Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 150, Number 22: Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Parts I and III — Airport Winter Maintenance)

May 28, 2016

Statutory authority

Aeronautics Act

Sponsoring department

Department of Transport

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Between 2010 and 2015, 211 events at 76 Canadian airports could be attributable to poor winter maintenance. Several aircraft were damaged due to poor snow and ice removal, poor communication with airport winter maintenance vehicles or poor communication of the runway conditions at airports, such as outdated information or no information available at all. No lives were lost nor were there injuries reported. The lack of mandated requirements and the inconsistent methods used to assess and report runway surface conditions have resulted in confusion for all applicable parties, which leads to flight crews having to familiarize themselves with each airport's method for winter maintenance rather than being able to utilize common and reliable practices to employ a consistent level of service.

Background

Until the 1990s, airports in Canada were owned, operated or subsidized by the federal government, through Transport Canada. Beginning in 1992, control of Canadian airports started to be transferred to local airport authorities. While no longer operating these airports, Transport Canada continues to provide safety and security through aviation regulation and airport certification. (see footnote 1)

Since the devolution of airport ownership to non-governmental entities, there have been minimal regulatory requirements for airport winter maintenance operations in the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) and in the Aerodromes Standards and Recommended Practices. (see footnote 2) Industry has relied more on guidance material provided in Transport Canada's Advisory Circular (AC) Airport Winter Maintenance and Planning (see footnote 3) (Winter Maintenance AC) in order to structure its winter maintenance operations.

Winter maintenance procedures are tasks performed at airports during the winter season to maintain aviation safety in areas impacted by winter weather; such tasks include, but are not limited to, the removal of contaminants (for example ice and snow) from runways and providing runway friction measurements to air carriers operating at a particular airport.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) identified approach-and-landing accidents and risk of collisions on runways on their Watchlist 2014. The TSB has stated that timely and accurate runway surface condition information is required, because pilots must calculate the distance to perform a safe landing distance as snow, rain, or ice can affect this landing distance, which could increase the risk of approach-and-landing accidents. Also, the TSB has stated that there is an ongoing risk of aircraft colliding with vehicles or other aircraft on the ground at Canadian airports, which could include airport winter maintenance vehicles.

In order to ensure winter maintenance activities are consistently performed at all required airports, Transport Canada is proposing a regulatory amendment to the CARs in order to include provisions for winter maintenance. This regulatory amendment would impact airports at which aeroplanes subject to the regulatory requirements under CARs Subparts 705 (Airline Operations), 704 (Commuter Operations) and 703 (Air Taxi Operations) operate their air transport services. An air transport service consists of commercial air service that is operated for the purpose of transporting persons, personal belongings, baggage, goods or cargo in an aircraft between two points.

Objective

The objective of this proposal is to regulate and standardize winter maintenance operations at airports and to ensure that reliable and timely information is available to air operators when making take-off and landing decisions at airports during the winter months. Currently, there are minimal regulatory requirements in the CARs and in the Aerodromes Standards and Recommended Practices. In addition, airport operators are encouraged to plan and conduct winter maintenance based on the Winter Maintenance AC; however, Transport Canada Advisory Circulars are intended to provide information and guidance regarding operational matters and are not regulatory requirements. The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to introduce the information in the Winter Maintenance AC as regulatory requirements.

Description

In order to ensure winter maintenance operations are consistently performed at all required airports, Transport Canada is proposing a regulatory amendment to the CARs to include provisions for winter maintenance and to introduce associated standards for these provisions, i.e. the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance (Winter Maintenance Standards). This regulatory amendment would impact airports at which aeroplanes subject to CARs Subparts 705, 704 and 703 operate their air transport services.

To help achieve this objective, the proposed Regulations would require impacted airport operators to develop winter maintenance plans, friction measurement procedures, and training; the proposed Regulations would further introduce requirements related to the winter maintenance operations of runways and priority areas to increase the predictability of the availability of airport access during the winter season. As well, the proposed Regulations would require accurate and timely reporting of movement area surface conditions at airports during winter operations. Currently, a vast majority of airports are voluntarily fulfilling these proposed requirements, as they are suggested practices in the Winter Maintenance AC; however, the practices are not consistently applied across Canada and some airports are not applying them at all.

