2011-14715. Proposed Modification of Offshore Airspace Areas: Norton Sound Low, Control 1234L and Control 1487L; Alaska

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify the Norton Sound Low, Control 1234L, and Control 1487L Offshore Airspace Areas in Alaska. The airspace floors would be lowered to provide controlled airspace beyond 12 miles from the coast of the United States given that there is a requirement to provide Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) en route Air Traffic Control (ATC) services and within which the United States is applying domestic ATC procedures.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before July 29, 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-2011-0458 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AAL-6 at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ken McElroy, 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-2011-0458 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AAL-6) 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 FAA Docket No. FAA-2011-0458 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AAL-6.” 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/​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 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 Alaskan Service Center, Operations Support Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513.

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 Norton Sound Low, Control 1234L, and Control 1487L Offshore Airspace Areas in Alaska. The Norton Sound Low Offshore Airspace Area would be modified by lowering the offshore airspace floor to 1,200 feet mean sea level (MSL) within a 73-mile radius of Port Clarence CGS Airport, excluding that airspace west of a line extending from lat. 64°48′20″ N., long. 169°31′27″ W., to lat. 65°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 66°05′44″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W.; and within 73 miles of the Savoonga Airport excluding that airspace west of a line from lat. 68°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 65°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 62°35′00″ N., long. 175°00′00″ W.; and within 73 miles of Platinum Airport excluding that airspace west of a line from lat. 59°59′57″ N., long. 168°00′08″ W., to lat. 57°45′57″ N., long. 161°46′08″ W.

The Offshore Airspace Area Control 1234L would be modified by lowering the offshore airspace floor to 1,200 feet above the surface within a 10-mile radius of the Casco Cove CGS Airport. Additionally, Control 1234L would be further modified by lowering the offshore airspace floor to 700 feet above the surface within an 8-mile radius of St. Paul Island Airport, St. Paul Island, AK.

Control 1487L would be modified by lowering the offshore airspace floor to 1,200 feet above the surface within 75 miles of the Yakutat VOR/DME.

Offshore airspace areas are published in paragraph 2003 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 offshore airspace areas listed in this document will 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 offshore airspace areas in Alaska.

Environmental Review

The FAA has determined that this action qualifies for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, paragraph 311a. This airspace action is not expected to cause any potentially significant environmental impacts, and no extraordinary circumstances exist that warrant preparation of an environmental assessment.

ICAO Considerations

As part of this proposal relates to navigable airspace outside the United States, this notice is submitted in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Standards and Recommended Practices.

The application of International Standards and Recommended Practices by the FAA, Office of Airspace Services, Airspace, Regulations and ATC Procedures Group, in areas outside the United States domestic airspace, is governed by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Specifically, the FAA is governed by Article 12 and Annex 11, which pertain to the establishment of necessary air navigational facilities and services to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of civil air traffic. The purpose of Article 12 and Annex 11 is to ensure that civil aircraft operations on international air routes are performed under uniform conditions.

The International Standards and Recommended Practices in Annex 11 apply to airspace under the jurisdiction of a contracting state, derived from ICAO. Annex 11 provisions apply when air traffic services are provided and a contracting state accepts the responsibility of providing air traffic services over high seas or in airspace of undetermined sovereignty. A contracting state accepting this responsibility may apply the International Standards and Recommended Practices that are consistent with standards and practices utilized in its domestic jurisdiction.

In accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, state-owned aircraft are exempt from the Standards and Recommended Practices of Annex 11. The United States is a contracting state to the Convention. Article 3(d) of the Convention provides that participating state aircraft will be operated in international airspace with due regard for the safety of civil aircraft. Since this action involves, in part, the designation of navigable airspace outside the United States, the Administrator is consulting with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 10854.

