2021-12601. Proposed Amendment and Removal of Class E Airspace; South Lake Tahoe, CA

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify the Class E airspace, designated as a surface area, at Lake Tahoe Airport, South Lake Tahoe, CA. This action also proposes to remove the Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area and modify the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Also, this action proposes two administrative updates to the Class E2's text header. This action would ensure the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before August 2, 2021.

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-2021-0426; Airspace Docket No. 21-AWP-14, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

FAA Order 7400.11E, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at https://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 7400.11E at NARA, email [e-mail] or go to https://www.archives.gov/​federal-register/​cfr/​ibr-locations.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Matthew Van Der Wal, Federal Aviation Administration, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 S. 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; 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 modify the Class E airspace at Lake Tahoe Airport, South Lake Tahoe, CA, to support 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 and be submitted in triplicate to the address listed above. 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-2021-0426; Airspace Docket No. 21-AWP-14”. The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

All communications received 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 https://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at https://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 during normal business hours at the Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 S 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11E, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated July 21, 2020, and effective September 15, 2020. FAA Order 7400.11E is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11E 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 14 CFR part 71 by modifying the Class E airspace, designated as a surface area, at Lake Tahoe Airport, South Lake Tahoe, CA.

To properly contain IFR aircraft in the terminal environment, the radius of this airspace area should be increased from 4.3 miles to 5 miles.

This action also proposes to remove the Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area. This airspace is no longer needed to contain IFR aircraft descending below 1,000 feet above the surface.

This action also proposes to modify the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. This airspace is designed to contain IFR departure to 1,200 feet above the surface and IFR arrivals descending below 1,500 feet above the surface. To properly contain aircraft conducting the LDA RWY 18 approach, the extension north of the airport should be increased from 9.8 miles to 17.5 miles.

This action also proposes two administrative updates to the Class E2's text header. On the second line of the text header, the airport name should be updated to “Lake Tahoe Airport”, to match the FAA database. On the third line of the text header, the airport's geographic coordinates should be updated to “lat. 38°53′38″ N, long. 119°59′44″ W”, to match the FAA database.

Class E2, E4, and E5 airspace designations are published in paragraphs 6002, 6004, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11E, dated July 21, 2020, and effective September 15, 2020, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

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

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 will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this 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 7400.11E, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated July 21, 2020, and effective September 15, 2020, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as a Surface Area.

* * * * *

AWP CA E2 South Lake Tahoe, CA [Amended]

Lake Tahoe Airport, CA

(Lat. 38°53′38″ N, long. 119°59′43″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within a 5-mile radius of the airport.

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

* * * * *

AWP CA E4 South Lake Tahoe, CA [Removed]

South Lake Tahoe Airport, CA

(Lat. 38°53′38″ N, long. 119°59′43″ W)

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward from 700 feet or more above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

AWP CA E5 South Lake Tahoe, CA [Amended]

Lake Tahoe Airport, CA

(Lat. 38°53′38″ N, long. 119°59′43″ W)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6-mile radius of Lake Tahoe Airport and within 1.9 miles each side of the 008° bearing from the airport extending from the 6-mile radius to 17.5 miles north of the airport.

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on June 10, 2021.

B.G. Chew,

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