Proposed Rule2024-01272
Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States; Extension of Comment Period
Primary source
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Published
January 24, 2024
Effective
December 7, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
This action extends the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States. On December 7, 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published this proposed rule. The NPRM would require certificated repair stations located outside the territory of the United States whose employees perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on certain air carrier aircraft to obtain and implement a drug and alcohol testing program in accordance with the requirements of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Program published by the FAA and the Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs published by the Department of Transportation. The FAA is extending the comment period for this NPRM to allow commenters additional time to analyze the proposed rule and prepare a response.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4584-4586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01272]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 120
[Docket No. FAA-2012-1058; Notice No. 24-05A]
RIN 2120-AK 09
Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees
Located Outside of the United States; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for the notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated
Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States. On
December 7, 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published
this proposed rule. The NPRM would require certificated repair stations
located outside the territory of the United States whose employees
perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on certain air carrier
aircraft to obtain and implement a drug and alcohol testing program in
accordance with the requirements of the Drug and Alcohol Testing
Program published by the FAA and the Procedures for Transportation
Workplace Drug Testing Programs published by the Department of
Transportation. The FAA is extending the comment period for this NPRM
to allow commenters additional time to analyze the proposed rule and
prepare a response.
DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published December 7, 2023, at
88 FR 85137 and scheduled to close on February 5, 2024, is extended
until April 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2012-1058
using any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
<bullet> Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey
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Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
<bullet> Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140
of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Rodriguez-Brown, Office of
Aerospace Medicine, Drug Abatement Division, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591;
telephone (202) 267-8442; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a3e282f3d3b383b2e3f373f342e1a3c3b3b743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c2a6b0b7a5a3a0a3b6a7afa7acb682a4a3a3eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
On December 7, 2023, the FAA published the NPRM, Drug and Alcohol
Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the
United States.\1\ This proposed rule, which the FAA is required by
statute to promulgate, would implement a statutory mandate to require
certificated part 145 repair stations located outside the territory of
the United States (U.S.) to ensure that employees who perform safety-
sensitive maintenance functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft are
subject to a drug and alcohol testing program, consistent with the
applicable laws of the country in which the repair station is located.
This proposed rule would require a part 145 repair station located
outside the territory of the U.S. to implement a drug and alcohol
testing program meeting the requirements of 49 CFR part 40 and 14 CFR
part 120, which must cover its employees who perform maintenance
functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft. If a part 145 repair
station cannot meet one or all requirements in 49 CFR part 40 (e.g.,
the laws of the country where the repair station is located are
inconsistent with the regulations), the part 145 repair station may
apply for an exemption using the process described in 49 CFR 40.7.
Similarly, if a part 145 repair station cannot meet one or all
requirements in 14 CFR part 120, it may apply for a waiver in
accordance with proposed waiver authority. This rule would affect
approximately 977 part 145 repair stations in about 65 foreign
countries.\2\
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\1\ 88 FR 85137.
\2\ These estimates are current as of April 2021 and sourced
from the National Vital Information Subsystem (NVIS). NVIS is a
subsystem of the Flight Standards Automation System, a comprehensive
information system used primarily by inspectors to record and
disseminate data associated with inspector activity and aviation
environment. While there are more current estimates (as of March
2023, the rule would affect approximately 962 part 145 repair
stations in about 66 foreign countries), the 2021 numbers are used
in the regulatory evaluation and Regulatory Impact Assessment to
estimate cost.
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It is the responsibility of the employer (e.g., the part 121
operator) to ensure that any person who performs safety-sensitive
functions (e.g., maintenance or preventive maintenance), directly or by
contract (including by subcontract at any tier), is subject to drug and
alcohol testing. The FAA notes that part 145 repair stations located
within the territory of the U.S. may elect to, but are not required to,
implement a drug and alcohol testing program under 14 CFR part 120.
