2011-15407. Proposed Amendment of Class C Airspace; Palm Beach International Airport, FL

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify the Palm Beach International Airport Class C airspace area by raising the floor of Class C airspace above Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) from 1,200 feet MSL to 1,600 feet MSL. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance safety and enable more efficient operations at LNA.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before August 22, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; telephone: [phone]. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2011-0527 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AWA-2, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Gallant, Airspace, Regulations and ATC Procedures Group, Office of Airspace Services, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 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 (FAA Docket No. FAA-2011-0527 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AWA-2) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management Facility (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

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 Docket Nos. FAA-2011-0527 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AWA-2.” The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

All communications received on or 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 comments received. All comments submitted will be available for examination in the public docket 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

An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at http://www.faa.gov/​regulations_​policies/​rulemaking/​recently_​published/​

You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any comments received and any final disposition in person in the Dockets Office (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. An informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at the office of the Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, Room 210, 1701 Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337.

Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, [phone], for a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to modify the Palm Beach International Airport Class C airspace area by raising the floor of Class C airspace to 1,600 feet MSL within an area overlying, and to the south of, the Palm Beach County Park Airport (see attached chart). Currently, the floor of Class C airspace in the vicinity of LNA is at 1,200 feet MSL. Raising the Class C floor as proposed would enhance safety by providing additional clearance between rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft entering the traffic pattern at LNA. This would allow fixed-wing aircraft entering the traffic pattern to safely overfly the existing helicopter patterns and also would allow LNA helicopter training activities to take place at higher altitudes. The boundaries would be depicted as subareas A, B, and C for clarity.

In addition, a minor correction is made to the geographic coordinates of LNA to reflect the current information in the FAA's aeronautical database.

Class C airspace areas are published in paragraph 4,000 of FAA Order 7400.9U, dated August 18, 2010 and effective September 15, 2010, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class C airspace area modification proposed 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. Therefore, this proposed regulation: (1) Is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a “significant rule” under Department of Transportation (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 proposed 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.

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 the 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 modifies terminal airspace as required to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic.

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, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE 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 the Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9U, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 18, 2010, and effective September 15, 2010, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 4000—Subpart C—Class C Airspace

* * * * *

ASO FL C Palm Beach International Airport, FL [Amended]

Palm Beach International Airport, FL

(Lat. 26°40′59″ N., long. 80°05′44″ W.)

Palm Beach County Park Airport

(Lat. 26°35′35″ N., long. 80°05′06″ W.)

Boundaries

Area A. That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 4,000 feet MSL within a 5-mile radius of Palm Beach International Airport, excluding that airspace within a 2-mile radius of the Palm Beach County Park Airport.

Area B. That airspace extending upward from 1,600 feet MSL to and including 4,000 feet MSL within an area bounded on the north by a line direct from the intersection of the Florida Turnpike (Highway 91) and Lantana Road to the intersection of a 5-mile radius of the Palm Beach International Airport and a 2-mile radius west of the Palm Beach County Park Airport and a 2-mile radius north of the Palm Beach County Park Airport, on the east by a line direct from the intersection of a 5-mile radius of the Palm Beach International Airport and a 2-mile radius east of the Palm Beach County Park Airport to the intersection of a 10-mile radius of the Palm Beach International Airport and US 1, on the south by a 10-mile radius of the Palm Beach International Airport, and on the west by the Florida Turnpike.

Area C. That airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet MSL to and including 4,000 feet MSL within a 10-mile radius of the Palm Beach International Airport, excluding area B.

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2011.

Gary A. Norek,

Acting Manager, Airspace, Regulations and ATC Procedures Group.