03-11642. Modification of Class E Airspace; Muscatine, IA

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Direct final rule; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The intended effect of this rule is to provide appropriate controlled Class E airspace for aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at Muscatine, IA, delete the Muscatine NDB and coordinates from the legal description of Class E airspace at Muscatine, IA, and bring the legal description into compliance with FAA Order 7400.2E, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters.

DATES:

This direct final rule is effective on 0901 UTC, September 4, 2003. Comments for inclusion in the Rules Docket must be received on or before June 10, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number FAA-2003-14936/Airspace Docket No. 03-ACE-39, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments on the Internet at http://dms.dot.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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kathy Randolph, Air Traffic Division, Airspace Branch, ACE-520C, DOT Regional Headquarters Building, Federal Aviation Administration, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This amendment to 14 CFR part 71 revises the Class E airspace at Musatine, IA. The Muscatine Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) that served Muscatine Municipal Airport was decommissioned and the standard instrument approach procedures (SIAP) that utilized the NDB were cancelled. Controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) that accommodated the NDB SIAPs is no longer needed. An examination of controlled airspace for Muscatine, IA revealed discrepancies in the Muscatine Municipal Airport airport reference point used in the legal description for this airspace area. The examination also revealed discrepancies in the location of the Port City Very High Frequency Omni-directional Range (VOR)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) used in the legal description for the Muscatine, IA Class E airspace area. This amendment incorporates the revised Muscatine Municipal Airport airport reference point and the revised location of the Port City VOR/DME and brings the legal description of the Muscatine, IA Class E airspace area into compliance with FAA Order 7400.2E, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters. The amendment to Class E airspace at Muscatine, IA provides controlled airspace at and above 700 feet AGL to contain SIAPs, other than the NDB SIAPs, at Muscatine Municipal Airport. The additional Class E airspace necessary for the NDB SIAPs is revoked. The Muscatine NDB and coordinates, and reference to these, are deleted from the legal description of Muscatine, IA Class E airspace. The area will be depicted on appropriate aeronautical charts. Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth are published in paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9K, dated August 30, 2002, and effective September 16, 2002, 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.

The Direct Final Rule Procedure

The FAA anticipates that this regulation will not result in adverse or negative comment and, therefore, is issuing it as a direct final rule. Previous actions of this nature have not been controversial and have not resulted in adverse comments or objections. The amendment will enhance safety for all flight operations by designating an area where VFR pilots may anticipate the presence of IFR aircraft at lower altitudes, especially during inclement weather conditions. A greater degree of safety is achieved by depicting the area on aeronautical charts. Unless a written adverse or negative comment, or a written notice of intent to submit an adverse or negative comment is received within the comment period, the regulation will become effective on the date specified above. After the close of the comment period, the FAA will publish a document in the Federal Register indicating that no adverse or negative comments were received and confirming the date on which the final rule will become effective. If the FAA does receive, within the comment period, an adverse or negative comment, or written notice of intent to submit such a comment, a document withdrawing the direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register, and a notice of proposed rulemaking may be published with a new comment period.

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-2003-14936/Airspace Docket No. 03-ACE-39”. The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

Agency Findings

The regulations adopted herein will not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the national Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, it is determined that this final rule does not have federalism implications under Executive Order 13132.

The FAA has determined that this regulation is noncontroversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative comments. For the reasons discussed in the preamble, I certify that this regulation (1) is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a “significant rule” under Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and (3) if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

• Airspace
• Incorporation by reference
• Navigation (air)

Adoption of the Amendment

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 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.

§ 71.1

[Amended]

2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9K, dated August 30, 2002, and effective September 16, 2002, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth.

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ACE IA E5 Muscatine, IA

Muscatine Municipal Airport, IA

(Lat. 41°22′04″ N., long. 91°08′54″ W.)

Port City VOR/DME

(Lat. 41°21′59″ N., long. 91°08′57″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6.5-mile radius of Muscatine Municipal Airport and within 2.6 miles each side of the 061° radial of the Port City VOR/DME extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 7 miles northwest of the airport and within 2.6 miles each side of the 231° radial of the VOR/DME extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 7 miles southwest of the airport.

* * * * *

Issued in Kansas City, MO, on April 28, 2003.

Herman J. Lyons, Jr.,

Manager, Air Traffic Division, Central Region.