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OMB Control No: 2120-0796	ICR Reference No: 202403-2120-010
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202006-2120-003
Agency/Subagency: DOT/FAA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: DroneZone: Operational Waivers under Part 107
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 10/22/2024
	Date Received in OIRA: 03/27/2024
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	10/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	10/31/2024
Responses	3,565	0	10,444
Time Burden (Hours)	2,317	0	5,222
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: The FAA is improving the Web portal through which waiver requests are submitted, with robust enhancements to the portal for requesting waivers from operational sections of Part 107. As airspace waivers and operational waivers are vastly different from one another and are issued by different components of the FAA, the FAA has decided that it would be logical to create a separate IC for operational waivers. The request will allow the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to leverage automated means of collecting and processing operational waivers requested pursuant to 14 CFR Part 107. The DroneZone for operational waivers includes many improvements, the most important of which being completeness validation-- a crucial feature employed by such systems as OPM's eQIP system for security background checks, or the private TurboTax by Intuit. In each case, the system will not accept a submission unless all necessary data elements are provided. By introducing this feature, the FAA will vastly reduce the amount of time applicants spend locating and submitting information that they neglected to include in their original applications, and applicants can be confident that if an application is accepted by this new system, the application is complete. This technology will help the public in availing itself of 14 CFR part 107, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which provides that the FAA may issue certificates of waiver that authorize certain operations that do not fulfill the requirements of Part 107. Title 14 C.F.R. § 107.200(a) provides: The Administrator may issue a certificate of waiver authorizing a deviation from any regulation specified in § 107.205 if the Administrator finds that a proposed small UAS operation can safely be conducted under the terms of that certificate of waiver. Under 14 C.F.R. § 107.205, several operational restrictions codified in Part 107 may be waived. These waivers, which are referred to as “operational waivers”, may be requested via the web portal. Through the web portal, respondents will establish a single account where they will be able to conduct multiple activities, including requesting operational waivers pursuant to § 107.205. Part 107 respondents communicate directly with the FAA when using the web portal. When a respondent requests an operational waiver, the FAA will manually process the request and provide an approval or denial to the respondent via the web portal.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 49 USC 44807 Name of Law: General Requirements
US Code: 49 USC 44701 Name of Law: General Requirements

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 501	01/04/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 21404	03/27/2024
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
DroneZone Operational Waivers	n/a, n/a, n/a, n/a, n/a, n/a	, , , , ,

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	3,565	10,444	-6,879
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	2,317	5,222	-2,905
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The number of responses is significantly lower than the estimate in the initial submission in 2020. While those figures were based on estimates, the burden estimates in the present supporting statement are based on real-world data, namely, the waiver requests received during calendar year 2023. The burden totals are lower as a result. Additionally, the FAA annual cost is lower as well. Although the annual salary for FAA employees was updated per the OPM.gov 2023 salary table, the number of responses per year has proved to be considerably lower than the total estimated in the initial submission, so the burden on the FAA is lower as well.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,769,902

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Chris Morris 202 267-4418

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