81 FR 62847 - Proposed Establishment of Restricted Area R-2603; Fort Carson, CO

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 177 (September 13, 2016)

This action proposes to establish restricted area R-2603 within the existing Fort Carson, CO, Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), near Trinidad, CO. The U.S. Army requires additional restricted airspace because the restricted area ranges at Fort Carson are not large enough to meet all training requirements. The proposed R-2603 would provide increased ground-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-air battle space to increase training capacity and relieve training congestion at Fort Carson.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62847-62848]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21938]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 73

[Docket No. FAA-2016-8927; Airspace Docket No. 15-ANM-24]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Establishment of Restricted Area R-2603; Fort Carson, CO

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish restricted area R-2603 
within the existing Fort Carson, CO, Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), 
near Trinidad, CO. The U.S. Army requires additional restricted 
airspace because the restricted area ranges at Fort Carson are not 
large enough to meet all training requirements. The proposed R-2603 
would provide increased ground-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-air 
battle space to increase training capacity and relieve training 
congestion at Fort Carson.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 28, 2016.

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; telephone: 1 
(800) 647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2016-8927 and Airspace Docket No. 15-ANM-24, at the beginning of 
your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at 
http://www.regulations.gov. Comments on environmental and land use 
aspects should be directed to: Fort Carson NEPA Program Manager, 
Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division, 1626 Evans Street, 
Building 12191, Fort Carson, CO 80913-4362. You may review the public 
docket containing the proposal, any comments received, and any final 
disposition in person in the Docket Office between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Office 
is on the ground floor of the building at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Gallant, 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 a restricted area at Fort Carson, CO, 
to enhance aviation safety and accommodate essential Army 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-2016-8927 and Airspace Docket No. 15-ANM-24) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Office at the address listed above. 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

[[Page 62848]]

Docket No. FAA-2016-8927 and Airspace Docket No. 15-ANM-24.'' 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 Docket 
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.

Background

    To conduct realistic and coordinated large-scale training that 
integrate ground and air resources, the U.S. Army must maintain large 
maneuver and training areas of varying characteristics and complex 
terrain. As the overseas deployment cycle slows, soldiers must now 
train more often at home station in order to sustain their combat 
skills. As a result, competition among units for training time and 
space at Fort Carson, CO, will sharply increase. Fort Carson provides 
training for up to ten Army Brigades per year. In addition, Fort Carson 
conducts training with Reserve, National Guard, joint services, foreign 
military services, special operations forces and other Federal 
agencies. The current training areas and ranges at Fort Carson do not 
have the capacity to accommodate all current and evolving large-scale, 
integrated training requirements. To address this training shortfall, 
the Army must take advantage of the larger space and greater training 
capacity available at the existing Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), 
near Trinidad, CO. The PCMS is a military training site for Fort 
Carson, CO. The proposed designation of restricted area R-2603, within 
the PCMS, would provide the increased space needed to conduct various 
activities including force-on-force maneuver training, lasers and 
hazardous ground-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-air operations.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 73 to establish a 
new restricted area, designated R-2603, extending from the surface to 
but not including 10,000 feet MSL, within the existing Fort Carson 
PCMS. The proposed restricted area would contain various hazardous 
activities including, but not limited to: Electronic jamming; 
pyrotechnic activities; airborne and ground-based lasers; hazardous 
air-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air activities involving fixed-
wing and rotary-wing aircraft; and night-time lights-out flight 
maneuvers. Additionally, only ``non-dud'' producing munitions (40 
millimeter and below) would be fired in the proposed restricted area.
    R-2603 would be activated for specific times as announced by 
issuance of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). It is estimated that the area 
would be required to support approximately five training cycles per 
year with the longest duration of each cycle being approximately four 
to five weeks. The area would be activated only when needed to support 
operations that pose a hazard to aviation.
    The U.S. Army requested this action to provide additional 
restricted airspace to resolve a training capacity shortfall at Fort 
Carson, CO.

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 1050.1F, ``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.   73.26 Colorado (Amended)

0
2. Sec.  73.26 is amended as follows:
* * * * *

R-2603 Fort Carson, CO [New]

    Boundaries. Beginning at lat. 37[deg]22'30'' N., long. 
104[deg]04'47'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]21'15'' N., long. 104[deg]02'35'' 
W.; to lat. 37[deg]21'10'' N., long. 103[deg]54'41'' W.; to lat. 
37[deg]32'46'' N., long. 103[deg]42'46'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]38'33'' 
N., long. 103[deg]35'11'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]38'32'' N., long. 
103[deg]48'43'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]38'10'' N., long. 103[deg]48'47'' 
W.; to lat. 37[deg]35'57'' N., long. 103[deg]54'40'' W.; to lat. 
37[deg]35'59'' N., long. 103[deg]57'50'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]33'21'' 
N., long. 103[deg]57'55'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]32'27'' N., long. 
104[deg]02'15'' W.; to lat. 37[deg]32'27'' N., long. 104[deg]06'32'' 
W.; thence to the point of beginning.
    Designated altitudes. Surface to but not including 10,000 feet 
MSL.
    Time of designation. By NOTAM.
    Controlling agency. FAA, Denver ARTCC.
    Using agency. U.S. Army, Commander, Fort Carson, CO.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 6, 2016.
Leslie M. Swann,
Acting Manager, Airspace Policy Group.
[FR Doc. 2016-21938 Filed 9-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P