2010-8020. Proposed Revision of Class E Airspace; Galena, AK

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to revise Class E airspace at Galena, AK. The amendment of three Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs), and the development of one Obstacle Departure Procedure (ODP) at the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport have made this action necessary to enhance safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before May 24, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on the proposal to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number FAA-2010-0299/Airspace Docket No. 10-AAL-9 at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments on 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 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone [phone]) is on the plaza level of the Department of Transportation NASSIF Building at the above address.

An informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at the office of the Manager, Safety, Alaska Flight Service Operations, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gary Rolf, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587; telephone number [phone]; fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail]. Internet address: http://www.faa.gov/​about/​office_​org/​headquarters_​offices/​ato/​service_​units/​systemops/​fs/​alaskan/​rulemaking/​.

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 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-2010-0299/Airspace Docket No. 10-AAL-9.” 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 public 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 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/​airports_​airtraffic/​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 Federal Docket Management System Office (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. An informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at the office of the Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRM's should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, [phone], to request a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

This action proposes to amend Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by revising Class E airspace at Galena, AK, to accommodate a new departure procedure and amended SIAPs at Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport. This Class E airspace would provide adequate controlled airspace upward from the surface, and from 700 feet above the surface, for the safety and management of IFR operations at Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport.

The Class E2 surface areas are published in paragraph 6002 in FAA Order 7400.9T, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, signed August 27, 2009, and effective September 15, 2009, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace areas designated as 700/1200 foot transition areas are published in paragraph 6005 in FAA Order 7400.9T, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, signed August 27, 2009, and effective September 15, 2009, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in this document would be subsequently published 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. Because 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.

The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle 1, 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 1, Section 40103, Sovereignty and use of airspace. Under that section, the FAA is charged with prescribing regulations to ensure the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace. This regulation is within the scope of that authority because it proposes to revise airspace at Galena, Alaska, and represents the FAA's continuing effort to safely and efficiently use the navigable airspace.

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; 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(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 Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9T, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, signed August 27, 2009, and effective September 15, 2009, is to be amended as follows:

* * * * *

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Designated as Surface Areas.

* * * * *

AAL AK E2 Galena, AK [Revised]

Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, AK

(Lat. 64°44′10″ N., long. 156°56′15″ W.)

Within a 4.2 mile radius of the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, AK.

* * * * *

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

* * * * *

AAL AK E5 Galena, AK [Revised]

Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, AK

(Lat. 64°44′10″ N., long. 156°56′15″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 7.2-mile radius of the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, AK, and within 3.8 miles either side of the 239 bearing from the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, extending from the 7.2-mile radius to 12.9 miles west of the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, and within 2.9 miles either side of the 110 bearing from the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, extending from the 7.2-mile radius to 14.5 miles east of the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport; and that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface within a 73-mile radius of the Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, AK.

Issued in Anchorage, AK, on March 25, 2010.

Anthony M. Wylie,

Manager, Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group.