When hiring by contract, if a part 145 domestic repair station does not
have a testing program of its own, the part 121 operator must cover the
repair station's safety-sensitive employees under its FAA drug and
alcohol testing program.\3\ In this scenario, for purposes of drug and
alcohol testing, the part 121 operator hires the repair station
employees as covered employees \4\ and must apply all the regulatory
requirements of the program to these employees (e.g., conduct a pre-
employment drug test, the records check, the training and educational
information distribution requirements, and include the individuals in
the random testing pool). Therefore, all employees performing a safety-
sensitive function within the U.S. are part of a drug and alcohol
testing program, whether it is the part 121 operator's program or the
repair station's program. As further discussed in this preamble, the
FAA does not propose any changes to its current drug and alcohol
testing requirements applicable to employees performing a safety-
sensitive function within the U.S. as part of this rulemaking. In
addition, the FAA invites comments, with supporting data, on whether
the drug and alcohol testing requirements in this proposed rule should
be extended to safety sensitive maintenance employees of part 121
certificate holders located outside the United States.
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\3\ 14 CFR 120.1(b), 120.105(e), 120.215(a)(5).
\4\ A covered employee is defined in Sec. 120.7(e) as an
individual who performs, either directly or by contract, a safety-
sensitive function listed in Sec. Sec. 120.105 and 120.215 for an
employer (as defined in Sec. 120.7(g)).
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II. Extension of Comment Period
Commenters were instructed to provide comments to the NPRM on or
before February 5, 2024, (i.e., sixty (60) days after publication of
the NPRM). Subsequently, on January 16, 2024, the FAA received a
request from 15 organizations to extend the comment period an
additional ninety (90) days.\5\ Commenters cited the holiday season and
the complexity, including international ramifications, as reasons for
requesting the extension.
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\5\ FAA-2012-1058-0099. Organizations included:
Aeronautical Repair Station Association
Civil Aviation Aerospace Industries Association
Air Transport Association of Canada
Aircraft Electronics Association
Airlines for America
Aviation Suppliers Association
Aviation Technician Education Council
Cargo Airline Association
Helicopter Association International
International Air Transport Association
Modification and Replacement Parts Association
National Air Carrier Association
National Air Transportation Association
National Business Aviation Association
Regional Airline Association
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The FAA grants the petitioners' request for an extension of the
comment period. The FAA recognizes the importance of the proposed rule
and that an extension would help commenters craft complete and
thoughtful responses. However, the FAA believes that an additional
sixty (60) days provides sufficient opportunity to review the NPRM and
provide comments. With this extension, the comment period will now
close on April 5, 2024. This will provide the public with a total of
one hundred twenty (120) days to conduct its review and submit comments
to the docket. The FAA will not grant any additional requests to
further extend the comment period for this rulemaking.
III. Additional Information
A. Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The Agency
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy,
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain
duplicate comments, commenters should submit only one time if comments
are filed electronically or commenters should send only one copy
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of written comments if comments are filed in writing.
The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before
the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed
after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without
incurring expense or delay. The FAA may change this proposal in light
of the comments it receives.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the
commenter provides, to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, as described in the system
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
<a href="http://www.dot.gov/privacy">www.dot.gov/privacy</a>.
B. Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552,
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this NPRM contain commercial or financial information that is
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and
that is relevant or responsive to this NPRM, it is important that you
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page
of your submission containing CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will treat
such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will
not be placed in the public docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing
CBI should be sent to the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. Any commentary the FAA
receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in
the public docket for this rulemaking.
C. Electronic Access and Filing
A copy of this notice of proposed rulemaking, all comments
received, any final rule, and all background material may be viewed
online at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> using the docket number listed above. A
copy of this rulemaking will be placed in the docket. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are available on the website. It is
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. An electronic copy of
this document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal
Register's website at <a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a> and the Government
Publishing Office's website at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. A copy may also be
found at the FAA's Regulations and Policies website at <a href="http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies">www.faa.gov/regulations_policies</a>.
Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9677.
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this
rulemaking.
All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule,
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed in
the electronic docket for this rulemaking.
IV. Extension of Comment Period
In accordance with Sec. 11.47(c) of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the petitions for extension of the
comment period for this notice. The petitioners have shown a
substantive interest in the proposed policy and good cause for the
extension of the comment period. The FAA has determined that an
extension of the comment period for an additional sixty (60) days to
April 5, 2024 is consistent with the public interest, and that good
cause exists for taking this action.
Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 24-05 is extended
until April 5, 2024.
Issued under authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 45102, and
44733 in Washington, DC.
Yvette A. Rose,
Deputy Executive Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2024-01272 Filed 1-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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