[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8862-8865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4824]
[[Page 8861]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part IV
Department of Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
Federal Aviation Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
14 CFR Parts 91, et al.
Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National Park;
Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 38 / Wednesday, February 26, 1997 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 8862]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Parts 91, 93, 121, and 135
[Docket No. 28537; Amendment Nos. 91-253, 93-73, 121-262, 135-66]
RIN 2120-AF93
Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National
Park
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On December 31, 1996, the FAA published a final rule that
codifies the provisions of Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR)
No. 50-2, Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National
Park (GCNP); modifies the dimensions of the GCNP Special Flight Rules
Area; establishes new and modifies existing flight-free zones;
establishes new and modifies existing flight corridors; establishes
reporting requirements for commercial sightseeing companies operating
in the Special Flight Rules Area; prohibits commercial sightseeing
operations during certain time periods; and limits the number of
aircraft that can be used for commercial sightseeing operations in the
GCNP Special Flight Rules Area. This action delays the effective date
for 14 CFR Sections 93.301, 93.305, and 93.307 of the final rule and
reinstates portions of and amends the expiration date of SFAR No. 50-2.
This action does not affect or delay the implementation of the curfew,
aircraft restrictions, reporting requirements or the other portions of
the rule.
Dates: Effective date: The effective date of May 1, 1997, for 14 CFR
Sections 93.301, 93.305, and 93.307, is delayed until 0901 UTC January
31, 1998. SFAR No. 560-2 is reinstated and amended effective 0901 UTC
May 1, 1997. SFAR No. 50-2, Sections 2, 3, 6, 6, 7 and 8 are removed
effective 0901 UTC May 1, 1997.
Comments must be received on or before March 24, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed, in triplicate to: Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel, Attention: Rules
Docket (AGC-200), Docket No. 28537, 800 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20591. Comments may be sent electronically to the Rules
Docket by using the following Internet address
nprmcmts@mail.faa.dot.gov. Comments must be marked Docket No. 28537.
Comments may be examined in the Rules Docket in Room 915G on weekdays
between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except on Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Neil Saunders, 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:
Request for Comments on the Rule
Although this action is a final rule, and was not preceded by
notice and public procedure, comments are invited on the rule. This
rule will become effective on the date specified in the DATES section.
Comments that provide the factual basis supporting the views and
suggestions presented are particularly helpful in evaluating the
effects of the rule, and in determining whether additional rulemaking
is required.
History
On December 31, 1996, the FAA published three concurrent actions (a
final rule, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [NPRM], and a Notice of
Availability of Proposed Commercial Air Tour Routes) in the Federal
Register (62 FR 69301) as part of an overall strategy to reduce further
the impact of aircraft noise on the park environment and to assist the
National Park Service (NPS) in achieving its statutory mandate imposed
by Public Law 100-91. The final rule amends part 93 of the Federal
Aviation Regulations and adds a new subpart to codify the provisions of
SFAR No. 50-2, modifies the dimensions of the GCNP Special Flight Rules
Area; establishes new and modifies existing flight-free zones;
reestablishes new and modifies existing flight corridors; and
establishes reporting requirements for commercial sightseeing companies
operating in the Special Flight Rules Area. In addition, to provide
further protection for park resources, the final rule prohibits
commercial sightseeing operations in the Zuni and Dragon corridors
during certain time periods, and places a temporary limit on the number
of aircraft that can be used for commercial sightseeing operations in
the GCNP Special Flight Rules Area. These provisions become effective
on May 1, 1997.
An NPRM, Notice No. 96-15, proposing to establish noise limitations
for certain aircraft operating in the vicinity of GCNP was also
published with a comment period that closes on March 31, 1997.
Finally, a Notice of Availability of proposed Commercial Air Tour
Routes for the GCNP was published with a 30-day comment period that
closed on January 31, 1997. This Notice requested comment on the
proposed new or modified existing air tour routes, which complement the
final rule affecting the Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of GCNP.
Petitions
By petition dated January 15, 1997, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association requested that the FAA reconsider the rule because of its
perceived negative impact on the general aviation community and the
fact that general aviation traffic does not contribute to the issues
addressed by the final rule.
On January 30, 1997, the Clark County Department of Aviation, et
al., filed a petition seeking reconsideration and/or a stay of
effectiveness of the implementation of the Toroweap/Shinumo Flight-Free
Zone that will bar the use of the current ``Blue 1'' commercial air
tour route until the FAA has taken adequate steps to assure the
availability of an adequate alternative for Las Vegas based air tour
operators.
