[Federal Register: September 11, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 175)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 51730-51732]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11se07-16]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
19 CFR Part 122
[USCBP-2007-0017]
Addition of San Antonio International Airport to List of
Designated Landing Locations for Certain Aircraft
AGENCY: Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) Regulations by adding the San Antonio International
Airport (SAT), located in San Antonio, Texas, to the list of designated
airports at which
[[Page 51731]]
certain aircraft arriving in the continental United States from certain
areas south of the United States must land for CBP processing. This
proposed amendment is made to improve the effectiveness of CBP
enforcement efforts to combat the smuggling of contraband by air into
the United States from the south.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 13, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number, by one
of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments via docket number
USCBP-2007-0017.
Mail: Border Security Regulations Branch, Office of
Regulations and Rulings, Customs and Border Protection, 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., (Mint Annex), Washington, DC 20229.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Submitted comments
may also be inspected during regular business days between the hours of
9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Office of Regulations and Rulings, Customs
and Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC.
Arrangements to inspect submitted comments should be made in advance by
calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 572-8768.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Ramos, Program Manager, Traveler
Security and Facilitation, Office of Field Operations, Customs and
Border Protection at (202) 344-3726.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation
Interested persons are invited to participate in this rulemaking by
submitting written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of the
proposed rule. CBP also invites comments that relate to the economic,
environmental, or federalism affects that might result from this
proposed rule. Comments that will provide the most assistance to CBP
will reference a specific portion of the proposed rule, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include data, information, or
authority that support such recommended change.
Background
As part of CBP's efforts to combat drug-smuggling activities, CBP
air commerce regulations were amended in 1975 by Treasury Decision
(T.D.) 75-201, to impose special reporting requirements and control
procedures on certain aircraft arriving in the continental United
States via the U.S./Mexican border, the Pacific Coast, the Gulf of
Mexico, or the Atlantic Coast from certain locations in the southern
portion of the Western Hemisphere. These special reporting requirements
apply to all aircraft except the following: Public aircraft; those
aircraft operated on a regularly published schedule, pursuant to a
certificate of public convenience and necessity or foreign aircraft
permit issued by the Department of Transportation authorizing
interstate, overseas air transportation; and those aircraft with a
seating capacity of more than 30 passengers or a maximum payload
capacity of more than 7,500 pounds which are engaged in air
transportation for compensation or hire on demand (see 19 CFR
122.23(a)). Thus, since 1975, commanders of such aircraft have been
required to furnish CBP with timely notice of their intended arrival,
and required to land at the nearest airport to the point of crossing
designated by CBP for processing.
Specifically, the regulations (19 CFR 122.23) provide that subject
aircraft arriving in the continental United States from certain areas
south of the United States must furnish a notice of intended arrival to
the designated airport located nearest the point of crossing. Section
122.24(b) (19 CFR 122.24(b)) provides that, unless exempt, such
aircraft must land at designated airports for CBP processing and
delineates the airports designated for reporting and processing
purposes for these aircraft.
During the previous six years, aircraft subject to the special
reporting requirements entering the United States from the specified
foreign areas at a point of crossing near San Antonio, were required to
land at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) for processing by CBP.
These international flights have been arriving at SAT since November
2000, when SAT was temporarily designated as an airport where aircraft
arriving from certain southern areas could land pursuant to section
1453 of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-476,
Nov. 9, 2000). The Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of
2004 (Pub. L. 108-429, Dec. 3, 2004) effectively extended the airport's
designation through November 9, 2006.
This statutory designation has now expired. Community officials
from San Antonio, Texas and the surrounding region have written CBP
requesting that SAT be designated by regulation as an airport where
aircraft arriving from certain southern areas must land.
During the six years that SAT has been statutorily designated as an
airport at which these aircraft arriving from the south may land for
customs processing, CBP has reported no incidents or problems arising
from this designation. Such a designation will impose no additional
burdens on CBP as CBP already has a significant presence at SAT,
processing international passengers arriving on scheduled commercial
airliners as a landing rights airport. These same CBP personnel have
been processing passengers arriving from the south since SAT was
temporarily designated as an airport where aircraft arriving from the
south could land pursuant to the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of
2000. SAT provides facilities and security and law enforcement support
services, at no charge to CBP, to assist in the processing of aircraft.
Consequently, by this document CBP is proposing to permanently
designate SAT as an airport where certain aircraft, arriving in the
United States from south of the United States, are authorized to land
for CBP processing.
Proposed Amendment to Regulations
If the proposed airport designation is adopted, the list of
designated airports, at which certain aircraft arriving in the
continental United States from certain areas south of the United States
must land for CBP processing, at 19 CFR 122.24(b), will be amended to
include San Antonio International Airport, located in San Antonio,
Texas.
Authority
This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301, 19
U.S.C. 1433(d), 1644a, and 1624, and the Homeland Security Act of 2002,
Public Law 107-296 (November 25, 2002).
Signing Authority
This amendment to the regulations is being issued in accordance
with 19 CFR 0.2(a) pertaining to the authority of the Secretary of
Homeland Security (or his or her delegate) to prescribe regulations not
related to customs revenue functions.
[[Page 51732]]
The Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866
This proposed amendment seeks to expand the list of designated
airports at which certain aircraft may land for customs processing. As
described in this document, certain international flights have been
arriving at SAT, pursuant to statute, from November 2000, through
November 9, 2006. The expansion of the list of designated airports to
include SAT will not result in any new impact on affected parties but
will result in a continuation of the previous situation. Therefore, CBP
certifies that the proposed rule will not have significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, the
document is not subject to the regulatory analysis or other
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The Office of Management and Budget has
determined that this regulatory proposal is not a significant
regulatory action as defined under Executive Order 12866.
Dated: September 4, 2007.
Michael Chertoff,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-17802 Filed 9-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P