2018-03411. Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Kamuela, HI

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to amend Class E surface area airspace and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Waimea-Kohala Airport, Kamuela, HI. The part-time Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) status would be removed from Class E surface area airspace, references to the Kamuela VOR/DME would be removed from all associated Class E airspace areas, and airspace boundaries would be modified to only that area necessary to contain instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport. Airspace redesign is necessary as the FAA transitions from ground-based to satellite-based navigation for the safety and management of the national airspace system. Also, an editorial change would be made removing the airport name and replacing it with the city in the airspace designators for the above airspace areas.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before April 9, 2018.

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: [phone], or [phone]. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2017-1145; Airspace Docket No. 17-AWP-19, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FAA Order 7400.11B, 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 FAA Order 7400.11B 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:

Tom Clark, Federal Aviation Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, WA 98057; 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 would amend Class E airspace at Waimea-Kohala Airport, Kamuela, HI, to accommodate airspace redesign in support of IFR operations at the airport.

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 (Docket No. FAA-2017-1145; Airspace Docket No. 17-AWP-19) and be submitted in triplicate to DOT Docket Operations (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number).

Persons 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-2017-1145; Airspace Docket No. 17-AWP-19.” 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 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 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, at the Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 1601 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, WA 98057.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017. FAA Order 7400.11B is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11B 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 removing the part-time NOTAM status of Class E surface area airspace and defining its boundaries with reference to the Waimea-Kohala Airport, Kamuela, HI (instead of the Kamuela VOR/DME). Class E airspace would extend upward from the surface within the 4.3-mile radius of Waimea-Kohala Airport, and within 2.4 miles north and 1.8 miles south of the 069° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 7.3 miles east of the airport (from 1.8 miles northwest of and 2.6 miles southeast of the Kamuela VOR 063° radial, extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 7.8 miles northeast of the Kamuela VOR/DME).

Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface would be modified to within a 4.3-mile radius of Waimea-Kohala Airport (from a 6.4-mile radius) and within 4.1 miles each side of the 069° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 12.8 miles east of the airport, and within 1.3 miles each side of the 244° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 5.8 miles southwest of the airport (from 2 miles each side of the Kamuela VOR/DME 068° radial, extending from the 6.4-mile radius 12.6 miles northeast of the Kamuela VOR/DME, and within 2 miles each side of the Kamuela VOR/DME 246° extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 13.4 miles southwest of the Kamuela VOR/DME). This airspace redesign would expand the airspace areas slightly northeast and reduce the airspace from southeast clockwise to north to only that area necessary to contain IFR operations at the airport.

Additionally, an editorial change would be made replacing Waimea-Kohala Airport, HI, with Kameula, HI, in the airspace designation of the above classes of airspace to comply with a recent change to FAA Order 7400.2L, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters, dated October 12, 2017.

Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6002, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11B, dated August 3, 2017 and effective September 15, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

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, 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 proposed rule, when promulgated, would 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 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

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.

§ 71.1

[Amended]

2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as Surface Areas.

* * * * *

AWP HI E2 Kamuela, HI [Amended]

Waimea-Kohala Airport, HI

(Lat. 20°00′05″ N, long. 155°40′05″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within a 4.3-mile radius of Waimea-Kohala Airport, and within 2.4 miles north and 1.8 miles south of the 069° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 7.3 miles east of the airport.

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

* * * * *

AWP HI E5 Kamuela, HI [Amended]

Waimea-Kohala Airport, HI

(Lat. 20°00′05″ N, long. 155°40′05″ W)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 4.3-mile radius of Waimea-Kohala Airport, and within 4.1 miles each side of the 069° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 12.8 miles east of the airport, and within 1.3 miles each side of the 244° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 5.8 miles southwest of the airport.

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on February 7, 2018.

B.G. Chew,

Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.