Class E Airspace; Establishment and Removal: Roanoke Rapids, NC

Federal Register: April 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 68)

Proposed Rules

Page 19019-19021

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr08ap08-18

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 71

Docket No. FAA-2008-0307; Airspace Docket 08-AEA-18

Establishment of Class E Airspace; Removal of Class E Airspace;

Roanoke Rapids, NC

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Halifax

Northampton Regional Airport, (IXA),

Page 19020

Roanoke Rapids, NC and remove Class E airspace at Halifax County

Airport, Roanoke Rapids, NC, (RZZ). The operating status of the airport will include Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Halifax-Northampton

Regional Airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 23, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U. S. Department of

Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building, Ground Floor, Room

W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001;

Telephone: 1-800-647-5527. You must identify the docket number FAA- 2008-0307; Airspace Docket 08 AEA-18, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments on 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 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 Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melinda Giddens, System Support,

Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, Georgia 30320; telephone (404) 305-5610.

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. Persons 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: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2008- 0307; Airspace Docket No. 08-AEA-18.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter. AD 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://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http:// www.faa.gov or the Federal Register's Web page at http:// www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs should contact the FAA's Office of

Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, 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 Code of

Federal Regulations (14 CFR part 71) to establish Class E5 airspace at

Roanoke Rapids, NC. A new airport, Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport

(IXA), has been built and will replace Halifax County Airport (RZZ); therefore, the airspace supporting RZZ is no longer required. Area

Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument

Approach Procedures (SIAPs) Runways (RWYs) 02-20 have been developed for Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport. As a result, controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) is needed to contain the SIAP and for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport. Class E airspace designations for airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the Earth are published in Paragraph 6005 of FAA

Order 7400.9R, signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15, 2007, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designation 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.

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 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 establishes Class E airspace at Roanoke Rapids, NC.

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.

Sec. 71.1 [Amended] 2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal

Aviation Administration Order 7400.9R, Airspace Designations and

Reporting Points, signed August 15, 2007, and effective September 15, 2007, is amended as follows:

Page 19021

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

AEA NC E5 Roanoke Rapids, NC [REMOVE)

Halifax County Airport, NC

* * * * *

AEA NC E5 Roanoke Rapids, NC (NEW]

Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport, NC

(Lat. 36[deg]19'47'' N., long. 77[deg]38'07'' W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6.5-mile radius of Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport.

* * * * *

Issued in College Park, Georgia, on March 19, 2008.

Mark D. Ward,

Manager, System Support Group Eastern Service Center.

FR Doc. E8-7092 Filed 4-7-08; 8:45 am

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