2012-15910. Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Boise, ID

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM).

SUMMARY:

The FAA is issuing a SNPRM for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on February 7, 2012, in order to elicit comments regarding removing reference to the navigation aid in the legal description of the Class E airspace area designated as an extension at Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), Boise, ID. The NPRM only proposed an amendment of Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at the airport, as well as adjusting the geographic coordinates of the airport. The FAA is proposing this amendment to enhance safety in the Boise, ID, airspace area.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before August 13, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone [phone]. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2011-1181; Airspace Docket No. 11-ANM-20, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Eldon Taylor, Federal Aviation Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057; telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

History

On February 7, 2012, the FAA published a NPRM to amend Class E airspace, extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface, at Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), Boise, ID, UT (77 FR 6026). The comment period closed March 23, 2012. No comments were received. Subsequent to publication, it was discovered by National Aeronautical Navigation Services (NANS) that the legal description for the Boise, ID, Class E airspace area designated as an extension needed editing to better describe the airspace. The FAA seeks comments on this SNPRM.

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 2011-1181 and Airspace Docket No. 11-ANM-20) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (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-2011-1181 and Airspace Docket No. 11-ANM-20.” 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/​airports_​airtraffic/​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 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.

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 Supplemental Proposal

The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by amending the Class E airspace area designated as an extension, at Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), Boise, ID. The legal description would be rewritten to better describe the airspace area by removing reference to the Boise VHF-Omni-Directional Radio Range Tactical Air Navigational Aid (VORTAC). Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface would be reconfigured due to the decommissioning of the Donnelly Tactical Air Navigational Aid (TACAN). The geographic coordinates of the airport would be adjusted in accordance with the FAA's aeronautical database. This action would enhance the safety and management of IFR operations at the airport.

Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6003 and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.9V, dated August 9, 2011, and effective September 15, 2011, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR part 71.1. The Class E airspace designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in this 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 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, would 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 U.S. Code. Subtitle 1, Section 106, describes the authority for 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 would propose controlled airspace at Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), Boise, ID.

This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, “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(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 Part 71.1 of the Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9V, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 9, 2011, and effective September 15, 2011 is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6003 Class E airspace areas designated as an extension.

* * * * *

ANM ID E3 Boise, ID [Amended]

Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), ID

(Lat. 43°33′52″ N., long. 116°13′22″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from the surface within 3.5 miles each side of the Boise Air Terminal 300° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the Boise Air Terminal to 9.5 miles northwest of the airport; and within .5 miles west and 5.6 miles east of the Boise Air Terminal 179° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 6.1 miles south of the airport; and that airspace within 4.3 miles each side of the Boise Air Terminal 114° bearing extending from the 5-mile radius of the airport to 11.7 miles southeast of the airport.

Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

ANM ID E5 Boise, ID [Amended]

Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), ID

(Lat. 43°33′52″ N., long. 116°13′22″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface bounded by a line beginning at lat. 43°56′00″ N., long. 116°33′04″ W.; to lat. 43°51′15″ N., long. 116°25′03″ W., thence via the 19.3-mile radius of the Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), clockwise to long. 116°14′03″ W.; to lat. 43°45′00″ N., long. 116°14′03″ W.; to lat. 43°31′00″ N., long. 115°52′03″ W.; to lat. 43°20′00″ N., long. 115°58′03″ W.; to lat. 43°25′00″ N., long. 116°25′03″ W.; to lat. 43°27′00″ N., long. 116°29′03″ W.; to lat. 43°25′12″ N., long. 116°32′23″ W.; to lat. 43°29′25″ N., long. 116°37′53″ W.; to lat. 43°32′45″ N., long. 116°49′04″ W.; to lat. 43°37′35″ N., long. 116°47′04″ W.; to lat. 43°42′00″ N., long. 116°57′04″ W., thence to the point of beginning; that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface within the 30.5-mile radius of the airport beginning at the 122° bearing of the airport, thence via a line to the intersection of the 34.8-mile radius of the airport and the 224° bearing of the airport, thence clockwise along the 34.8-mile radius of the airport to that airspace 7 miles each side of the 269° bearing of the airport extending from the 34.8-mile radius to 49.6 miles west of the airport, and within 7 miles northeast and 9.6 miles southwest of the 295° bearing of the airport extending from the 34.8-mile radius to 65.3 miles northwest of the airport, to lat. 44°00′27″ N., long. 117°10′58″ W., thence along the 042° bearing to V-253, thence south along V-253, thence along the 30.5-mile radius of the airport to the point of beginning; that airspace southeast of the airport extending upward from 9,000 feet MSL bounded on the north by V-444, on the east by V-293, on the south by V-330, on the southwest by V-4 and on the west by the 30.5-mile radius of the airport; that airspace northeast of the airport extending upward from 11,500 feet MSL, bounded on the northeast by V-293, on the south by V-444, on the southwest by the 30.5-mile radius of the airport, and on the west by V-253.

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 2012.

Robert Henry

Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.