[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 15, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 20889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07802]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Part 382
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0068]
RIN No. 2105-AE63
Traveling by Air With Service Animals
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Denial of request for extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is
denying the requests to extend the comment period on the Department's
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Traveling by Air with Service
Animals. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on February 5,
2020.
DATES: The closing date for comments on the NPRM published February 5,
2020 (85 FR 06448) on Traveling by Air with Service Animals is April 6,
2020.
ADDRESSES: You may review the requests to extend the public comment
period and other comments received under Docket Number OST 2018-0068
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maegan Johnson, Senior Attorney,
Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC, 20590, 202-
366-9342, 202-366-7152 (fax), maegan.johnson@dot.gov (email). You may
also contact Blane Workie, Assistant General Counsel, Office of
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC, 20590, 202-366-9342, 202-366-
7152 (fax), blane.workie@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 22, 2020, the Department
announced the issuance of the NPRM on Traveling by Air with Service
Animals and placed a copy of the NPRM on the Department's website at
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news and on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. On February
5, 2020, the NPRM was published in the Federal Register and interested
parties were asked to provide comments on or before April 6, 2020. The
NPRM also stated that late-filed comments will be considered to the
extent practicable.
By written request, dated March 30, 2020, U.S. Support Animals
asked the Department to extend the comment period on the NPRM by an
additional 90 days to July 6, 2020. U.S. Support Animals asserts that
numerous individuals with concerns about the NPRM have not yet
commented because they have been focusing on altering their everyday
routines in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public
health emergency. Additionally, on April 2, 2020, the American
Association of Airport Executives and Airports Council International--
North America jointly requested a 30-day extension of the comment
period, stating that the industry is consumed with responding to the
COVID-19 public health emergency and that airports need this additional
time to provide meaningful and substantive feedback on the Department's
proposed rule.
The Department has carefully considered the requests to extend the
comment period on the NPRM, beyond the published 60-day comment period,
which is longer than the generally prescribed length of the comment
period for significant regulations under the Department's rules at 49
CFR 5.13(i)(3). While the Department recognizes that COVID-19 has
disrupted the lives of many Americans, the Department finds that the
strong interest in the timely issuance of this priority rulemaking
outweighs the need to provide the public with additional time to
comment. The Department also notes that it has already received
thousands of comments on the NPRM since its publication, including a
steady stream of comments from the public while the country is
responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. For the reasons
stated above, and given that the Department intends to consider late-
filed comments to the extent practicable as indicated in the NPRM, the
requests to extend the comment period on the Traveling by Air with
Service Animals NPRM are denied.
Issued this 6th day of April 2020, in Washington, DC under
authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.27(n).
Christina G. Aizcorbe,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-07802 Filed 4-14-20; 8:45 am]
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