The proposed Regulations would establish requirements in the following areas:

Consultation

The proposed Regulations were developed by the Transport Canada Working Group on Airport Winter Maintenance and Planning, which was established in November 2000.

Active members of the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC) who participated in the development of these amendments include industry stakeholders, such as the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), the Air Transport Association of Canada, unions (e.g. the Air Line Pilots Association and the Canadian Union of Public Employees), representatives of other levels of government (e.g. the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario), and representatives of other federal government departments (e.g. the Department of National Defence).

During the development of the proposed Regulations, a technical committee meeting was held in September 2001 during which a number of differing views were expressed. The majority of the concerns raised related to the view that the proposed Regulations would be overly prescriptive. For example, the requirement for the limits on the height and slope of snow banks beside the runway or the CRFI friction measurement requirement would only apply at airports with paved surfaces and scheduled turbo-jet-powered aeroplanes with 30 days' advance notice.

However, the Air Line Pilots Association advocated for wider application of the CRFI, expressing the view that certain smaller aeroplanes have the same braking systems and reverse thrust capability as the larger ones.

In 2002, Transport Canada responded by stating there is no safety issue with the proposed Regulations and the intent of the regulatory requirements would be to provide winter maintenance services to commercial passenger-carrying aeroplanes. With respect to the proposal being too prescriptive, it was noted that the standard in place at the time did not permit any build-up of snow beside a runway; therefore, the proposed amendment would be more lenient for airport operators. A Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) was shared with industry and was presented at a Civil Aviation Regulatory Committee (CARC) meeting in January 2002 at which the NPA was approved.

Following the CARC response and approval of the NPA, action was taken to establish an internal working group to review definitions as requested by industry. A related 2003 NPA was created to clarify definitions and was fully consulted on at a technical committee meeting in May 2003 and accepted by those in attendance at a meeting in October 2003.

The proposed Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on March 21, 2009, and Transport Canada received 24 comments. Comments were received from airport operators, provincial governments, air operators and airport councils. Generally, there was opposition to the proposed Regulations, which were viewed as being too prescriptive.

As a large portion of the comments received following the Canada Gazette, Part I, publication were in support of the views expressed by the CAC, the largest representative of airport operators in Canada, Transport Canada met with officials from the CAC to explain the intent of the new proposed Regulations. Following this, both the CAC and the Regional Community Airports of Canada indicated to Transport Canada in 2012 that they were satisfied with the proposed Regulations. Given the length of time that has elapsed since the 2009 prepublication period, a second prepublication is now warranted. Transport Canada is of the view that air operators using smaller northern airports operated by certain provinces and territories may not be fully supportive of the proposed Regulations because of the associated increase in cost to operate these airports.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One Rule” applies to this regulatory proposal and is considered an “IN” under the Rule. Of the 212 airports impacted by these proposed Regulations, 6 airports were identified as business-owned airports. The proposed Regulations would increase administrative costs to all airports, as they would be required to maintain records to demonstrate their winter maintenance plans, which would include copying and filing their winter maintenance plans and training records, and would require them to submit these documents to the Minister of Transport should they be requested to do so. However, given that the intent of the “One-for-One” Rule is to quantify incremental administrative costs to businesses, the administrative costs were only quantified for the six airports that were identified as business-owned. Based on expert analysis and advice by Transport Canada, the administrative costs associated with these proposed Regulations would be estimated to have an annualized cost of $177 for all six business-owned airports. This estimate of administrative costs is based on 15 minutes annually to copy and file the winter maintenance plan and training records at each airport and 30 minutes annually to submit these records to the Minister of Transport if requested.

Small business lens

The proposed Regulations increase compliance costs for small business, but the total cost associated with the implementation of the proposed Regulations is less than $1 million, and the costs to small businesses are not disproportionately high. Therefore, the small business lens does not apply.

Rationale

The proposed Regulations would standardize winter maintenance operations and improve consistency and reliability of the reporting of runway surface information during severe winter weather, which would lead to safer transportation for those using Canadian airports in winter by increasing the predictability of airport access during this crucial time of the year. The proposed Regulations would regulate the use of both ice control chemicals and sand, as inappropriate chemicals or the improper use of chemicals could have a negative impact on an aircraft or the runway and sand could cause foreign object damage to an aircraft if the proper size is not used in the proper method.

The proposed Regulations would only be applicable to land airports in Canada of which there are currently 304. The following is a breakdown as to the impact these proposed Regulations would have on these airports:

Of the total 212 airports impacted by these proposed Regulations, Transport Canada estimates that the cumulative compliance cost would be $100,000 for 10 airports, of which one was identified as a business-owned airport, and that the annualized administrative cost would be $177 for 6 business-owned airports. There would be no anticipated additional costs to government for the enforcement of these proposed Regulations, as Transport Canada would include the surveillance of these proposed Regulations in its regular monitoring activities.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The proposed amendments would be enforced through the assessment of administrative monetary penalties imposed under sections 7.6 to 8.2 of the Aeronautics Act, through suspension or cancellation of a Canadian aviation document or through judicial action introduced by way of summary conviction as per section 7.3 of the Aeronautics Act.

The proposed Regulations would come into force on the first anniversary of the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. At the same time as the coming-into-force date of the proposed Regulations, the associated Winter Maintenance Standards will be made available to the public through Transport Canada's CARAC Activity Reporting System.

Contact

Chief
Regulatory Affairs (AARBH)
Civil Aviation
Safety and Security Group
Department of Transport
Place de Ville, Tower C
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
Telephone (general inquiries): 613-993-7284 or 1-800-305-2059
Fax: 613-990-1198
Internet address: http://www.tc.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 4.9 (see footnote a) and paragraphs 7.6(1)(a) (see footnote b) and (b) (see footnote c)‍ of the Aeronautics Act (see footnote d), proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Parts I and III — Airport Winter Maintenance).

Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations to the Minister of Transport within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All representations must be in writing and cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice. Each representation must be sent to the Chief, Regulatory Affairs (AARBH), Civil Aviation, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5 (general inquiries — tel.: 613-993-7284 or 1-800-305-2059; fax: 613-990-1198; Internet address: http://www.tc.gc.ca).

Ottawa, May 19, 2016

Jurica Čapkun
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Parts I and III — Airport Winter Maintenance)

Amendments

1 Subsection 101.01(1) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (see footnote 4) is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

ice means water that has frozen on a surface, and includes the condition commonly known as black ice and the condition in which compacted snow has turned into a polished ice surface; (glace)

2 Subpart 2 of Part III of Schedule II to Subpart 3 of Part I of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after the reference “Section 302.308”:

Column I

Designated Provision

Column II

Maximum Amount of Penalty ($)

Individual Corporation
Section 302.403 1,000 5,000
Subsection 302.406(1) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.406(2) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.410(1) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.410(4) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.412(1)(a) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.412(1)(b) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.412(2) 1,000 5,000
Subsection 302.412(3) 1,000 5,000
Section 302.413 3,000 15,000
Section 302.414 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.415(1) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.415(2) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.416(1) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.417(1)(a) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.417(1)(b) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.417(1)(c) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.417(1)(d) 3,000 15,000
Paragraph 302.417(1)(e) 1,000 5,000
Subsection 302.417(2) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.418(1) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.418(2) 3,000 15,000
Subsection 302.418(3) 3,000 15,000
Section 302.419 1,000 5,000

3 Division IV of Subpart 2 of Part III of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Division IV — Airport Winter Maintenance

Interpretation

302.401 The following definitions apply in this Division.

AMSCR or Aircraft Movement Surface Condition Report means a report that details the surface conditions of all movement areas at an airport, including runways and taxiways. (AMSCR ou compte rendu de l'état de la surface pour les mouvements d'aéronefs)

contaminant means material that collects on a surface, including standing water, slush, snow, compacted snow, ice, frost, sand, and ice control chemicals. (contaminant)

CRFI or Canadian runway friction index means the average of the friction measurements taken on runway surfaces on which freezing or frozen contaminants are present. (CRFI ou coefficient canadien de frottement sur piste)

ice control chemicals means chemicals used to prevent ice formation, to prevent ice from bonding to a surface, or to break up or melt ice on a surface. (produits chimiques de déglaçage)

loose snow means freshly fallen, dry, drifting snow or old standing snow that is neither compacted on nor bonded to a surface. (neige folle)

priority 1 area means an airside area that, based on prevailing winds and operational requirements, is necessary in order to maintain the operational capability of an airport, and includes the features referred to in paragraph 322.411(1)(a) of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance. (zone de priorité 1)

priority 2 area means an airside area that is necessary in order to provide additional runway availability should wind conditions or operational requirements change, and includes the features referred to in paragraph 322.411(1)(b) of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance. (zone de priorité 2)

priority 3 area means an airside area that is not a priority 1 area or a priority 2 area, and includes the features referred to in paragraph 322.411(1)(c) of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance. (zone de priorité 3)

sand means small particles of crushed angular mineral aggregates or natural sand material used to improve runway surface friction levels. (sable)

slush means partially melted snow or ice, with a high water content, from which water can readily flow. (neige fondante)

wet snow means snow that will stick together when compressed but will not readily allow water to flow from it if squeezed. (neige mouillée)

