriving at rate levels. DOT revises the
established rates based on the
percentage of unit cost changes in the
carriers’ operations. These updating
procedures have resulted in the carriers
receiving rates of compensation that
more closely parallel their costs of
providing mail service and contribute to
the carriers’ economic well-being.
Essential Air Service
DOT often has to select a carrier to
provide a community’s essential air
service. The selection criteria include
historic presence in the community,
reliability of service, financial stability
and cost structure of the air carrier.
Carrier Fitness
Fitness determinations are made for
both new entrants and established U.S.
domestic carriers proposing a
substantial change in operations. A
portion of these applications consists of
an operating plan for the first year (14
CFR Part 204) and an associated

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projection of revenues and expenses.
The carrier’s operating costs, included
in these projections, are compared
against the cost data in Form 298–C for
a carrier or carriers with the same
aircraft type and similar operating
characteristics. Such a review validates
the reasonableness of the carrier’s
operating plan.
The quarterly financial submissions
by commuter and small certificated air
carriers are used in determining each
carrier’s continuing fitness to operate.
Section 41738 of Title 49 of the United
States Code requires DOT to find all
commuter and small certificated air
carriers fit, willing, and able to conduct
passenger service as a prerequisite to
providing such service to an eligible
essential air service point. In making a
fitness determination, DOT reviews
three areas of a carrier’s operation: (1)
The qualifications of its management
team, (2) its disposition to comply with
laws and regulations, and (3) its
financial posture. DOT must determine
whether or not a carrier has sufficient
financial resources to conduct its
operations without imposing undue risk
on the traveling public. Moreover, once
a carrier begins conducting flight
operations, DOT is required to monitor
its continuing fitness.
Senior DOT officials must be kept
fully informed and advised of all
current and developing economic issues
affecting the airline industry. In
preparing financial condition reports or
status reports on a particular airline,
financial and traffic data are analyzed.
Briefing papers prepared for senior DOT
officials may use the same information.
The Confidential Information
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
of 2002 (44 USC 3501 note), requires a
statistical agency to clearly identify
information it collects for non-statistical
purposes. BTS hereby notifies the
respondents and the public that BTS
uses the information it collects under
this OMB approval for non-statistical
purposes including, but not limited to,
publication of both Respondent’s
identity and its data, submission of the
information to agencies outside BTS for
review, analysis and possible use in
regulatory and other administrative
matters.
Issued on February 25, 2014.
Rolf R. Schmitt,
Deputy Director, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2014–04565 Filed 2–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–HY–P

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