On January 31, 1997, the Grand Canyon Air Tour Coalition
(Coalition) requested a stay of the effective date arguing that the
necessary pilot training and certification could not be reasonably and
safely completed prior to the May 1, 1997, effective date. The petition
also alleged that discontinuing and limiting existing tour routes as of
May 1, 1997, would disrupt the travel plans of a substantial portion of
GCNP visitors, and air tour operators would be forced to dishonor
contractual obligations based on material printed prior to August 1996.
(This administrative action is separate from but interrelated to a
Petition for Review filed by the Coalition in the Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit, Grand Canyon Air Tour Coalition v.
FAA, (Case No. 97-1003)).
On February 18, 1997, the Grand Canyon Trust, et. al., (Trust)
filed a request with the FAA opposing the Coalition's request for stay
of the final rule and urged the FAA to deny the Coalition's request.
The Trust argued that the Coalition has not presented valid grounds to
support its stay request.
Even though the specific Petitions filed with the FAA focus on
different aspects of the operating environment within the Park, the
underlying concepts of the three Petitions are similar in nature. All
three administrative Petitions are concerned
[[Page 8863]]
with the air tour route structure or its implementation.
In support of the requests for a stay of the effective date, the
Petitions have alleged several economic and safety concerns. The
economic concerns are inextricably tied with the implementation of the
new routes in the Park. As will be discussed below, if the
implementation of the new routes is delayed, the economic concerns are,
at a minimum, also delayed. In essence, the safety concerns stem from
the Petitioners' position that there is not enough time to train and
certify all operators and pilots for operations on the new Grand Canyon
routes that are scheduled to be in place on May 1, 1997, and that this
would create an inherently unsafe situation in the Grand Canyon. The
FAA strongly disagrees with this assertion that implementing the new
routes effective May 1, 1997, would be unsafe. Even though the FAA is
committed to achieving the substantial restoration of natural quiet in
the Park as soon as possible, safety is, and always will be, paramount.
To that end, the FAA has been preparing to take dramatic steps to
alleviate any potential problems that could adversely affect the safety
in the Park on May 1, 1997, by arranging for additional inspectors to
be available for the operators to complete the training on the new
routes prior to the May 1, 1997, effective date. The FAA would never
permit an unsafe situation to take place at the Grand Canyon.
While the FAA has been diligently working toward a May 1, 1997,
implementation date for the entire rule, the Agency has also been
reviewing comments concerning proposed routes and working toward the
establishment of these routes. During the process of establishing the
new routes in response to the final rule, the FAA has met with aviation
users, Park users, and Native Americans. Several new and innovative
ideas were offered by those groups. Many of these creative ideas
suggest alternatives to both the existing environment at the Park and
the proposed environment that could significantly improve the operating
situation in both the environmental and operational arenas. These new
suggestions have not yet been adequately explored, but are deserving of
further investigation and analysis. Additional time would afford the
FAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) an opportunity to review
these new ideas. In addition, the FAA is committed to a continued
working relationship with the affected Native American tribal units,
and the FAA intends to complete consultation with the affected Native
American tribes concerning these new route suggestions pursuant to
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Although the FAA
is fully prepared to implement the new route structure on May 1, 1997,
as originally proposed, it would be extremely difficult to accommodate
the new proposals now being discussed by that date.
The FAA has consulted with the DOI concerning the new suggestions
received by the FAA and the need for further consultation. The DOI
reexamined the situation at the Park and concluded that the
implementation of the curfew as required by the final rule on May 1,
1997, will, on its own, be a significant step to achieving the
substantial restoration of natural quiet in the Park. The subsequent
implementation of the new air tour route structure, together with the
proposal of quiet technology, will form the basis for the next step
towards the substantial restoration of natural quiet. The DOI and the
FAA have determined that additional time would be beneficial to permit
the further exploration of these new ideas submitted by the affected
and interested parties, and that a delay in the effective date of the
implementation of the new routes in the Park is warranted. Therefore,
to permit continued discussions on, and possible changes to, the
proposed new routes and to permit further consultation with the Native
American tribes, the FAA has determined to delay the effective date of
the expansion of the flight-free zones and minimum altitudes as stated
in 14 CFR Sections 93.301, 93.305 and 93.307 to January 31, 1998. The
effective date of May 1, 1997, for all the other aspects of the rule,
i.e., the curfew, aircraft limitations, and reporting requirements,
will remain unchanged.
