2016-19004. Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace, Kahului, HI

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class C surface area, and modify Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Kahului Airport, Kahului, HI. Due to changes to the available instrument flight procedures since the last review and advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping accuracy, the FAA found airspace modifications are necessary to ensure the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport with a minimum amount of airspace restriction.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before September 26, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

FAA Order 7400.9Z, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/​air_​traffic/​publications/​. For further information, you can contact the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Bldg. Ground Floor Rm. W12-140, Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: [phone], or 202-366-9826. The Order is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of FAA Order 7400.9Z at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/​federal_​register/​code_​of_​federal-regulations/​ibr_​locations.html.

FAA Order 7400.9, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tom Clark, Federal Aviation Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057; 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 amend Class E airspace at Kahului Airport, Kahului, HI.

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-2014-1068; Airspace Docket No. 14-AWP-12.” The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

An electronic copy of this document and other recently published rulemaking documents may be accessed and downloaded through 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 (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, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057.

Availability and Summary of Documents Proposed for Incorporation by Reference

This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.9Z, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and effective September 15, 2015. FAA Order 7400.9Z is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.9Z 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 Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 71 to modify the Kahului Airport, Kahului, HI, Class E airspace area designated as an extension to a Class C surface area. The current Class E surface area airspace extension to the north is not required and to the south is longer than required to support IFR operations to/from the airport. The proposed Class E surface airspace includes that area within 3 miles each side of the airport 203° bearing extending from the airport 5-mile radius to 7 miles southwest of the airport.

This proposal would also modify the Class E airspace area extending upward from 700 feet above the surface by excluding that area extending beyond 12 miles from the coast, and would slightly expand the airspace northeast of the airport to within 3.6 miles each side of the 038° bearing from the airport extending from the 5-mile radius to 11.7 miles northeast of the airport. The airspace area would otherwise remain the same, except as noted above. The expanded Class E airspace area is necessary to contain IFR arrival operations descending below 1,500 feet above the surface, and IFR departure operations below 1,200 feet above the surface.

This proposal would also remove reference to the Maui VORTAC from the airspace legal descriptions for the Class E3 airspace area designated as an extension to the Class C surface area, and the Class E5 airspace area extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Changes to the available instrument flight procedures since the last review, advances in GPS mapping accuracy, and a reliance on precise geographic coordinates to define airport and airspace reference points have made the proposed airspace redesign necessary for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations.

Class E airspace designations are published in paragraphs 6003, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.9Z, dated August 6, 2015, and effective September 15, 2015, 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.

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 7400.9Z, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and effective September 15, 2015, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6003 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as an Extension to a Class C Surface Area.

* * * * *

AWP HI E3 Kahului, HI [Modified]

Kahului Airport, HI

(Lat. 20°53′55″ N., long. 156°25′50″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within 3 miles each side of the Kahului Airport 203° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 7 miles southwest of the airport. This Class E airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Pacific Chart Supplement.

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

* * * * *

AWP HI E5 Kahului, HI [Modified]

Kahului Airport, HI

(Lat. 20°53′55″ N., long. 156°25′50″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 5-mile radius of Kahului Airport, and within 3.6 miles each side of the airport 038° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 11.7 miles northeast of the airport, and within 2 miles each side of the airport 065° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 10 miles northeast of the airport, and within 3 miles each side of the airport 203° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 10.3 miles southwest of the airport, and within the area bounded by the airport 318° bearing clockwise to the airport 013° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 8.5-miles northeast of the airport, excluding that airspace beyond 12 miles from the coast.

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on August 1, 2016.

Tracey Johnson,

Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.