Story ID: 
Tell FAA which regs you want banished
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Are you frustrated by what you believe are some illogical, outdated, stifling or just plain crackpot regulations? Now is your once-in-every-three-year chan
Word Count: 386
Are you frustrated by what you believe are some illogical, outdated, stifling or just plain crackpot regulations? Now is your once-in-every-three-year chance to officially let the FAA know what regs you find “burdensome, unnecessary or impose needless economic costs.”
The FAA asked the public in 1992 and 1994 to tell the agency what regulations they don’t like, and under a 1997 congressional recommendation to the FAA to identify regulations that are no longer needed, the agency adopted a three-year review program.
To focus on areas of greatest concern, and effectively manage agency resources, the FAA asks that commenters limit their input to discussing the three regulations they consider most urgently in need of revising or eliminating, and to list them in priority order.
The FAA said it will review the issues addressed by the commenters against its regulatory agenda and rulemaking program efforts and “adjust the regulatory priorities consistent with its statutory responsibilities.” At the end of the process, the agency will publish a summary and general disposition of comments and indicate, where appropriate, “how we will adjust our regulatory priorities.” Commenters are also being asked to provide any specific suggestions where rules could be developed as “performance based” rather than “prescriptive,” any specific plain-language that might be used and to provide suggested language on how those rules should be written.
The FAA said it received more than 1,250 comments on its first four rounds of regulatory reviews since 1992. But the agency did not say how many or what regulations have been changed or deleted because of these reviews, with one notable exception. Based in part on comments submitted under the first review, the FAA in 2002 launched a comprehensive regulatory review of FAR Parts 125 and 135. That review is ongoing (AIN, October 2002, page 62).
To avoid duplication of effort, the FAA wants the public to direct any comments concerning suggested changes to regulations under Parts 125 and 135 to the address included in the Feb. 3, 2003, notice announcing that special review.
May 25 is the deadline for commenters to send in their list of regulations that should be revised or eliminated. For more information, contact the FAA’s Patrick Boyd at (202) 267-7320. Comments can be read at http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm and type in “17168” as the docket number.