[Federal Register: October 28, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 209)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 63910-63912]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28oc08-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
[Docket No. FAA-2008-0997; Airspace Docket No. 08-AAL-28]
Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Bethel, AK
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend Class D and E airspace at
Bethel, AK. The Airport and Navigation Aids will be soon undergoing a
magnetic variation change. This change will result in the necessity to
revise the airspace descriptions. Additionally, the present 1,200 foot
airspace is no longer necessary, because Bethel lies within a larger
section of controlled airspace called the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Class E
airspace covering the area required for the airport. Adoption of this
proposal would result in amendment of existing Class D and E airspace
upward from the surface, and from 700 feet (ft.) and 1,200 ft. above
the surface at the Bethel Airport, Bethel, AK.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 12, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal to the Docket Management
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue,
SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001. You must identify the docket number FAA-2008-0997/Airspace Docket
No. 08-AAL-28, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit
comments on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. You may review
the public docket containing the proposal, any comments received, and
any final disposition in person in the Dockets Office between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket
Office (telephone 1-800-647-5527) is on the plaza level of the
Department of Transportation NASSIF Building at the above address.
An informal docket may also be examined during normal business
hours at the office of the Manager, Safety, Alaska Flight Service
Operations, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box
14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Rolf, Federal Aviation
Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587;
telephone number (907) 271-5898; fax: (907) 271-2850; e-mail:
gary.ctr.rolf@faa.gov. Internet address: http://www.alaska.faa.gov/at.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested parties are invited to participate in this proposed
rulemaking by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as they
may desire. Comments that provide the factual basis supporting the
views and suggestions presented are particularly helpful in developing
reasoned regulatory decisions on the proposal. Comments are
specifically invited on the overall regulatory, aeronautical, economic,
environmental, and energy-related aspects of the proposal.
Communications should identify both docket numbers and be submitted in
triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the FAA to
acknowledge receipt of their comments on this notice must submit with
those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the
following statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2008-0997/
Airspace Docket No. 08-AAL-28.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped
and returned to the commenter.
All communications received on or before the specified closing date
for comments will be considered before taking action on the proposed
rule. The proposal contained in this notice may be changed in light of
comments received. All comments submitted will be available for
examination in the public docket both before and after the closing date
for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with
FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed in the
docket.
Availability of Notice of Proposed Rulemakings (NPRMs)
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http://
www.faa.gov or the Superintendent of Document's Web page at http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Additionally, any person may obtain a copy of this notice by
submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of
Air Traffic Airspace Management, ATA-400, 800 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20591 or by calling (202) 267-8783. Communications must
identify both docket numbers for this notice. Persons interested in
being
[[Page 63911]]
placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs should contact the FAA's
Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, to request a copy of Advisory
Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System,
which describes the application procedure.
The Proposal
The FAA is considering an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal
Regulations (14 CFR) Part 71, which would amend the Class D and E
airspace at the Bethel Airport, in Bethel, AK. The intended effect of
this proposal is to amend Class D and E airspace upward from the
surface, and from 700 ft. and 1,200 ft. above the surface to contain
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the Bethel Airport, Bethel,
AK.
The Bethel Airport and its Navigation Aids will be soon undergoing
a magnetic variation change. This change will result in the necessity
to amend the airspace descriptions. There will be no visible change to
the airspace currently depicted on aeronautical charts. Additionally,
the present 1,200 foot airspace description is no longer necessary,
because Bethel, Alaska lies within a larger section of Class E5
airspace, called Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, covering the area required for
the airport. Class D and E controlled airspace extending upward from
the surface, and from 700 ft. and 1,200 ft. above the surface in the
Bethel Airport area would be amended by this action. The proposed
airspace is sufficient in size to contain aircraft executing the
instrument procedures at the Bethel Airport, Bethel, AK.
The area would be depicted on aeronautical charts for pilot
reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North
American Datum 83. The Class D airspace area designations are published
in paragraph 5000 of FAA Order 7400.9R, Airspace Designations and
Reporting Points, signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15,
2007, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E
airspace areas designated as surface areas are published in paragraph
6002 and 6004 in FAA Order 7400.9R, Airspace Designations and Reporting
Points, signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15, 2007, which
is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace areas
designated as 700/1200 foot transition areas are published in paragraph
6005 in FAA Order 7400.9R, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points,
signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15, 2007, which is
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D and E airspace
designations listed in this document would be published subsequently in
the Order.
The FAA has determined that this proposed regulation only involves
an established body of technical regulations for which frequent and
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current.
