(a) Upon determination that an application is complete with respect to at least one of the proposals submitted by the applicant, the FAA will act upon the complete proposals in the application. The FAA will not act on any proposal for which the applicant has declined to submit additional necessary information.

(b) The FAA will review the applicant's proposals in the preference order specified by the applicant. The FAA may request additional information from aircraft operators, or any other party, and may convene an informal meeting to gather facts relevant to its determination.

(c) The FAA will evaluate the proposal and issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed restriction and any submitted alternatives, in whole or in part, in the order of preference indicated by the applicant. Once the FAA approves a proposed restriction, the FAA will not consider any proposals of lower applicant-stated preference. Approval or disapproval will be given by the FAA within 180 days after receipt of the application or last supplement thereto under § 161.313. The FAA will publish its decision in the Federal Register and notify the applicant in writing.

(d) The applicant's failure to provide substantial evidence supporting the statutory conditions for approval of a particular proposal is grounds for disapproval of that proposed restriction.

(e) The FAA will approve or disapprove only the Stage 3 aspects of a restriction if the restriction applies to both Stage 2 and Stage 3 aircraft operations.

(f) An order approving a restriction may be subject to requirements that the applicant: