Supporting Statement 2120-0036 2019 06 11

Supporting Statement A

2120-0036

Notice of Landing Area Proposal

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.

49 U.S.C. Section 44502 (c) (2) provides that “To insure conformity, an airport or landing area not involving the expenditure of Government money may be established or constructed, or any runway may be altered substantially, only if the Administrator of the FAA is given reasonable prior notice so that the Administrator may provide advice on the effects of the establishment, construction, or alteration on the use of airspace by aircraft.”

Regulations to implement the provisions of Section 44502 are contained in Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 157, Notice of Construction, Alteration, Activation, and Deactivation of Airports. This regulation requires each proponent who intends to do any of the following to submit notice on Form 7480-1:

• Construct or otherwise establish a new airport or activate an airport. (Airport means any airport, heliport, helistop, vertiport, gliderport, seaplane base, ultralight flightpark, manned balloon launching facility, or other aircraft landing or takeoff area.)

• Construct, realign, alter or activate any runway or other aircraft landing or takeoff area of an airport.

• Construct, realign, alter or activate a taxiway associated with a landing or takeoff area on a public-use airport.

• Deactivate, discontinue using or abandon an airport or any landing or takeoff area of an airport for a period of one year or more.

• Change the status of an airport from private use to public use or from public use to another status.

• Change any traffic pattern or traffic pattern altitude or direction.

• Change status from Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) to Visual Flight Rules (VFR) or VFR to IFR.

This collection of information supports DOT’s strategic goal on safety.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

Federal Aviation Regulations Part 157 mandates that all “persons proposing to construct, alter, activate, or deactivate a civil or joint-use (civil/military) airport or to alter the status or use of such an airport” to notify the FAA before any construction, alteration, or change to the status or use of an airport. FAA Form 7480-1, Notice of Landing Area Proposal (or its online equivalent) is used to collect the information. The collection is reporting and occurs on occasion as needed.

This collection requires proponents to report and certify the purpose of the notification; the name, location, use, and type of landing area affected; landing area data; and operation data, including number of based aircraft and average number of landings.

The FAA uses the information collected when:

• Determining the effect the proposed action will have on existing airports and on the safe and efficient use of airspace by aircraft.

• Determining the effects the proposed action will have on existing or contemplated traffic patterns of neighboring airports.

• Determining the effects the proposed action will have on the existing airspace structure and projected programs of the FAA.

• Determining the effects that existing or proposed manmade objects (on file with the FAA) and natural objects within the affected area will have on the airport proposal.

Proponents are also required to notify the FAA by letter or by FAA Form 5010-5 within 15 days after completion of the project. The FAA requires this notification because many proposals are never completed for reasons pertinent only to the sponsor. The confirmation of the completion of the project is needed in order to identify the cancelled proposals, so as to release any airspace that may have been reserved and to update aeronautical charts and flight information publications. The collection/burden for Form 5010-5 falls under a different collection (OMB Control Number 2120-0015).

It is anticipated that the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support publicly disseminated information in aeronautical charts and flight information publications. FAA Office of Airports will retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with DOT/FAA standards for privacy and electronic information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all applicable information quality guidelines.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Explain the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration you have given or are giving to the use of improved information technology to reduce the burden on the public. You must address the following:

a. Is the electronic submission of responses possible

b. If a form is involved, is it available for public printing off the Internet* If so, please include the url.

c. Will the results of the information collection be made available to the public over the Internet?

In compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), the FAA has automated this collection and makes it available online through an agreement with the Air Traffic organization, which owns and operates the FAA’s Obstruction Evaluation / Airport Airspace Analysis system (https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/userMgmt/permissionAction.jsp?action=showLoginForm). This system also includes a related, but separate, collection for the notice of off-airport proposed construction or alteration (Forms 7460-1 and 7460-2, OMB Collection 2120-0001). The ability to file a notice for on-airport construction, alteration and deactivation electronically has proven to be a great benefit to the respondents who choose to do so. Currently, the FAA estimates that 90% of the respondents are using this system to file electronically.

We will continue to provide a fillable PDF form for this collection, Form 7480-1 (https://www.faa.gov/forms/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/185334), for those respondents who cannot use the electronic system.

The information collected is used to perform an airspace analysis to determine whether the development of the airport’s traffic pattern will interfere with other airports in the National Airspace System. Once the airport is properly vetted, the results of the collection are made available at https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/aero_data/Airport_Data/ and https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/airportdata_5010/. (Both pages use the same source data.)

