2018-28098. Establishment of Class E Airspace and Amendment of Class D and Class E Airspace; Olympia, WA

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This action establishes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface and modifies Class E airspace designated as an extension at Olympia Regional Airport (formerly Olympia Airport). This action removes the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status for Class E airspace designated as an extension, and updates the airport name and geographic coordinates in the associated Class D and E airspace areas to match the FAA's aeronautical database. These changes are necessary to accommodate airspace redesign for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport within the National Airspace System. Also, an editorial change is made to the Class D and Class E airspace legal descriptions replacing Airport/Facility Directory with the term Chart Supplement.

DATES:

Effective 0901 UTC, February 28, 2019. The Director of the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference action under Title 1 Code of Federal Regulations, part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order 7400.11 and publication of conforming amendments.

ADDRESSES:

FAA Order 7400.11C, 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: [phone]. The Order is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call [phone], or go to https://www.archives.gov/​federal-register/​cfr/​ibr-locations.html.

FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie Malgarini, Federal Aviation Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 2200 S 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198-6547; telephone [phone].

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 establishes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface and modifies Class E airspace designated as an extension at Olympia Regional Airport (formerly Olympia Airport). This action removes the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status for Class E airspace designated as an extension, and updates the airport name and geographic coordinates in the associated Class D and E airspace areas to match the FAA's aeronautical database. These changes are necessary to accommodate airspace redesign for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System.

History

The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (83 FR 1201; January 10, 2018) for Docket No. FAA-2017-1012 to modify Class D airspace, Class E surface area airspace, Class E airspace designated as an extension, and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Olympia Regional Airport (formerly Olympia Airport), WA; remove the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status for Class E airspace designated as an extension; and update the airport name and geographic coordinates in the associated Class D and E airspace areas to match the FAA's aeronautical database. Interested parties were invited to participate in this rulemaking effort by submitting written comments on the proposal to the FAA. No comments were received.

Class D and E airspace designations are published in paragraph 5000, 6002, 6004, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11C, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D and E airspace designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

This document amends FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018. FAA Order 7400.11C is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11C lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points.

The Rule

This amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 establishes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Olympia Regional Airport to contain IFR departure and arrival aircraft below 1,200 and 1,500 feet above the surface, respectively. This airspace duplicates the larger Seattle Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface, but ensures no future changes at Seattle inadvertently impact aircraft operations at Olympia Regional Airport.

The FAA also modifies the Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area at Olympia Regional Airport, Olympia, WA, by removing the segments north (within 1.8 miles each side of the Olympia VORTAC 010° radial extending from the 4-mile radius of the airport to 4.8 miles north of the VORTAC) and south (within 3.5 miles each side of the Olympia VORTAC 195° radial extending from the 4-mile radius of Olympia Airport to 9.2 miles south of the VORTAC) of the airport, and establishing a 2-mile wide segment extending to approximately 5.5 miles southeast of the airport.

Also, this action also eliminates the following language from the legal description of Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area at the airport, “This Class E airspace is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility Directory.”

Finally, this action updates the airport name from Olympia Airport to Olympia Regional Airport, updates the geographic coordinates of the airport to match the FAA's aeronautical database, and replaces the outdated term Airport/Facility Directory with the term Chart Supplement in the associated Class D and Class E airspace legal descriptions. This airspace redesign is necessary for the safety and management of IFR operations at the airport.

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 only affects 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.

Environmental Review

The FAA has determined that this action qualifies for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, “Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures,” paragraph 5-6.5a. This airspace action is not expected to cause any potentially significant environmental impacts, and no extraordinary circumstances exist that warrant preparation of an environmental assessment.

Lists of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

• Airspace
• Incorporation by reference
• Navigation (air)

Adoption of the Amendment

In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 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

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.

§ 71.1

[Amended]

2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

ANM OR D Olympia, WA [Amended]

Olympia Regional Airport, WA

(Lat. 46°58′10″ N, long. 122°54′09″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,700 feet MSL within a 4-mile radius of Olympia Regional Airport. This Class D airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Designated as Surface Areas.

* * * * *

ANM OR E2 Olympia, WA [Amended]

Olympia Regional Airport, WA

(Lat. 46°58′10″ N, long. 122°54′09″ W)

That airspace within a 4-mile radius of Olympia Regional Airport. This Class E airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.

Paragraph 6004 Class E Airspace Designated as an Extension to a Class D or Class E Surface Area.

* * * * *

ANM OR E4 Olympia, WA [Amended]

Olympia Regional Airport, WA

(Lat. 46°58′10″ N, long. 122°54′09″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within the area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 46°57′14″ N, long. 122°48′28″ W; to lat. 46°56′44″ N, long. 122°47′08″ W; to lat. 46°55′28″ N, long. 122°47′10″ W; to lat. 46°54′42″ N, long. 122°47′45″ W; to lat. 46°55′28″ N, long. 122°49′51″ W; thence counter-clockwise along the 4-mile radius of the airport to the point of beginning.

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

ANM OR E5 Olympia, WA [New]

Olympia Regional Airport, WA

(Lat. 46°58′10″ N, long. 122°54′09″ W)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6.8-mile radius of Olympia Regional Airport from the airport 211° bearing clockwise to the airport 088° bearing, and within an 8.2-mile radius of the airport from the airport 088° bearing clockwise to the airport 122° bearing, and within a 12.4-mile radius of the airport from the airport 122° bearing clockwise to the airport 211° bearing, and within 1 mile each side of the 011° bearing from the airport extending to 11.6 miles north of the airport.

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on December 14, 2018.

Byron Chew,

Acting Group Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.