81 FR 17619 - Proposed Establishment of Temporary Restricted Areas R-2509E, R-2509W, and R-2509N; Twentynine Palms, CA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 61 (March 30, 2016)

This action proposes to establish temporary restricted areas R-2509E, R-2509W, and R-2509N, Twentynine Palms, CA, to support a Marine Expeditionary Brigade level Large Scale Exercise (LSE) planned for existing and newly acquired training lands at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms from August 1 to August 18, 2016.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17619-17621]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07166]


========================================================================
Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2016 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 17619]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 73

[Docket No. FAA-2016-4282; Airspace Docket No. 16-AWP-3]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Establishment of Temporary Restricted Areas R-2509E, R-
2509W, and R-2509N; Twentynine Palms, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish temporary restricted areas 
R-2509E, R-2509W, and R-2509N, Twentynine Palms, CA, to support a 
Marine Expeditionary Brigade level Large Scale Exercise (LSE) planned 
for existing and newly acquired training lands at Marine Corps Air 
Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms from August 1 to August 
18, 2016.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 16, 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-
4282 and Airspace Docket No. 16-AWP-3, at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments 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 in 
the Dockets Office between 9:00 a.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.
    Comments on environmental and land use aspects to should be 
directed to: Mr. Chris Proudfoot, Proposed 29 Palms Land Acquisition/
Airspace Establishment Project MAGTFTC, MCAGCC, Bldg. 1554, Box 788104 
Twentynine Palms, CA 92278-8104; phone: (760) 830-7926.

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 establish the temporary restricted area airspace 
at Twentynine Palms, CA, to enhance aviation safety and accommodate 
essential United States Marine Corps training requirements.

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-2016-4282 and Airspace Docket No. 16-AWP-3) 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-2016-4282 and Airspace Docket No. 16-AWP-3.'' 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.

Background

    Marine Corps combat readiness depends on the continued availability 
of ranges and training areas that provide realistic, mission-oriented 
training and exercises. Marine Corps training proceeds on a continuum, 
from entry-level training of individual Marines in basic military 
skills to large-scale exercises involving a Marine Air Ground Task 
Force (MAGTF). Currently, the Marine Corps does not have

[[Page 17620]]

sufficient range space to conduct a Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) 
level live fire exercise. Through careful analysis and a series of 
studies, MCAGCC Twentynine Palms was identified as the only Marine 
Corps installation capable of expansion to the dimensions required to 
support this level of exercise. Acquisition of new lands without the 
requisite special use airspace (SUA) would not allow for the training 
events required to successfully execute this essential exercise. 
Consequently, a new restricted area, military operations areas (MOA) 
and air traffic control-assigned airspace are being developed as a 
critical element of the required expansion to support large scale MEB 
level exercises and those supporting building block training events. A 
prior proposal for permanent SUA received a non-concurrence from LA 
Center and will not be available to support the first Large Scale 
Exercise on new Twentynine Palms lands planned for August 1 to August 
18, 2016. The establishment of temporary restricted area R-2509E, W, 
and N, will substantially enhance both the capability and capacity of 
the MCAGCC Twentynine Palms Range and Training Areas (RTA) to conduct 
required training for a MEB large scale exercise.

The Proposal

    This proposal would establish new temporary restricted areas R-
2509E, R-2509W, and R-2509N for the period from August 1 to August 18, 
2016, to accommodate live fire from pistols, rifles, machine guns, 
anti-tank weapons, mortars, artillery, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, fixed 
wing, and rotary wing training activities including close air support 
and live ordnance delivery. This proposed temporary restricted area is 
required to effectively deconflict Department of Defense and civilian 
air traffic from hazards associated with live fire training.
    Maximum altitudes within the R-2509E would be Flight Level (FL) 
400, however, impacts mitigation were coordinated with Los Angeles Air 
Route Traffic Control Center and will be implemented to include 
limiting higher airspace activations above FL220 to only 2 hours for 2 
days of the exercise. R-2509W would have a ceiling of 8,000 feet MSL 
and R-2509N would have a ceiling of 16,000 feet MSL. Supersonic flight 
will not be conducted as part of the above aviation training 
activities.
    The times of use would be by NOTAM, and activations of R-2509E 
above FL220 would have the NOTAM issued 48 hours in advance. Expected 
usage would be 12 hours per day for 10 days up to 16,000 feet and 16 
hours per day for 6 days up to FL220.
    The lateral boundaries of the proposed areas would be as follows:

