81 FR 11694 - Proposed Modification of Federal Airway V-506; Kotzebue, AK

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 44 (March 7, 2016)

This action proposes to modify Alaskan VOR Federal airway V- 506 by lowering the floor of class E controlled airspace due to the establishment of a lower global navigation satellite system (GNSS) minimum enroute altitude (MEA). This action would allow maximum use of the airspace.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11694-11695]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04738]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2016-3193; Airspace Docket No. 15-AAL-3]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Modification of Federal Airway V-506; Kotzebue, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify Alaskan VOR Federal airway V-
506 by lowering the floor of class E controlled airspace due to the 
establishment of a lower global navigation satellite system (GNSS) 
minimum enroute altitude (MEA). This action would allow maximum use of 
the airspace.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 21, 2016.

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-2016-
3193 and Airspace Docket No. 15-AAL-3 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through 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 9:00a.m. and 5:00 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.
    FAA Order 7400.9Z, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and 
subsequent amendments can be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/. For further information, you can contact the 
Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783. The Order is also available for inspection at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of FAA Order 7400.9Z at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go 
to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal-regulations/ibr_locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.9, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Stahl, Airspace Policy 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 route structure in the western U.S. to 
preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic within the National 
Airspace System.

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-2016-3193 and Airspace Docket No. 15-AAL-3) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management Facility (see ADDRESSES section for 
address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
Internet at http://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-2016-3193 and Airspace Docket No. 15-AAL-3.'' The 
postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received on or before the specified comment 
closing date 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 comment 
closing date. 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 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 (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 Western Service Center, Operations 
Support Group, 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.

[[Page 11695]]

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.9Z, airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and effective 
September 15, 2015. FAA Order 7400.9Z is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.9Z lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

Background

    On September 24, 1975, the FAA published a final rule that extended 
V-506 between Kotzebue and Barrow Alaska (40 FR 43885). Terrain in the 
vicinity limited the Minimum Enroute Altitude (MEA) to 10,000 feet for 
a large portion of this route, between the fixes SHOKK and MEADE on 
current charts. Due to this MEA, the airspace floor designated in the 
legal description was set at 9,500 feet for this section. In 2005, 
Anchorage Center requested a review for a lower GNSS MEA, and the FAA 
was able to apply a lower GNSS MEA of 8,000 feet. However, this action 
did not uncover the fact that controlled airspace did not exist to 
encompass the new MEA. On September 24, 2015, the FAA issued NOTAM FDC 
5/6054 that made the GNSS MEA between SHOKK and MEADE unavailable.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to modify Federal airway V-506 in Alaska 
that would lower the floor of controlled airspace north of Kotzebue, 
AK. The current legal description after Kotzebue, AK, of ``Kotzebue, 
AK; Hotham, AK, NDB; 69 miles 12 AGL, 124 miles 95 MSL, 98 miles 12 
AGL, Barrow, AK.'' would be changed to read ``Kotzebue, AK; Hotham, AK, 
NDB; 69 miles 12 AGL, 124 miles 75 MSL, 98 miles 12 AGL, Barrow, AK.''. 
The 124 mile section starting 69 miles north of the Hotham, AK NDB 
would be lowered from 9,500 feet to 7,500 feet. This airspace would 
support the GNSS MEA of 8,000 feet by providing a 500 foot buffer 
consistent with guidance found in FAA Order 7400.2, Procedures for 
Handling Airspace Matters. This expansion of airspace would provide 
instrument flight rules (IFR) users maximum use of V-506.
    Alaskan VOR federal airways are published in paragraph 6010(b) of 
FAA Order 7400.9Z dated August 6, 2015, and effective September 15, 
2015, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. V-506 would be 
subsequently published in the Order.

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. 
It, therefore: (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 would only affect air traffic 
procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this proposed rule, 
when promulgated, would 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 subject to an environmental analysis in 
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies 
and Procedures'' prior to any FAA final regulatory action.

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; AIR 
TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 71 continues 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.  71.1  [Amended]

0
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.9Z, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and 
effective September 15, 2015, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6010(b) Alaskan VOR Federal Airways.

* * * * *

V-506 (Amended)

    From INT Kodiak, AK, 107[deg] radial and the Anchorage Oceanic 
CTA/FIR boundary, 37 miles 20 MSL, 24 miles 12 AGL, via Kodiak; 50 
miles 12 AGL, 50 miles 95 MSL, 51 miles 12 AGL, King Salmon, AK; 51 
miles 12 AGL, 84 miles 70 MSL, 63 miles 12 AGL, Bethel, AK; Nome, 
AK; 35 miles 12 AGL, 71 miles 55 MSL, 53 miles 12 AGL, Kotzebue, AK; 
Hotham, AK, NDB; 69 miles 12 AGL, 124 miles 75 MSL, 98 miles 12 AGL, 
Barrow, AK.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2016.
Kenneth Ready,
Acting Manager, Airspace Policy Group.
[FR Doc. 2016-04738 Filed 3-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P