2013-02053. Proposed Amendment of Class C Airspace; Nashville International Airport, TN

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify the Nashville International Airport, TN, Class C airspace area by removing a cutout from the surface area that was put in place to accommodate operations around an airport that is now permanently closed. The FAA is proposing this action to return the Class C airspace area to the standard configuration and enable more efficient operations at the Nashville International Airport.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before April 1, 2013.

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-2013-0031 and Airspace Docket No. 12-AWA-7, 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 Policy 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-2013-0031 and Airspace Docket No. 12-AWA-7) 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-2013-0031 and Airspace Docket No. 12-AWA-7.” 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.

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 9:00 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 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 Nashville International Airport Class C airspace area by removing a cutout from the Class C surface area that excluded the airspace within a 1.5 NM radius of the former Cornelia Fort Airpark from the Class C surface area. The exclusion was in place to solely accommodate operations at the Airpark, which was located about 4 NM north northwest of Nashville International Airport. The Airpark is now permanently closed and the property sold for non-aviation uses. Since the original purpose of the exclusion no longer exists, the FAA is proposing to remove the words “ * * * excluding that airspace within a 1.5-mile radius of lat. 36°12′00″ N., long. 86°42′10″ W. (in the vicinity of Cornelia Fort Airpark) * * * ” from the Class C airspace description. This would restore the Class C surface area to the standard configuration of a 5 NM radius around Nashville International Airport and would enhance the management of aircraft operations at the airport.

Also, a minor correction would be made to update the geographic coordinates of the Nashville International Airport to reflect the current information in the FAA's aeronautical database. This change would remove “lat. 36°07′31″ N., long. 86°40′35″ W.,” and insert “lat. 36°07′28″ N., long. 86°40′42″ W.” in its place.

Class C airspace areas are published in paragraph 4000 of FAA Order 7400.9W, dated August 8, 2012 and effective September 15, 2012, 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 would modify terminal airspace as required to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic in the Nashville, TN, area.

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 7400.9W, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 8, 2012, and effective September 15, 2012, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 4000 Subpart C—Class C Airspace.

* * * * *

ASO TN C Nashville International Airport, TN [Amended]

Nashville International Airport, TN

(Lat. 36°07′28″ N., long. 86°40′42″ W.)

Boundaries

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 4,600 feet MSL within a 5-mile radius of the Nashville International Airport; and that airspace extending upward from 2,100 feet MSL to and including 4,600 feet MSL within a 10-mile radius of Nashville International Airport from the 018° bearing from the airport clockwise to the 198° bearing from the airport, and that airspace extending upward from 2,400 feet MSL to and including 4,600 feet MSL within a 10-mile radius of the airport from the 198° bearing from the airport clockwise to the 018° bearing from the airport.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 17, 2013.

Gary A. Norek,

Manager, Airspace Policy and ATC Procedures Group.