Since the FAA is delaying certain portions of the final rule, as
stated above, SFAR 50-2 must be reinstated, and certain portions of the
SFAR be extended. The continuation of the SFAR is vital to maintain the
existing environmental and safety benefits. Specifically, the FAA finds
it necessary to amend Section 9 of the reinstated SFAR 50-2 to extend
the provisions of Sections 1, 4, and 5, (i.e., the Special Flight Rules
Area, the flight-free zones and the minimum flight altitudes) until
January 31, 1998. The termination of SFAR 50-2 Sections 1, 4, and 5
will coincide with the delayed effective date of 14 CFR Sections
93.301, 93.305, and 93.307.
On May 1, 1997, the provisions of the final rule that are
unaffected by the pending route structure will go into effect. These
provisions consist of the curfew, aircraft limitations, and reporting
requirements, and are continued in 14 CFR Sections 93.303, 93.309,
93.311, 93.313, 93.315, 93.316, and 93.317. To avoid redundancy and
confusion the FAA also finds it necessary to remove certain sections of
SFAR 50-2 effective May 1, 1997. Sections 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 will be
removed on May 1, 1997 to coincide with the implementation of the above
referenced sections of the final rule contained in part 93.
Further Consultation and Review
As mentioned above, during the comment period on the new routes,
the FAA received many insightful and cogent comments on the proposed
route structure. Consultation with the Native American representatives
also produced several useful and valid alternate operational schemes.
Many of these ideas received from the comments and through the
consultations are innovative and may prove to be quite beneficial for
both the safety and the environmental arenas. A good example of this
concerns the direction of air tour traffic in the eastern side of the
Park, e.g. in the Dragon Corridor. The FAA's preliminary view that
traffic should operate in a clockwise direction is being revisited,
based on comments from the air tour operators as well as from NPS. With
new considerations given by the operators, the existing direction of
traffic operations, ie., counterclockwise, may be the more safe and
environmentally sound decision.
The FAA has determined that the responses to the proposed routes
should be further analyzed prior to implementation of airspace changes.
Therefore, in light of the comments and additional information
received, the FAA will reexamine the proposed route structure in
relation to the operating environment in the Park. The FAA expects to
revisit the proposed route structure and incorporate several of the
above mentioned ideas. Involvement of the interested and affected
parties will be crucial in this process.
Notice and Comment
As is explained below, this final rule is being issued without
prior notice and comment because of the time constraints. The FAA spent
the month of January and most of February receiving and reviewing
comments on the proposed routes and consulting with the various
affected parties. Had the FAA not received the valuable information on
the route structure that it did, the FAA would have been able to
transmit the data on the proposed routes to the proper charting
authorities
[[Page 8864]]
(the National Ocean Service [NOS]), and an aeronautical chart would
have been available by at least April 1, 1997, that would have been
used by the operators for training and navigational purposes. To have
the appropriate chart produced by April 1, the FAA would have had to
forward the charting data to NOS by February 21, 1997. However, once
the FAA started to receive the relevant information from the
commenters, the Agency had to make a determination as to whether to
proceed with the proposed routes so as to have the routes and the
complete Grand Canyon final rule effective and implemented on May 1, or
whether to take additional time to analyze the comments and possibly
develop a better and more comprehensive route structure that would not
go into effect until after the busy summer tourist season.
Further, officials of the Park and NPS had suggested alterations
and refinements in the route structure that have the potential to
produce noise reduction benefits. They have requested the opportunity
to explore these new options with the FAA. Both the FAA and the DOI
believe that all these suggested changes could produce a significantly
better rule for both the Park users and the aviation operators.
Additional time is needed, however, to review, analyze, and implement
these route changes, which, again, would preclude a May 1, 1997,
effective date.
