Kearns 1991

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Oct 10 , 1 99 1
Mr . M. J .
Kearns
Dear Mr . Kea r ns :

Th i s is i n response to your April 11 , 1 99 1 , let t er to Kenneth Quinn , Chi e f Counse l of t he Fede r al Avi ation Admi n i strati on ( FAA) . Your l etter i nqui r ed about t he FAA Admi nistra t o r ' s de l egat i on o f h i s authority t o grant wai vers under Feder al Avi ation Regulations ( FAR) section 91.903 ( f ormerly section 91.63) .

I n FAA Order 1100 . Sc , FAA Or gan i za t ion - - Fi eld, par agr aph 253(d) (2) , the Admi n i strato r has speci f ical l y delega t ed h i s author i ty t o grant or deny wa i vers of Part 91 o f t he FAR t o each o f the Regiona l Air Traf f ic Divi s i on Managers , as spec i f i ed in FAA Or der 771 1 . 1 . Waive r s whi ch authori ze t he conduct of aerial demonstra tions or ai r r aces are spec i f i ca l ly accepted from this delegation . This document a l so g i ves Regi onal Divi sion Manage r s the power to re - de l egate thi s authority . To determi ne whether the aut hority t o grant wai ve r s of the provis i ons of Part 91 have been re - de l ega t ed by a pa r ticul ar Regiona l Air Tr a f f ic Div i sion Manager , you shou l d contact the Regi onal Of f ice i n tha t Regi on .

The revi sed organi zat i ona l struct ure o f t he FAA was descri bed i n t he Federal Register on September 25 , 1989 . Thi s Final Ru l e made changes to the FAR to re f lec t t he agency- wi de r eor ganizat i on comp l eted at that t i me . The citati on for th i s Final Ru l e is 54 FR 39288 (1989) . I n addition , the FAA Order by whi ch the reor ganizat i on was accomplished is available to t he publ i c at the Document I nspec t ion Facility .

As to t he delegation of authority , it i s the unders t andi ng of the FAA t hat the Administrative Procedur e Act (5 U. S . C . sect i on 551 et seq . ) does no t r equi r e all delegations of aut hority to be pub l ished i n the Federa l Reg i ster . Court s have r u l ed tha t a delega t ion of authority t hat ne i t he r a lters t he s t eps a par ty needs to take to present a matter to the agency o r adverse l y a f fects a member o f the publi c i s not sub j ect to the r eport i ng r equirement of sect i on 552(a) (1 ) (D) . (See Chevron Qjl Q . M. Andrews ,, 588 F . 2d 1383 (5th Ci r . 1979) , r eh . den . 591 F . 2d 13 43 , cer t . den . 444 U. S . 879 ; ~ y . United , St ates, 428 F . 2d 274 (6 t h Ci r . 1970) ,

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cert. den. 401 U.S. 910). The delegations of authority to grant waivers of the provisions of Part 91 do not adversely affect any member of the public. The public is not required to change its conduct to conform to the result of the delegation. In addition, the delegation has not changed any of the procedures for seeking a waiver. A waiver is requested by completing the appropriate form and submitting it to any FAA office (FAR section 91.903(b)). Although there is no publication requirement associated with this delegation of authority, the public may inspect the FAA Orders, which discuss the delegation at any of the Document Inspection Facilities listed in 49 C.F.R. Part 7 Appendix C. If you require any further information regarding this matter, please contact Mary McCarthy, Regulations and Enforcement Division, at this address.

Sincerely,

Donald P. Byrne Assistant Chief Counsel Regulations and Enforcement