82 FR 28033 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Canadian, TX; and Wheeler, TX

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 117 (June 20, 2017)

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Hemphill County Airport, Canadian, TX, and Wheeler Municipal Airport, Wheeler, TX. The FAA is proposing this action due to the decommissioning of the Sayre co- located VHF omnidirectional range and tactical air navigation system (VORTAC) facility, which provided navigation guidance for the instrument procedures to these airports. The VORTAC is being decommissioned as part of the VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) Minimum Operational Network (MON) Program. This action would enhance the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at these airports. Additionally, the geographic coordinates of the airports would be adjusted to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28033-28035]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12704]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0458; Airspace Docket No. 17-ASW-8]


Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Canadian, TX; and 
Wheeler, TX

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Hemphill County Airport, 
Canadian, TX, and Wheeler Municipal Airport, Wheeler, TX. The FAA is 
proposing this action due to the decommissioning of the Sayre co-
located VHF omnidirectional range and tactical air navigation system 
(VORTAC) facility, which provided navigation guidance for the 
instrument procedures to these airports. The VORTAC is being 
decommissioned as part of the VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) Minimum 
Operational Network (MON) Program. This action would enhance the safety 
and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at these 
airports. Additionally, the geographic coordinates of the airports 
would be adjusted to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 4, 2017.

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 
(202) 366-9826, or 1-800-647-5527. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2017-0458; Airspace Docket No. 17-ASW-8 at the beginning of your

[[Page 28034]]

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 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except federal holidays.
    FAA Order 7400.11A, 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 7400.11A at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go 
to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal-regulations/ibr_locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Operations Support Group, Central Service Center, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX, 76177; telephone (817) 222-5711.

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 
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 amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface at Hemphill County Airport, Canadian, TX, and Wheeler 
Municipal Airport, Wheeler, TX, to enhance the safety and management of 
IFR operations at these airports.

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-2017-0458/
Airspace Docket No. 17-ASW-8.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped 
and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received before the specified closing date for 
comments will be considered before taking action on the proposed rule. 
The proposal contained in this notice may be changed in light of the 
comments received. 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. Recently published rulemaking 
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/airspace_amendments/.
    You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any 
comments received, and any final disposition in person in the Dockets 
Office (see the ADDRESSES section for the 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 Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic 
Organization, Central Service Center, Operations Support Group, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

Availability and Summary of Documents Proposed for Incorporation by 
Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11A, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and effective 
September 15, 2016. FAA Order 7400.11A is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11A lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by modifying Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface to:
    Within a 6.5-mile radius (reduced from a 6.8-mile radius) of 
Hemphill County Airport with an extension 1 mile either side of the 
224[deg] bearing from the airport from the 6.5-mile radius to 6.6 miles 
south of the airport, and updating the geographic coordinates of the 
airport to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database; and
    Within a 6.3-mile radius (reduced from a 6.4-mile radius) of 
Wheeler Municipal Airport and updating the geographic coordinates of 
the airport to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.
    Airspace reconfiguration is necessary due to the decommissioning of 
the Sayre VORTAC as part of the VOR MON Program and to bring the 
airspace in compliance with FAA Order JO 7400.2L, Procedures for 
Handling Airspace Matters. Controlled airspace is necessary for the 
safety and management of standard instrument approach procedures for 
IFR operations at these airports.
    Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6005 of 
FAA Order 7400.11A, dated August 3, 2016, and effective September 15, 
2016, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E 
airspace designations listed in this document will be published 
subsequently in the Order.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

    The FAA has determined that this regulation only involves an 
established body of technical regulations for which frequent and 
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current, is 
non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative 
comments. 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, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a

[[Page 28035]]

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

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me, 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 14 CFR 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 7400.11A, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and 
effective September 15, 2016, 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 Canadian, TX [Amended]

Canadian, Hemphill County Airport, TX
    (Lat. 35[deg]53'42'' N., long. 100[deg]24'14'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.5-mile radius of Hemphill County Airport, and within 1 
mile either side of the 224[deg] bearing from the airport extending 
from the 6.5-mile radius to 6.6 miles south of the airport.
* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Wheeler, TX [Amended]

Wheeler Municipal Airport, TX
    (Lat. 35[deg]27'04'' N., long. 100[deg]12'00'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.3-mile radius of Wheeler Municipal Airport.


    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 13, 2017.
Walter Tweedy,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2017-12704 Filed 6-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P