2022-12102. Proposed Modification of Class D and Class E Airspace and Establishment of Class E Airspace; Camarillo, 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 an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area, at Camarillo Airport, Camarillo, CA. This action also proposes to remove the Camarillo VOR/DME from the airspace's legal description. Additionally, this action proposes to establish Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Lastly, this action proposes administrative updates to the Class D and Class E legal descriptions. 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 July 22, 2022.

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-2021-0244; Airspace Docket No. 20-AWP-9, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

FAA Order JO 7400.11F, 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].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nathan A. Chaffman, 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 D and Class E airspace, and establish new Class E airspace at Camarillo Airport, Camarillo, 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-2021-0244; Airspace Docket No. 20-AWP-9”. 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 JO 7400.11F, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 10, 2021, and effective September 15, 2021. FAA Order JO 7400.11F is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order JO 7400.11F 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 an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area. This airspace area is east of the airport and it should be reduced to properly contain IFR aircraft descending below 1,000 feet above the surface. This action also proposes to remove the Camarillo VOR/DME navigational aid (NAVAID) from the airspace's legal description. The NAVAID is not required to define the airspace and removal of the NAVAID simplifies the airspace's description.

Additionally, this action proposes to establish Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. This airspace is designed to contain arriving IFR aircraft descending below 1,500 feet above the surface and departing IFR aircraft until they reach 1,200 feet above the surface.

This action also proposes several administrative updates to the Class D and Class E airspace's legal description. To match the FAA database, the geographic coordinates in the third line of the Class E4 airspace's text header should be updated to lat. “34°12′50″ N, long. 119°05′40″ W” Also, since Camarillo Airport's Class D airspace abuts the Class D areas for Point Mugu NAS and Oxnard Airports, the geographic coordinates in Camarillo Airport's Class D should be updated to more accurately define the common borders of the Class D areas, which would not represent a change to the current boundaries. The Class D and Class E4 legal descriptions should be updated to read “Notice to Air Missions” in place of “Notice to Airmen”, to match the FAA's current definition of the acronym “NOTAM.” Finally, the term “Airport/Facility Directory” in the last sentence of the Class D and Class E4 airspace descriptions is outdated and should be changed to “Chart Supplement.”

Class D, Class E4, and Class E5 airspace designations are published in paragraphs 5000, 6004, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11F, August 10, 2021, and effective September 15, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D and 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 JO 7400.11F, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 10, 2021, and effective September 15, 2021, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

AWP CA D Camarillo, CA [Amended]

Camarillo Airport, CA

(Lat. 34°12′50″ N, long. 119°05′40″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,000 feet MSL within a 4.3-mile radius of the Camarillo Airport, excluding that portion south and west of a line beginning at lat. 34°09′18.02″ N, long. 119°02′40.92″ W; to lat. 34°10′34.70″ N, long. 119°04′1.71″ W; to lat. 34°10′22″ N, long. 119°09′27″ W; to lat. 34°15′38.75″ N, long. 119°09′34.88″ W. This Class D airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Air Missions. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.

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

* * * * *

AWP CA E4 Camarillo, CA [Amended]

Camarillo Airport, CA

(Lat. 34°12′50″ N, long. 119°05′40″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within 2.5 miles each side of the 079° bearing from the airport, extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 8.2 miles east of the airport. This Class E airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Air Missions. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.

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

* * * * *

AWP CA E5 Camarillo, CA [New]

Camarillo Airport, CA

(Lat. 34°12′50″ N, long. 119°05′40″ W)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 4.8-mile radius of the airport and within 3.1 miles each side of the 079°; bearing from the airport extending from the 4.3-mile radius to 10.8 miles east of the airport, and within 1 mile each side of the 268° bearing from the airport extending from the 4.8-mile radius to 5.3 miles west of the airport.

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on May 25, 2022.

B.G. Chew,

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