80 FR 51498 - Proposed Modification of Restricted Area R-7201; Farallon De Medinilla Island; Mariana Islands, GU

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 164 (August 25, 2015)

This action proposes to expand the lateral boundary of restricted area R-7201, Farallon De Medinilla Island, Mariana Islands, GU. The expanded restricted airspace would be used to support strategic and attack bombing, close air support bombing, naval gunfire, and strafing and special operations training. This action also proposes to rename the restricted area from R-7201 to R-7201A.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 164 (Tuesday, August 25, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51498-51499]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21084]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 73

[Docket No. FAA-2015-0739; Airspace Docket No. 14-AWP-11]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Modification of Restricted Area R-7201; Farallon De 
Medinilla Island; Mariana Islands, GU

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to expand the lateral boundary of 
restricted area R-7201, Farallon De Medinilla Island, Mariana Islands, 
GU. The expanded restricted airspace would be used to support strategic 
and attack bombing, close air support bombing, naval gunfire, and 
strafing and special operations training. This action also proposes to 
rename the restricted area from R-7201 to R-7201A.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 
telephone: (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2015-
0739 and Airspace Docket No. 14-AWP-11, at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at 
www.regulations.gov. Comments on environmental and land use aspects 
should be directed to: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, 
Attention: MIRC Airspace EA/OEA Project Manager, 258 Makalapa Drive, 
Suite 100, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860-3134.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Stahl, Airspace Policy and 
Regulations Group, Office of Airspace Services, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 
telephone: (202) 267-8783.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority for This Rulemaking

    The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is 
found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle I, 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 
the 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 would modify the restricted area airspace at Farallon 
De Medinilla Island, Mariana Islands, GU, to enhance aviation safety 
and accommodate essential U.S. Navy training requirements.

Background

    The Department of the Navy is seeking to expand R-7201 out from its 
current 3-nautical mile (NM) radius to a 12-NM radius. The proposed 
action is needed in order to support training activities that involve 
the use of advanced weapons systems which the current airspace does not 
sufficiently and safely provide. The Navy and other services require 
fully capable training and testing range complexes (land, sea, and 
airspace) that provide realistic and controlled environments with 
sufficient surface Danger Zones (DZs) and Special Use Airspace vital 
for safety and mission success.
    Farrallon de Medinilla (FDM) consists of the island land mass and 
the restricted airspace designated R-7201. The land mass is 
approximately 1.7 miles long and 0.3 miles wide. It contains a live-
fire and inert bombing range and supports live-fire and inert 
engagements such as surface-to-ground and air-to-ground gunnery, 
bombing and missile exercises, fire support, and precision weapons. 
Restricted Area R-7201 surrounds FDM and the surrounding waters within 
a 3-NM radius from center extending from the surface to Flight Level 
(FL) 600. FDM and R-7201 are the Department of Defense's (DOD) only 
United States controlled range in the western Pacific available to 
forward-deployed forces for live-fire and inert training. For this 
reason, it plays a unique role in national defense. R-7201's location 
is ideal for access and availability and its relative isolation 
facilitates a variety of attack profiles.
    Due to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' 
(CNMI) strategic location and DOD's ongoing reassessment of the Western 
Pacific military alignment, there has been a dramatic increase in the 
importance of the Mariana Islands Range Complex (MIRC) as a training 
venue and its capabilities to support required military training. 
Flight training profiles, altitudes and speed are severely restricted 
to ensure containment due to the small size of the current restricted 
area. In order to fully exploit the capabilities of modern weapons 
systems and provide the required training scenarios that replicate 
conditions encountered during deployments today, it is necessary to 
expand R-7201 laterally. This action would enable the military to 
continue to achieve and maintain service readiness using the MIRC to 
support and conduct current, emerging, and future training activities. 
The proposed R-7201 expansion would support naval gun fire training, 
readiness and the utilization of advanced lasers with Nominal Ocular 
Hazard Distance that exceed the current 3 NM constraints of the 
existing airspace. Additionally, the expansion would serve to support 
the U.S. Air Force's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance 
(ISR)/Strike program. It is anticipated that a 45 percent increase in 
operations and training would occur within the expanded airspace and 
will accommodate an increased training tempo, newer aircraft and weapon 
systems that are commensurate with the ISR/Strike mission that the 
current airspace cannot support.
    The Navy has leased FDM from CNMI since 1971 and in 1983 negotiated 
a 50-year lease with an option to renew for another 50 years. No 
maneuver training is permitted on FDM and the nearshore waters are 
leased to the U.S. for military purposes, specifically for use as a 
live fire naval gunfire and air warfare air strike training range. As 
such, FDM and its nearshore area have always been an off-limits area to 
all personnel both civilian and military due to unexploded ordnance 
concerns. In addition to the proposed R-7201 expansion, the DZ around 
FDM would be expanded to 12 NM to align with the proposed restricted 
airspace. The DZ would restrict all private and commercial vessels from 
entering the area only when hazardous activities are scheduled.

[[Page 51499]]

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 (FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2014-0739 and Airspace Docket No. 14-AWP-11) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES section for 
address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
Internet at www.regulations.gov.
    Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
on this action must submit with those comments a self-addressed, 
stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: ``Comments 
to FAA Docket No. FAA-2015-0739 and Airspace Docket No. 14-AWP-11.'' 
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 action 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 NPRMs

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the 
Internet at www.regulations.gov.
    You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any 
comments received and any final disposition in person at the Dockets 
Office (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number) between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. An informal docket may also be examined during normal 
business hours at the office of the Operations Support Group, Western 
Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 1601 Lind Ave. SW., 
Renton, WA 98057.
    Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future 
NPRMs should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, 
for a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application 
procedure.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 73 to expand the 
lateral dimensions of restricted area R-7201, Farallon De Medinilla 
Island, Mariana Islands, GU and rename it R-7201A. The proposed R-7201A 
would be the minimum size required for containing stand-off weapons 
employment, naval gun fire training, and laser activities conducted 
there. The actual usage of the restricted area is estimated to be 4-5 
days per week, 3-6 hours per day with 1,680 sorties per year.
    The proposed R-7201A boundary would extend the current boundary 
from 3 NM to 12 NM from latitude 16[deg]01'04'' N., longitude 
146[deg]03'31'' E.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

    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. 
Therefore, this proposed regulation: (1) Is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a 
``significant rule'' under Department of Transportation (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 proposed 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.

Environmental Review

    This proposal will be subjected to an environmental analysis in 
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies 
and Procedures,'' prior to any FAA final regulatory action.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 73

    Airspace, Prohibited areas, Restricted areas.

The Proposed Amendment

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation 
Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 73 as follows:

PART 73--SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE

0
1. The authority citation for part 73 is amended to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g); 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 
10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.


Sec.  73.72  Guam [Amended]

0
2. Sec.  73.72 is amended as follows:

R-7201 Farallon De Medinilla Island Mariana Islands, GU [Removed]

R-7201A Farallon De Medinilla Island Mariana Islands, GU [New]

    Boundaries: Beginning at latitude 16[deg]01'04'' N., longitude 
146[deg]03'31'' E.; extending outward in a 12 NM radius.
    Altitudes: Surface up to and including FL 600.
    Times of Use: As scheduled by NOTAM 12 hours in advance.
    Controlling Agency: FAA, Guam Center/Radar Approach Control.
    Using Agency: Commander, Naval Forces, Marianas.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 19, 2015.
Gary A. Norek,
Manager, Airspace Policy and Regulations Group.
[FR Doc. 2015-21084 Filed 8-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P