    Temporary R-2509E--Beginning at lat. 34[deg]40'30'' N., long. 
116[deg]29'43'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]39'24'' N., long. 116[deg]29'19'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]36'00'' N., long. 116[deg]28'03'' W.; to lat. 
34[deg]31'30'' N., long. 116[deg]26'48'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]30'00'' 
N., long. 116[deg]26'23'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]21'35'' N., long. 
116[deg]21'38'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]19'30'' N., long. 116[deg]20'29'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]17'38'' N., long. 116[deg]19'19'' W.; to lat. 
34[deg]22'25'' N., long. 116[deg]31'10'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' 
N., long. 116[deg]35'52'' W.; to the point of beginning.
    Temporary R-2509W--Beginning at lat. 34[deg]35'03'' N., long. 
116[deg]36'10'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' N., long. 116[deg]35'52'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]22'25'' N., long. 116[deg]31'10'' W.; to lat. 
34[deg]26'57'' N., long. 116[deg]42'51'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]29'44'' 
N., long. 116[deg]42'51'' W.; to the point of beginning.
    Temporary R-2509N--Beginning at lat. 34[deg]35'03'' N., long. 
116[deg]36'10'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]40'30'' N., long. 116[deg]29'43'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' N., long. 116[deg]35'52'' W.; to the 
point of beginning.

    These temporary restricted areas would automatically expire on 
August 18, 2016.

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 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 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.  73.25  California (Amended)

0
2. Sec.  73.25 is amended as follows:
* * * * *

R-2509E Twentynine Palms, CA [New]

    Boundaries. Beginning at lat. 34[deg]40'30'' N; long. 
116[deg]29'43'' W; to lat. 34[deg]39'24'' N; long. 116[deg]29'19'' 
W; to lat. 34[deg]36'00'' N; long. 116[deg]28'03'' W; to lat. 
34[deg]31'30'' N; long. 116[deg]26'48'' W; to lat. 34[deg]30'00'' N; 
long. 116[deg]26'23'' W; to lat. 34[deg]21'35'' N; long. 
116[deg]21'38'' W; to lat. 34[deg]19'30'' N; long. 116[deg]20'29'' 
W; to lat. 34[deg]17'38'' N; long. 116[deg]19'19'' W; to lat. 
34[deg]22'25'' N; long. 116[deg]31'10'' W; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' N; 
long. 116[deg]35'52'' W; to the point of beginning.
    Designated altitudes. Surface to FL 400.
    Time of designation. Intermittent by NOTAM during the period 
from August 1 to August 18, 2016.
    Controlling agency. FAA, Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control 
Center (ARTCC).
    Using agency. Commanding General, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat 
Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, CA.

R-2509W Twentynine Palms, CA [New]

    Boundaries. Beginning at lat. 34[deg]35'03'' N., long. 
116[deg]36'10'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' N., long. 116[deg]35'52'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]22'25'' N., long. 116[deg]31'10'' W.; to lat. 
34[deg]26'57'' N., long. 116[deg]42'51'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]29'44'' 
N., long. 116[deg]42'51'' W.; to the point of beginning.
     Designated altitudes. Surface to 8,000 feet MSL.
     Time of designation. Intermittent by NOTAM during the period 
from August 1 to August 18, 2016.
     Controlling agency. FAA, Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control 
Center (ARTCC).
     Using agency. Commanding General, Marine Corps Air Ground 
Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, CA.

 R-2509N Twentynine Palms, CA [New]

     Boundaries. Beginning at lat. 34[deg]35'03'' N., long. 
116[deg]36'10'' W.; to lat. 34[deg]40'30'' N., long. 116[deg]29'43'' 
W.; to lat. 34[deg]34'17'' N., long. 116[deg]35'52'' W.; to the 
point of beginning.
    Designated altitudes. Surface to 16,000 feet MSL.
    Time of designation. Intermittent by NOTAM during the period 
from August 1 to August 18, 2016.
    Controlling agency. FAA, Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control 
Center (ARTCC).
    Using agency. Commanding General, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat 
Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, CA.


[[Page 17621]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2016.
Gemechu Gelgelu,
Acting Manager, Airspace Policy Group.
[FR Doc. 2016-07166 Filed 3-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P