It, therefore --(1) Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 1979);
and (3) does not warrant preparation of a regulatory evaluation as the
anticipated impact is so minimal. Since this is a routine matter that
will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is
certified that this rule, when promulgated, will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the
criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is
found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle 1, Section 106
describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII,
Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the agency's
authority.
This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in
Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart 1, Section 40103, Sovereignty and use of
airspace. Under that section, the FAA is charged with prescribing
regulations to ensure the safe and efficient use of the navigable
airspace. This regulation is within the scope of that authority because
it proposes to create Class D and E airspace sufficient in size to
contain aircraft executing instrument procedures at the Bethel Airport,
AK, and represents the FAA's continuing effort to safely and
efficiently use the navigable airspace.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71
Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).
The Proposed Amendment
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:
PART 71-- DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D, AND
CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.
Sec. 71.1 [Amended]
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9R, Airspace Designations and
Reporting Points, signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15,
2007, is to be amended as follows:
* * * * *
Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace Extending Upward from 700 Feet or
More Above the Surface of the Earth.
* * * * *
AAL AK D Bethel, AK [Amended]
Bethel, Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat. 60[deg]46[min]47[sec] N., long. 161[deg]50[min]17[sec] W.)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60[deg]47[min]05[sec] N., long. 161[deg]49[min]28[sec] W.)
That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including
2,600 feet MSL and within a 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport,
AK, excluding that portion below 1,100 feet MSL between the
058[deg](T)/044[deg](M) radial and the 078[deg](T)/064[deg](M)
radial of the Bethel VORTAC, AK, from 2.9 miles northeast of the
Bethel VORTAC, AK. This Class D airspace area is effective during
the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to
Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously
published in the Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *
Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Designated as Surface Areas.
* * * * *
AAL AK E2 Bethel, AK [Amended]
Bethel, Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat. 60[deg]46[min]47[sec] N., long. 161[deg]50[min]17[sec] W.)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60[deg]47[min]05[sec] N., long. 161[deg]49[min]28[sec] W.)
Within a 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport, AK, excluding
that portion below 1,100 feet MSL between the 058[deg](T)/
044[deg](M) radial and the 078[deg](T)/064[deg](M) radial of the
Bethel VORTAC, AK, from 2.9 miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC,
AK. This Class E airspace area is effective during the specific
dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The
effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in
the Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *
Paragraph 6004 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as an Extension to
a Class D Surface Area.
* * * * *
AAL AK E4 Bethel, AK [Amended]
Bethel, Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat. 60[deg]46[min]47[sec] N., long. 161[deg]50[min]17[sec] W.)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60[deg]47[min]05[sec] N., long. 161[deg]49[min]28[sec] W.)
That airspace extending upward from the surface within 3 miles
each side of the 023[deg](T)/009[deg](M) radial of the Bethel
[[Page 63912]]
VORTAC, AK, extending from the 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel
Airport, AK, to 8.2 miles northeast of the Bethel Airport, AK,
excluding that portion below 1,100 feet MSL between the 058[deg](T)/
044[deg](M) radial and the 078[deg](T)/064[deg](M) radial of the
Bethel VORTAC, AK, from 2.9 miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC,
AK, and within 3.4 miles each side of the 008[deg](T)/354[deg](M)
radial of the Bethel VORTAC, AK, extending from the 4.1-mile radius
of the Bethel Airport, AK, to 11 miles north of the Bethel VORTAC,
AK, and within 3.5 miles each side of the 215[deg](T)/201[deg](M)
radial of the Bethel VORTAC, AK, extending from the 4.1-mile radius
of the Bethel Airport, AK, to 5 miles southwest of the Bethel
Airport, AK.
* * * * *
Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Extending Upward from 700 Feet or
More Above the Surface of the Earth.
* * * * *
AAL AK E5 Bethel, AK [Amended]
Bethel, Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat. 60[deg]46[min]47[sec] N., long. 161[deg]50[min]17[sec] W.)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60[deg]47[min]05[sec] N., long. 161[deg]49[min]28[sec] W.)
That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface
within a 16.8-mile radius of the Bethel Airport, AK, and within 8
miles west and 4 miles east of the Bethel Localizer front course
extending from the 16.8-mile radius of the Bethel Airport, AK, to
22.8 miles north of the Bethel Airport, AK, and within 8 miles east
and 4 miles west of the Bethel Localizer back course extending from
the 16.8-mile radius of the Bethel Airport, AK, to 21.4 miles south
of the Bethel Airport, AK.
* * * * *
Issued in Anchorage, AK, on October 20, 2008.
Marshall G. Severson,
Acting Manager, Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group.
[FR Doc. E8-25714 Filed 10-27-08; 8:45 am]
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