Application

302.402 (1) Subject to paragraph (2)(b), section 302.406 applies in respect of an airport if aeroplanes at the airport are operated in an air transport service under Subpart 3 of Part VII.

(2) Sections 302.410 to 302.419 apply in respect of an airport if

Notification

302.403 The operator of an airport referred to in paragraph 302.402(2)(b) shall

[302.404 to 302.405 reserved]

Winter Maintenance Measures

302.406 (1) Each year, before the start of winter maintenance operations, the operator of an airport shall

(2) The operator of the airport shall use AMSCRs to report the surface conditions of all movement areas, and shall forward the AMSCRs to the air navigation services provider.

[302.407 to 302.409 reserved]

Airport Winter Maintenance Plan

302.410 (1) The operator of an airport shall have an airport winter maintenance plan that

(2) The operator of the airport shall review its airport winter maintenance plan at least once a year as well as each time the operator fails to clear a priority area in accordance with the plan.

(3) If the operator of the airport determines, as a result of a review, that its airport winter maintenance plan should be amended, the operator shall consult a representative sample of the air operators that use the airport and amend the plan.

(4) The operator of the airport shall keep at the airport

Content

302.411 An airport winter maintenance plan shall set out or include

Clearance of Priority Areas

302.412 (1) The operator of an airport who decides to operate the airport during winter storm conditions shall

(2) If the operator of the airport fails to clear a priority area in accordance with its airport winter maintenance plan, the operator shall make a record of the event and its circumstances.

(3) The operator of the airport shall keep a record referred to in subsection (2) for two years after the date of the event.

Snow Accumulation on or Adjacent to Threshold Areas

302.413 The operator of an airport shall prevent snow that has accumulated on or adjacent to threshold areas from interfering with the operation of aeroplanes by clearing and banking the snow in a manner that meets or exceeds the specifications set out in section 322.413 of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance.

Snow Accumulation Adjacent to Runways or Taxiways

302.414 The operator of an airport shall prevent snow that has accumulated adjacent to runways or taxiways from interfering with the operation of aeroplanes by clearing and banking the snow in a manner that meets or exceeds the specifications set out in section 322.414 of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance.

Ice Control Chemicals and Sand

302.415 (1) The operator of an airport shall, on movement areas, use only

(2) The operator of the airport shall remove sand from movement areas, with the exception of gravel runways, as soon as the sand is no longer required in order to provide friction for aeroplanes and service vehicles.

Friction Measurement

302.416 (1) The operator of an airport shall

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if

Movement Area Inspections and Reports

302.417 (1) The operator of an airport shall

(2) Despite paragraph (1)(b), the operator of the airport shall not include friction readings in an AMSCR if those friction readings are obtained from a runway surface using a decelerometer and if

Training

302.418 (1) The operator of an airport shall not assign duties in respect of its airport winter maintenance plan to a person unless that person has received training from the operator on those duties and on the matters set out in section 322.418 of the Airport Standards — Airport Winter Maintenance.

(2) The operator of the airport shall not assign supervisory duties in respect of its airport winter maintenance plan to a person unless the person has received training on those duties and on the content of the plan.

(3) Each year, before the start of winter maintenance operations, the operator of the airport shall provide persons who will be assigned duties in respect of its airport winter maintenance plan with training on any amendments that have been made to the plan since the previous winter.

(4) Training provided under this section shall be competency-based with an emphasis on performance, and shall include written or practical examinations.

Training Records

302.419 The operator of an airport shall keep a training record for each person who receives any training under section 302.418, and shall keep the record for five years after the day on which the latest training was received.

[302.420 to 302.499 reserved]

Coming into Force

4 These Regulations come into force on the first anniversary of the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette Part II.

[22-1-o]