To permit what the FAA and the DOI believe will culminate in a
better overall route structure, the FAA has decided not to send the
originally proposed routes to NOS for charting, but to analyze the new
ideas with the expectation of creating better routes. Due to the
specific and strict requirements of NOS for the charting preparation
time, any further alteration to the route structure, such as the ones
suggested by DOI and interested parties, make it impossible to meet the
charting date necessary for a May 1 effective date. A delay in the
charting data to NOS would mean that NOS would not have been able to
produce the charts by April 1 and, consequently, operators would not
have been able to train their pilots by May 1. Essentially, therefore,
any delay in sending the data to NOS results in an equivalent delay of
the effective date. With the goal to produce the best routes possible,
the FAA determined that it would be contrary to the public interest to
implement the originally proposed routes when better alternatives might
be available as a result of the comments received and the consultations
with DOI and others.
Moreover, past experience has demonstrated that the training of
pilots on new routes during a peak tourist season could be unsafe. At
the Park, the peak season extends approximately from May through
October. To eliminate the potential for unsafe operations within the
Park, the FAA further determined that the training should take place in
the Park when the volume of air traffic traditionally decreases, i.e.,
after the summer tourist season. For that reason, the FAA is delaying
the effective date of the new airspace and route structure until
January 31, 1998, to give the operators sufficient time to train their
pilots adequately and safely after the close of the busy summer season.
Therefore, the FAA finds that there is sufficient justification under 5
U.S.C. 553(b) to issue this rule without notice and an opportunity for
comment. However, while there is not sufficient time to allow prior
notice and comments concerning the FAA decision to delay the May 1
effective date, we invite comments concerning any other aspect of this
notice, including the new implementation date of January 31, 1998.
Economic Evaluation
In promulgating the final rule for Special Flight Rules in the
Vicinity of the GCNP, the FAA prepared a cost-benefit analysis of the
rule. The delay in the implementation of 14 CFR Sections 93.301 and
93.307 will not affect that assessment. The delay in the implementation
of Section 93.305 will be cost-relieving.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended,
FAA completed a final regulatory flexibility analysis of the final
rule. The delay in the implementation of 14 CFR Sections 93.301,
93.305, and 93.307 will not have an effect on that analysis.
Federalism Implications
The amendment set forth herein will not have substantial direct
effects on the States, or the relationship between the national
Government and the State, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, in
accordance with Executive Order 12612, it is determined that this
amendment does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant
the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
List of Subjects
14 CFR Part 91
Aircraft, Airmen, Air traffic control, Aviation safety, Noise
control, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
14 CFR Part 93
Air traffic control, Airports, Navigation (Air), Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
14 CFR Part 121
Aircraft, Airmen, Aviation safety, Charter flights, Safety,
Transportation.
14 CFR Part 135
Air taxis, Aircraft, Airmen, Aviation safety.
Adoption of Amendments
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends 14
CFR parts 91, 93, 121, and 135 as follows:
PARTS 91, 121 AND 135 [AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 91 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 USC 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120, 44101, 44111,
44701, 44709, 44711, 44712, 44715, 44716, 44717, 44722, 46306,
46315, 46316, 46502, 46504, 46506-46507, 47122, 47508, 47528-47531.
2. The authority citation for part 121 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 USC 106(g), 40113, 40119, 44101, 44701-44702,
44705, 44709-44711, 44713, 44716-44717, 44722, 44901, 44903-44904,
44912, 46105.
3. The authority citation for part 135 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 USC 106(g), 40113, 44701-44702, 44705, 44709,
44711-44713, 44715-44717, 44722.
SFAR No. 50-2 [Reinstated]
4. In parts 91, 121, and 135, Special Federal Aviation Regulation
No. 50-2 is reinstated.
5. In parts 91, 121, and 135, Special Federal Aviation Regulation
No. 50-2, Section 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 are removed.
6. In parts 91, 121, and 135, Special Federal Aviation Regulation
No. 50-2, Section 9 is revised to read as follows:
SFAR 50-2--Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of the Grand Canyon
National Park, AZ
* * * * *
Section 9. Termination date. Sections 1. Applicability, Section
4, Flight-free zones, and Section 5. Minimum flight altitudes,
expire on 0901 UTC, January 31, 1998.
PART 93--SPECIAL AIR TRAFFIC RULES AND AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERNS
7. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 USC 106(g), 40103, 40106, 40109, 40113, 44502,
44514, 44701, 44719, 46301.
The effective date of May 1, 1997, for new Secs. 93.301, 93.305,
and 93.307 to be
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added to 14 CFR Chapter I is delayed until 0901 UTC, January 31, 1998.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 1997.
Barry L. Valentine,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-4824 Filed 2-21-97; 3:49 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
