The Devil in the Details of the FAA Significant Rulemaking Report
The Devil in the Details of the FAA Significant Rulemaking Report
[NOTE: AI must have a poor spell check function.” The The DELL” was the original text. Details do matter]
The FAA regulatory process is alleged to frequently violate the Rule against Perpetuities (not later than twenty-one years after some life in being at the creation of the interest). One can attribute the delays to the sheer volume of rulemaking projects, many of which are imposed by Congress and some of which bear a legislative mandate for completion (the dates are rarely met). Complex technical rules require considerable drafting to be easily understood and legally enforceable. The Administrative Procedure Act imposes a schedule for receiving comments and the number of comments can require extensive reconsideration.
Add to those “tracks,” all FAA regulatory proposals are reviewed by the DOT Secretary of Transportation staff and then the Office of Management of Budget’s Office of Information and Regulation. Those stops involve policy guidance from Administration appointees and can/frequently entail multiple iterations among the FAA, DOT and OIRA. These reviews reflect high level priorities–delaying, expediting, and obfuscating NPRMs/FINAL RULES.
Congress seeks to assess this policy-making machine by requiring the DOT (as well as other Departments) to publish SIGNIFICANT RULEMAKING REPORTS (SRR) on a quarterly basis. The last list of FAA’s work was reviewed here in September 2023 Obfuscated DOT/FAA Significant Rulemaking Report??? {this post looked at 2023,2022 and beyond} This image shows how creative the DOT staff can be to make it difficult to track these rules history from birth to implementation:
Different layouts, reduction in the level of details (dates, citations, etc.) and a lack of explanation why/why changed an NPRM’s progress make it more difficult to divine what is happening, which is why the Hill asked for SRMs.
The Devil is in the details and parsing through the 21 FAA projects, listed in the January 2024 SRR, may help see the influence of Secretary Buttigieg and the White House.
First basic statistics – oh no, the past SRRs are no longer available; so, comparing the previous number of open SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS with the 2024 list is not possible. This iteration in the DOT’s report to Congress enumerates
a.10.5 pages of SRMs
b.21 projects
c.10 listed as Next Action 00/00/00
d.1 terminated (UAS Expanded Operations
e.10 with due dates in 2024
SUBSTANCE in the DETAILS
[throughout the Item # refers to the SRR’s list #s.]
Delayed indefinitely:
Item #5– Pilot Biometric Certificates– intended to increase security
Item #6– Aircraft Registration and Airmen Certification Fees– intended to help pay for the services provided (statutory mandate for completion missed).
Item #12– Revision of ADS-B Out Requirements—a
project initiated in 2019 when it was described as “This rulemaking would also allow air traffic control to direct an operator to terminate transmission when it would jeopardize the safe functioning of ATC.”
Item #13– Safe and Secure Operations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “This action is necessary to address safety and security concerns from the homeland security, federal law enforcement, and national defense c ommunities.”
Item 14– Domestic Noise Certification of Supersonic Aircraft- curiously, there is no mention that Congress
instructed the FAA to issue these rules and several sections later in the legislation directed the FAA to develop more stringent noise standards.
vi. Five Items of no great consequence
TERMINATED
Item #11– Unmanned Aircraft Systems Expanded Operations
2024 CALENDAR (in order of projected date of issuance):
Item #2—NPRM 02/05/24 – Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certain Maintenance Provider Employees Located Outside of the United States a major issue for US mechanics, but laden with significant diplomatic with close allies and foreign unions.
Item #10 Final Rule 02/00/24 Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft– product of an old ARAC.
Item #15 Final Rule 02/00/24 External Marking Requirement for Small Unmanned Aircraft
SUAS ? day: see Item #18 12/00/24
Item #20 Comments Close 02/02/24– 25 Hour Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) requirement, New Aircraft Production NPRM issued 12/04/23– soon after
CVR was overrun on the Alaska Door “blow out”.
Item #21 NPRM 04/00/24 Equipment, Systems, and Network Information Security Protection
Item #17 Final Rule 07/00/24 Safety Management System (SMS) for Parts 21, 91, 135 and 145 – SMS’s application to these operations has been frequently
urged by NTSB and not terribly welcomed by those ] industry.
Item #16 NPRM 08/00/24 Designation – Restrict the Operation of an Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to a Fixed Site Facility
Item #19 NPRM 08/00/24 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations using Special Airworthiness
UAS day?
Item #9 ANALYZING COMMENTS 12/00/24 Orbital Debris Mitigation Methods for Launch Vehicle Upper Stages –12 months to analyze???
Item #18 ANALYZING COMMENTS 12/00/24 Integration of Powered-Lift: Pilot Certification and Operations; Miscellaneous Amendments Related to Rotorcraft and Airplanes—this is a much awaited set of foundational rules for eVTOLs; 12 months to respond to comments??? The Final Rule (2025- 2026?) may set back this technology compared to other CAAs.
Further analysis would enter into the sphere of politics and the above DETAILS should help you find your DEVIL.