The Privacy Threshold Assessment for the Obstruction Evaluation / Airport Airspace Analysis system is included with the ICR. The following SORNS address the privacy of collected contact information: DOT/ALL 16, Mailing Management System, and DOT/FAA 826 Petitions for Exemption, Other than Medical Exemption-Public Dockets

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

The FAA is the only Federal agency with the statutory requirement to collect this information. The regulation specifies that proponents must report construction, alteration (physical, status, or use), activation, or deactivation of a civil or joint-use (civil/military) airport to the appropriate FAA Airport District/Field Office or Regional Office. The form is used primarily for new facilities or for the addition of new runways for which 5010 data (described above) does not currently exist. Once vetted and confirmed, the information is used to create or modify the facility’s 5010 data, which is stored by the FAA’s aeronautical information services, the authoritative government source for collecting, storing, maintaining, and disseminating aeronautical data for the U.S. and its territories. This authoritative source ensures there is no duplicative collection.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

The information collected has been designed to minimize the burden on all respondents. Any State or local government, small business, or individual proposing to establish, alter, or construct a landing area can receive assistance from the FAA during the project planning phase on the feasibility of a project from an airspace utilization standpoint. Prospective project sponsors are encouraged to take advantage of this service, particularly on new airport projects, before money is expended for the acquisition of real property or for projects involving extensive engineering plans.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The collection of information is essential to the FAA’s Congressionally mandated mission of ensuring the safety of aircraft and the safe and efficient use of airspace by aircraft. By maintaining this information, the FAA can ensure the currency and accuracy of aeronautical navigation charts. Failure to report this information could have negative impacts on air traffic and diminish the safety of the national airspace system as the charts provide pilots safe landing areas in case of emergency. Failure to report this information 90 days in advance, as required, could result in a delay in the analysis and in the construction/status/change being reported.

The FAA does not dictate the frequency of collection. It is triggered by and completely dependent on the decision of the proponent “to construct, alter, activate, or deactivate a civil or joint-use (civil/military) airport or to alter the status or use of such an airport”.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document; requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records, for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

There are no special circumstances.

8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

A Federal Register Notice published on March 4, 2019 (84 FR 7412) solicited public comment. No comments were received.

9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

The FAA does not provide payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

We offer no assurance of confidentiality.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

There are no sensitive questions.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices. * If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included under item 13.
  
  
  

The average number of notices filed with the FAA fell to approximately 350 annually since the last renewal of this collection, so we are basing our number of respondents on this number. The amount of time to complete the requested information remains at 60 minutes (1 hour).

350 X 1.0 hour = 350 hours

The hourly cost to the respondents is estimated to be $18,900.

This is based on the mean hourly wage of an Airfield Operations Specialist¹ of $27 (rounded), multiplied by 2 to account for benefits plus other overhead costs such as rent, utilities, and office equipment²: ($27 x 2) X 350 = $18,900.

Summary (Annual numbers)	Reporting	Recordkeeping
IC 1
# of Respondents	350	0
# of Responses per respondent	1	0
Time per Response	1 Hr.	0
Total # of responses	350	0
Total burden (hours)	350	0

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.

For the 10% (approximately 35) respondents who use the fillable PDF version of Form 7480-1 and may choose to mail it in rather than sent it via email, the cost could be 35 x $0.55 (cost of first class stamp³) = $19.25. This is the estimated total annual cost burden (material cost) to respondents.

14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The total estimated annualized cost to the Federal government is $63,000.

Within the Airports organization, most airspace specialists belong to the 343, Management and Program Analyst, series, and they report spending an average of 2 hour per notice analyzing and processing the data.

The average hourly pay for airspace specialists is $45 (rounded)⁴, multiplied by 2 to account for benefits plus other overhead costs such as rent, utilities, and office equipment, for a fully-loaded hourly wage of $90.

Based on the average fully loaded hourly wage of $90, 350 expected notices annually, and an average processing time of 2 hours per notice, the FAA estimates the total annualized cost to the government (90 X 350 x 2) to be $63,000.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

The burden for this collection is being adjusted, based on data collected since this collection was last renewed in 2017. Data shows the hour and cost burden for respondents has gone down because both the number of notices filed and the number of respondents filing by mail (and thus incurring mailing costs) have decreased.

In ROCIS, the IC Cost Burden now reflects material costs only. The previously approved burden included wage costs, which is why the burden worksheet in ROCIS shows such a large burden adjustment.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Once the airport is properly vetted, the results of the collection are provided to FAA’s aeronautical information services, the authoritative government source for collecting, storing, maintaining, and disseminating aeronautical data for the U.S. and its territories. This data is published in aeronautical charts and flight information publications and made available online at https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/aero_data/Airport_Data/ and https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/airportdata_5010/. (Both pages use the same source data.)

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

The FAA does not request an exemption from placing the expiration date on FAA Form 7480-1.

18. Explain each exception to the topics of the certification statement identified in “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”

There are no exceptions.

1 Occupation 53-2022, BLS Occupational Employment Statistics for Transportation, 2018. See https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes532022.htm

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Analysis, Table 4.2, Constructing Default Estimates of the Value of Time, 2016. See https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/242926/HHS_RIAGuidance.pdf.

3 Cost as of January 27, 2019. See https://www.stamps.com/usps/postage-rate-increase/.

4 Occupation 13-1111, BLS Occupational Employment Statistics, Federal Executive Branch, 2018. See https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131111.htm.