[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 18, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61458-61459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30215]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 18, 1997 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 61458]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
[Airspace Docket No. 97-ASO-16]
Proposed Modification to the Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify the Atlantic High Offshore
Airspace Area. The southeast boundary of the Atlantic High Offshore
Airspace Area would be extended to coincide with the boundary of the
San Juan Enroute Domestic Airspace Area. This proposal would facilitate
the use of domestic air traffic control (ATC) procedures within that
airspace, and thereby expedite the flow of air traffic and enhance the
utilization of that airspace.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 2, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, Air
Traffic Division, ASO-500, Docket No. 97-ASO-16, Federal Aviation
Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320.
The official docket may be examined in the Rules Docket, Office of
the Chief Counsel, Room 916, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC, weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
An informal docket may also be examined during normal business
hours at the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, ASO-500,
Federal Aviation Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia P. Crawford, Airspace and
Rules Division, ATA-400, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management,
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-8783.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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 the airspace docket number 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 Airspace Docket No. 97-
ASO-16.'' 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 notice may be changed
in light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available
for examination in the Rules 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 NPRM's
Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration,
Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, 800 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-8783. Communications
must identify the notice number of this NPRM. Persons interested in
being placed on a mailing list for future NPRM's should call 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
Air traffic activity in the Bahamas and Caribbean airspace area
continues to increase as the number of ground based navigational aids
continues to decrease. Consequently, a project to implement a non-Very
High Frequency Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/
DME) Area Navigation (RNAV) route system to supplement the current
airway system is warranted. Extending the southeast boundary of the
Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area to coincide with the San Juan
Enroute Domestic Airspace Area would support the development of a more
efficient route system in the Bahamas and Caribbean area.
The Proposal
The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to modify the
Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area. The Atlantic High Offshore
Airspace Area would be extended southeast to coincide with the boundary
of the San Juan Enroute Domestic Airspace Area.
The Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area is designated as Class A
airspace, and the San Juan Enroute Domestic Airspace Area is designated
as Class E airspace; domestic ATC standards apply in these areas. At
present, a gap of approximately 80 Nautical Miles (NM) exists between
the boundaries of the Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area and the San
Juan Enroute Domestic Airspace Area. The airspace within this gap is
part of the San Juan Oceanic Control Area/Flight Information Region
(CTA/FIR). International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) ATC
standards apply within the San Juan Oceanic CTA/FIR. Consequently, air
traffic controllers must apply two different sets of ATC standards to
aircraft transitioning from the Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area to
the San Juan Enroute Domestic Airspace Area, or vice-versa, (i.e.,
flight operations on the routes between south Florida and Puerto Rico).
Modifying the Atlantic High Offshore Airspace Area as proposed
would permit air traffic controllers to apply domestic ATC standards
along the entire length of the affected routes, thereby enhancing the
flow of air traffic, increasing capacity, and allowing for more
efficient use of the airspace.
Offshore Airspace Area designations are published in paragraph 2003
of FAA
[[Page 61459]]
Order 7400.9E, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16,
1997, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The offshore
airspace area designation listed in this document would be published
subsequently in the Order. 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 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,
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
ICAO Considerations
As part of this proposal relates to navigable airspace outside the
United States, this notice is submitted in accordance with the ICAO
International Standards and Recommended Practices.
The application of International Standards and Recommended
Practices by the FAA, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, in
areas outside U.S. domestic airspace, is governed by the Convention on
International Civil Aviation. Specifically, the FAA is governed by
Article 12 and Annex 11, which pertain to the establishment of
necessary air navigational facilities and services to promote the safe,
orderly, and expeditious flow of civil air traffic. The purpose of the
document is to ensure that civil aircraft operations on international
air routes are performed under uniform conditions.
The International Standards and Recommended Practices in Annex 11
apply to airspace under the jurisdiction of a contracting state,
derived from ICAO. Annex 11 provisions apply when air traffic services
are provided and a contracting state accepts the responsibility of
providing air traffic services over high seas or in airspace of
undetermined sovereignty. A contracting state accepting this
responsibility may apply the International Standards and Recommended
Practices that are consistent with standards and practices utilized in
its domestic jurisdiction.
In accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, state owned
aircraft are exempt from the Standards and Recommended Practices of
Annex 11. The United States is a contracting state to the Convention.
Article 3(d) of the Convention provides that participating state
aircraft will be operated in international airspace with due regard for
the safety of civil aircraft.
Since this action involves, in part, the designation of navigable
airspace outside the United States, the Administrator is consulting
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense in accordance
with the provisions of Executive Order 10854.
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, CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D AND
CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS
1. The authority citation for part 71 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.
Sec. 71.1 [Amended]
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of the Federal
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9E, Airspace Designations and
Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16,
1997, is amended as follows:
Paragraph 2003 Offshore Airspace Areas
* * * * *
Atlantic High [Revised]
That airspace extending upward from 18,000 feet MSL to and
including FL 600 within the area bounded on the east from north to
south by the Moncton FIR, New York Oceanic CTA/FIR, and the San Juan
Oceanic CTA/FIR; to the point where the San Juan Oceanic CTA/FIR
boundary turns southwest at lat. 21 deg.08'00''N., long.
67 deg.45'00'' W., thence from that point southeast via a straight
line to intersect a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas
Dominicci Airport at lat. 19 deg.47'28'' N., long. 67 deg.09'37''
W., thence counter-clockwise via a 100-mile radius of the Fernando
Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport to lat. 18 deg.53'05'' N., long.
67 deg.47'43'' W., thence from that point northwest via a straight
line to intersect the point where the Santo Domingo FIR turns
northwest at lat. 19 deg.39'00'' N., long. 69 deg.09'00'' W., thence
from that point the area is bounded on the south from east to west
by the Santo Domingo FIR, Port-Au-Prince CTA/FIR, and the Havana
CTA/FIR; bounded on the west from south to north by the Houston
Oceanic CTA/FIR, southern boundary of the Jacksonville Air Route
Traffic Control Center and a line 12 miles offshore and parallel to
the U.S. shoreline.
* * * * *
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 6, 1997.
Nancy B. Kalinowski,
Acting Program Director for Air Traffic Airspace Management.
[FR Doc. 97-30215 Filed 11-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
