02-5877. Proposed Establishment of Class D Airspace; Greenville Donaldson Center, SC, Proposed Amendment of Class E2 Airspace; Greer, Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, SC, and Proposed Amendment of Class E5 Airspace; Greenville, SC

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to establish Class D airspace at Greenville Donaldson Center, SC, and amend Class E5 airspace at Greenville, SC. A Federal contract tower with a weather reporting system is being constructed at the Donaldson Center Airport. Therefore, the airport will meet the criteria for establishment of Class D Airspace. Class D surface area airspace is required when the control tower is open to contain existing Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and other Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action would establish Class D airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,500 feet MSL within a 4.2-mile radius of the Donaldson Center Airport. A regional evaluation has determined the existing Class E5 airspace area should be amended to contain the Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) or Global Positioning System (GPS) Runway (RWY) 5 SIAP. As a result, additional controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) southwest of Donaldson Center Airport is needed to contain the SIAP. This action would also make a technical amendment to the Class E2 airspace at Greer, Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, SC, and the Class E5 airspace description at Greenville, SC, by changing the name of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before April 11, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to:

Federal Aviation Administration, Docket No. 02-ASO-4, Manager, Airspace Branch, ASO-520, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, Georgia 30320.

The official docket may be examined in the Office of the Regional Counsel for Southern Region, Room 550, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337, telephone [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Walter R. Cochran, Manager, Airspace Branch, Air Traffic Division, Federal Aviation Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, Georgia 30320; telephone [phone].

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 the airspace docket number and be submitted in triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments on this action must submit with those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: “Comments to Airspace Docket No. 02-ASO-4.” 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 action may be changed in light of the comments received. All comments submitted will be available for examination in the Office of the Regional Counsel for Southern Region, Room 550, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337, 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

Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Manager, Airspace Branch, ASO-520, Air Traffic Division, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, Georgia 30320. Communications must identify the docket number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs should also request a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

The FAA is considering an amendment to Part 71 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 71) to establish Class D airspace at Greenville Donaldson Center, SC, and amend Class E5 airspace at Greenville, SC. This proposal would also make a technical amendment to Class E2 airspace at Greer, Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, SC, and the Class E5 airspace description at Greenville, SC, by changing the name of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. This name change was effective on October 31, 1995. Class D airspace designations for airspace areas extending upward from the surface of the earth and Class E airspace designations for airspace areas designated as surface areas and airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth are published in Paragraphs 5000, 6002, and 6005 respectively, of FAA Order 7400.9J, dated August 31, 2001, and effective September 16, 2001, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D and Class E airspace designations listed in this document would be published subsequently 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. Since 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.

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; 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 7400.9J, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 31, 2001, and effective September 16, 2001, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace

* * * * *

ASO SC D Greenville Donaldson Center Airport, SC [NEW]

Greenville, Donaldson Center Airport, SC

(Lat. 34°45′30, long. 80°22′35″ W)

Greenville Downtown Airport

(Lat. 34°50′52, long. 82°21′00″ W)

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport

(Lat. 34°53′56, long. 82°12′49″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,500 feet MSL within a 4.2-mile radius of Donaldson Center Airport, excluding that airspace within the Greenville Downtown Airport Class D airspace area, and excluding that airspace within the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Class C airspace area. This Class D airspace area is effective during the specific days and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective days and times will thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility Directory.

* * * * *

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Designated as Surface Areas

* * * * *

ASO SC E2 Greer, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, SC [REVISED]

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, SC

(Lat. 34°53′56, long. 82°12′49″ W)

Within a 5-mile radius of the Greenville-Spartanburg International 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 Airport/Facility Directory.

* * * * *

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

* * * * *

ASO SC E5 Greenville, SC [REVISED]

Greenville Downtown Airport, SC

(Lat. 34°50′52, long. 82°21′00″ W)

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport

(Lat. 34°53′56, long. 82°12′49″ W)

Donaldson Center Airport

(Lat. 34°45′30, long. 80°22′35″ W)

DYANA NDB

(Lat. 34°41′28, long. 82°26′37″ W)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 7-mile radius of Greenville Downtown Airport and within a 10 mile radius of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and within a 6.7-mile radius of Donaldson Center Airport and within 4 miles northwest and 8 miles southeast of 224° bearing from the DYANA NDB extending from the 6.7-mile radius to 16 miles southwest of the Donaldson Center Airport.

* * * * *

Issued in College Park, Georgia, on March 5, 2002.

Wade T. Carpenter,

Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Southern Region.