[Federal Register: November 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 222)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 67823-67824]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no08-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
[Docket No. FAA-2008-1046; Airspace Docket No. 08-ASW-21]
Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Houston, TX
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Houston, TX.
Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate Area
Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at
Lone Star Executive Airport, Conroe, TX. The FAA is taking this action
to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)
aircraft operations at Lone Star Executive Airport. This action also
updates the coordinates of Chambers County Airport, and reflects a name
change for Scholes Field.
DATES: 0901 UTC. Comments must be received on or before January 2,
2009.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001. You
must identify the docket number FAA-2008-1046/Airspace Docket No. 08-
ASW-21, 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 ground floor of the building at
the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Enander, Central Service Area,
Operations Support Group, Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest
Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76193-0530; telephone: (817)
222-5582.
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-2008-1046/
Airspace Docket No. 08-ASW-21.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped
and returned to the commenter.
[[Page 67824]]
Availability of 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/airports_airtraffic/air_traffic/publications/airspace_
amendments/.
Additionally, any person may obtain a copy of this notice by
submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
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 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
This action proposes to amend Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations
(14 CFR), Part 71 by amending the Class E airspace area for IFR
operations at Houston, TX. The RNAV SIAPs at Lone Star Executive
Airport, Conroe, TX, have made this action necessary. The area would be
depicted on appropriate aeronautical charts. Additionally, this action
reflects the name change for Scholes Field, and the coordinates for
Chambers County Airport would be updated.
Class E airspace areas are published in Paragraph 6005 of FAA Order
7400.9S, dated October 3, 2008, and effective October 31, 2008, which
is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace
designation 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 U.S.
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 I, Section 40103. Under that section, the FAA is charged with
prescribing regulations to assign the use of airspace necessary to
ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace. This
regulation is within the scope of that authority as it amends
controlled airspace in the Houston, TX, area.
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, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS;
AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS
1. The authority citation for 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 7400.9S, Airspace Designations and
Reporting Points, dated October 3, 2008, and effective October 31,
2008, is amended as follows:
Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace areas extending upward from 700
feet or more above the surface of the earth.
* * * * *
ASW TX E5 Houston, TX [Amended]
Point of Origin
(Lat. 30[deg]35'01'' N., long. 95[deg]28'01'' W.)
Anahuac, Chambers County Airport, TX
(Lat. 29[deg]46'11'' N., long. 94[deg]39'49'' W.)
Galveston, Scholes International at Galveston, TX
(Lat. 29[deg]15'55'' N., long. 94[deg]51'38'' W.)
Brookshire, Woods No. 2 Airport, TX
(Lat. 29[deg]47'37'' N., long. 95[deg]55'31'' W.)
Fulshear, Covey Trails Airport, TX
(Lat. 29[deg]41'24'' N., long. 95[deg]50'23'' W.)
Conroe, Lone Star Executive Airport, TX
(Lat. 30[deg]21'09'' N., long. 95[deg]24'52'' W.)
That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface
within an area bounded by a line beginning at the Point of Origin to
lat. 29[deg]45'00'' N., long. 94[deg]44'01'' W.; thence from lat.
29[deg]45'00'' N., long. 94[deg]44'01'' W. to a point of tangency
with the east arc of a 7.6-mile radius of Scholes International at
Galveston, and within a 7.6-mile radius of Scholes International at
Galveston; thence from lat. 29[deg]17'04'' N., long. 95[deg]00'13''
W.; to lat. 29[deg]30'01'' N., long. 95[deg]54'01'' W.; to lat.
30[deg]26'01'' N., long. 95[deg]42'01'' W.; to the point of origin,
and within a 6.6-mile radius of Lone Star Executive Airport, and
within a 6.5-mile radius of Woods No. 2 Airport, and within a 6.4-
mile radius of Covey Trails Airport excluding that airspace within
the Anahuac, TX, Class E airspace area.
* * * * *
Issued in Fort Worth, TX, on November 6, 2008.
Robert Beeman,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Area.
[FR Doc. E8-27150 Filed 11-14-08; 8:45 am]
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