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 FAA Order 7400.9U, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 18, 2010, and effective September 15, 2010, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6007—Offshore Airspace Areas

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Norton Sound Low, AK [Amended]

That airspace extending upward from 14,500 feet MSL within an area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 56°42′59″ N., long. 160°00′00″ W., then north by a line 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. coastline to the intersection with 164°00′00″ W. longitude near the outlet to Kotzebue Sound, then north to the intersection with a point 12 miles from the U.S. coastline, then north by a line 12 miles from and parallel to the shoreline to lat. 68°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 65°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 62°35′00″ N., long. 175°00′00″ W., to lat. 59°59′57″ N., long. 168°00′08″ W., to lat. 57°45′57″ N., long. 161°46′08″ W., to lat. 58°06′57″ N., long. 160°00′00″ W., to the point of beginning; and that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet MSL north of the Alaska Peninsula and east of 160° W. longitude within 73 miles of Port Heiden NDB/DME, AK, and north of the Alaska Peninsula and east of 160° W. longitude within an 81.2-mile radius of Perryville Airport, AK, and north of the Alaska Peninsula and east of 160° W. longitude within a 72.8-mile radius of Chignik Airport, AK, and within a 35-mile radius of lat. 60°21′17″ N., long. 165°04′01″ W., and within a 73-mile radius of Chevak Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Clarks Point Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Elim Airport, AK, and within a 45-mile radius of Hooper Bay Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of King Salmon Airport, AK, and that airspace within a 73-mile radius of Platinum Airport, AK, excluding that portion of the airspace extending west of a line from lat. 59°59′57″ N., long. 168°00′08″ W., to lat 57°45′57″ N., long. 161°46′08″ W., and within a 73-mile radius of Kivalina Airport, AK, and within a 74-mile radius of Kotzebue VOR/DME, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Kwethluk Airport, AK, and within a 74-mile radius of Manokotak Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Napakiak Airport, AK, and within a 77.4-mile radius of Nome VORTAC, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Savoonga Airport, AK, excluding that airspace west of a line from lat. 68°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W.; to lat. 65°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to lat. 62°35′00″ N., long. 175°00′00″ W., and within a 71NM radius of New Stuyahok Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Noatak Airport, AK, and within a 72.5-mile radius of Red Dog Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Scammon Bay Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Shaktoolik Airport, AK, and within a 74-mile radius of Selawik Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of St. Michael Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Toksook Bay Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of Port Clarence CGS Airport, AK excluding that airspace west of a line extending from lat. 64°48′20″ N., long. 169°31′27″ W., to lat. 65°00′00″ N., long. 168°58′23″ W., to 66°05′44″ N., to long. 168°58′23″ W., and within a 30-mile radius of lat. 66°09′58″ N., long. 166°30′03″ W., and within a 30-mile radius of lat. 66°19′55″ N., long. 165°40′32″ W.; and that airspace extending upward from 700 feet MSL within 8-miles west and 4-miles east of the 339° bearing from Port Heiden NDB/DME, AK, extending from Port Heiden NDB/DME, AK, to 20-miles north of Port Heiden NDB/DME, AK, and within a 25-mile radius of Nome Airport, AK.

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Control 1234L, AK [Amended]

