03-30457. Proposed Establishment of Class D and Class E4 Airspace; Olive Branch, MS Proposed Amendment of Class E5 Airspace; Memphis, TN

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY:

This notice proposes to establish Class D and Class E4 airspace at Olive Branch, MS, and amend Class E5 airspace at Memphis, TN. A Federal contract tower with a weather reporting system is being constructed at the Olive Branch Airport. Therefore, the airport will meet the criteria for establishment of Class D and Class E4 airspace. Class D surface area airspace and Class E4 airspace designated as an extension to Class D 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 2,900 feet MSL within a 4-mile radius of the Olive Branch Airport and Class E airspace extensions that are 5 miles wide and extend 7 miles northeast and south of the airport. A regional evaluation has determined the existing Class E5 airspace area for Memphis, TN, which includes the Olive Branch Airport, should be amended to contain the Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) Or Global Positioning System (GPS) Runway (RWY) 18 and RWY 36 SIAPs. As a result, controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) is needed to contain the procedure turn airspace area.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before January 8, 2004.

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-2003-16534/Airspace Docket No. 03-ASO-19, 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.

An informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, Federal Aviation Administration, Room 550, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337.

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 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: “Commnets to Docket No. FAA-2003-16534/Airspace Docket No. 03-ASO-19.” 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 http://dms.dot.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http://www.faa.gov or the Superintendent of Documents Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/​nara. Additionally, any person may obtain a copy of this notice by submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, ATA-400, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling [phone]. Communications must identify both docket numbers for this notice. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, [phone], to request a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System, 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 and Class E4 airspace at Olive Branch, MS, and amend Class E5 airspace at Memphis, TN. Class D airspace designations for airspace areas extending upward from the surface of the earth, Class E airspace designations for airspace areas designated as an extension to a Class D airspace area and Class E airspace designations for airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth are published in Paragraphs 5000, 6004 and 6005 respectively, of FAA Order 7400.9L, dated September 2, 2003, and effective September 16, 2003, 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 7400.9L, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 2, 2003, and effective September 16, 2003, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

ASO MS D Olive Branch, MS [NEW]

Olive Branch Airport, MS

(Lat. 34°58′44″ N, long. 89°47′13″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,900 feet MSL with a 4-mile radius of Olive Branch Airport; excluding that airspace within the Memphis Class B 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 6004 Class E4 Airspace Areas Designated as an Extension to a Class D Airspace Area

* * * * *

ASO MS E Olive Branch, MS [NEW]

Olive Branch Airport, MS

(Lat. 34°58′44″ N, long. 89°47′13″ W)

Olive Branch NDB

(Lat. 34°58′47″ N, long. 89°47′20″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within 2.5 miles each side of the Olive Branch NDB 017° and 170° bearings, extending from the 4-mile radius to 7 miles northeast and south of the NDB. This Class E4 airspace area is effective during the specific days and times established in advance by a Notice of Airmen. The effective days and times 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 TN E5 Memphis, TN [REVISED]

Memphis International Airport, TN

Lat. 35°02′33″ N, long 89°58′36″ W

Olive Branch Airport

Lat. 34°58′44″ N, long. 89°47′13″ W

West Memphis Municipal Airport

Lat. 35°08′06″ W, long. 90°14′04″ W

General DeWitt Spain Airport

Lat. 35°12′02″ N, long. 90°03′14″ W

Elvis NDB

Lat. 35°03′41″ N, long. 90°04′18″ W

West Memphis NDB

Lat. 35°08′22″ N, long. 90°13′57″ W

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within an 8-mile radius of Memphis International Airport, and within 4 miles north and 8 miles south of the 271° bearing from the Elvis NDB extending from the 8-mile radius to 16 miles west of the Elvis NDB, and within a 7.5-mile radius of Olive Branch Airport, and within 4 miles west and 8 miles east of the 017° bearing and 4 miles west and 8 miles east of the 170° bearing from the Olive Branch NDB extending from the 7.5-mile radius to 16 miles northeast and south of the airport, and within a 6.5-mile radius of West Memphis Municipal Airport, and within 4 miles east and 8 miles west of the 197° from the West Memphis NDB extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 16 miles south of the West Memphis NDB, and within 4 miles east and 8 miles west of the 353° bearing from the West Memphis NDB extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 16 miles north of the West Memphis NDB, and within 6.4-mile radius of General DeWitt Spain Airport; excluding that airspace within the Millington, TN, Class E airspace area.

* * * * *

Issued in College Park, Georgia, on November 26, 2003.

Walter R. Cochran,

Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Southern Region.