That airspace extending upward from 2,000 feet above the surface within an area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 58°06′57″ N., long. 160°00′00″ W., then south along 160°00′00″ W. longitude until it intersects the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) boundary; then southwest, northwest, north, and northeast along Anchorage ARTCC boundary to lat. 62°35′00″ N., long. 175°00′00″ W., to lat. 59°59′57″ N., long. 168°00′08″ W., to lat. 57°45′57″ N., long. 161°46′08″ W., to the point of beginning; and that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface within a 10-mile radius of Casco Cove CGS Airport, AK, and within a 26.2-mile radius of Eareckson Air Station, AK, within an 11-mile radius of Adak Airport, AK, and within 16 miles of Adak Airport, AK, extending clockwise from the 033° bearing to the 081° bearing from Mount Moffett NDB, AK, and within a 10-mile radius of Atka Airport, AK, and within a 10.6-mile radius from Cold Bay Airport, AK, and within 9 miles east and 4.3 miles west of the 321° bearing from Cold Bay Airport, AK, extending from the 10.6-mile radius to 20 miles northwest of Cold Bay Airport, AK, and 4 miles each side of the 070° bearing from Cold Bay Airport, AK, extending from the 10.6-mile radius to 13.6 miles northeast of Cold Bay Airport, AK, and within a 26.2-mile radius of Eareckson Air Station, AK, and west of 160° W. longitude within an 81.2-mile radius of Perryville Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of the Nikolski Airport, AK, within a 74-mile radius of Manokotak Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of the Clarks Point Airport, AK, and west of 160° W. longitude within a 73-mile radius of Port Heiden NDB/DME, AK, and within a 10-mile radius of St. George Airport, AK, and within a 73-mile radius of St. Paul Island Airport, AK, and within a 20-mile radius of Unalaska Airport, AK, extending clockwise from the 305° bearing from Dutch Harbor NDB, AK, to the 075° bearing from Dutch Harbor NDB, AK, and west of 160° W. longitude within a 25-mile radius of Borland NDB/DME, AK, and west of 160° W. longitude within a 72.8-mile radius of Chignik Airport, AK; and that airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6.9-mile radius of Eareckson Air Station, AK, and within a 7-mile radius of Adak Airport, AK, and within 5.2 miles northwest and 4.2 miles southeast of the 061° bearing from Mount Moffett NDB, AK, extending from the 7-mile radius of Adak Airport, AK, to 11.5 miles northeast of Adak Airport, AK, and within a 6.5-mile radius of King Cove Airport, and extending 1.2 miles either side of the 103° bearing from King Cove Airport from the 6.5-mile radius out to 8.8 miles, and within a 6.4-mile radius of Atka Airport, AK, and within a 6.3-mile radius of Nelson Lagoon Airport, AK, and within a 6.3-mile radius of the Nikolski Airport, AK, and within a 6.4-mile radius of Sand Point Airport, AK, and within 3 miles each side of the 172° bearing from Borland NDB/DME, AK, extending from the 6.4-mile radius of Sand Point Airport, AK, to 13.9 miles south of Sand Point Airport, AK, and within 5 miles either side of the 318° bearing from Borland NDB/DME, AK, extending from the 6.4-mile radius of Sand Point Airport, AK, to 17 miles northwest of Sand Point Airport, AK, and within 5 miles either side of the 324° bearing from Borland NDB/DME, AK, extending from the 6.4-mile radius of Sand Point Airport, AK, to 17 miles northwest of Sand Point Airport, AK, and within a 6.6-mile radius of St. George Airport, AK, and within an 8-mile radius of St. Paul Island Airport, AK, and within a 6.4-mile radius of Unalaska Airport, AK, and within 2.9 miles each side of the 360° bearing from the Dutch Harbor NDB, AK, extending from the 6.4-mile radius of Unalaska Airport, AK, to 9.5 miles north of Unalaska Airport, AK; and that airspace extending upward from the surface within a 4.6-mile radius of Cold Bay Airport, AK, and within 1.7 miles each side of the 150° bearing from Cold Bay Airport, AK, extending from the 4.6-mile radius to 7.7 miles southeast of Cold Bay Airport, AK, and within 3 miles west and 4 miles east of the 335° bearing from Cold Bay Airport, AK, extending from the 4.6-mile radius to 12.2 miles northwest of Cold Bay Airport, AK.

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Control 1487L, Alaska [Amended]

That airspace extending upward from 8,000 feet MSL within 149.5 miles of the Anchorage VOR/DME clockwise from the 090° radial to the 185° radial of the Anchorage VOR/DME, AK; and that airspace extending upward from 5,500 feet MSL within the area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 58°19′58″ N., long. 148°55′07″ W., to lat. 59°08′35″ N., long. 147°16′04″ W., thence counterclockwise via the 149.5-mile radius of the Anchorage VOR/DME, AK, to the intersection with a point 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. coastline, thence southeast 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. coastline to a point 12 miles offshore on the Vancouver FIR boundary, to lat. 54°32′57″ N., long. 133°11′29″ W., to lat. 54°00′00″ N., long. 136°00′00″ W., to lat. 52°43′00″ N., long. 135°00′00″ W., to lat 56°45′42″ N., long. 151°45′00″ W., to the point of beginning; and that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet MSL within an 85-mile radius of the Biorka Island VORTAC, AK, and within a 43-mile radius of the Middleton Island VOR/DME, AK, and within a 30-mile radius of the Glacier River NDB, AK, and within a 149.5-mile radius of the Anchorage VOR/DME, AK, and within the 73-mile radius of Homer Airport, AK, and within a 75-mile radius of the Yakutat VOR/DME, AK, and that airspace extending upward from 700 feet MSL within 14 miles of the Biorka Island VORTAC, AK, and within 4 miles west and 8 miles east of the Biorka Island VORTAC 209° radial extending to 16 miles southwest of the Biorka Island VORTAC, AK.

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Issued in Washington, DC, on June 6, 2011.

Gary A. Norek,

Acting Manager, Airspace, Regulations and ATC Procedures Group.