High offshore airspace areas,

[Federal Register: January 25, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 15)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 3666-3668]

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

[DOCID:fr25ja99-19]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

Airspace Docket No. 97-ASO-21

Proposed Establishment of the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area, PR

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area. The proposed action would designate Class A airspace, extending upward from 18,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) to and including flight level (FL) 600, within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. The FAA is proposing this action to provide additional airspace within which domestic air traffic control (ATC) procedures would be used. Establishment of this Class A airspace would enhance the management of air traffic operations and result in more efficient use of that airspace.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 11, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, Air Traffic Division, ASO-500, Docket No. 97-ASO-21, Federal Aviation Administration, P. O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320. The official docket may be examined in the Rules Docket, Office of the Chief Counsel, Room 916, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

An informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, ASO-500, Federal Aviation Administration, P. O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Gallant, Airspace and Rules Division, ATA-400, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-8783.

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 providing supporting facts for the views and suggestions presented are particularly helpful in developing

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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 the airspace docket number and be submitted in triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters 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 Airspace Docket No. 97- ASO-21.'' 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 notice may be changed in light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available for examination in the Rules Docket both before and after the closing date for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking also will be filedin the docket.

Availability of NPRM's

An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded, using a modem and suitable software, from the FAA regulations section of the Fedworld electronic bulletin board service (telephone: 703-321-3339) or the Federal Register's electronic bulletin board service (telephone: 202-512-1661). Internet users may reach the Federal Register's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs for access to recently published rulemaking documents.

Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, ATA-400, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-8783. Communications must identify the notice or docket number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRM's should call the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, for a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application procedure.

Background

On March 2, 1993, the FAA published a final rule (58 FR 12128) which, in part, designated the San Juan Low Offshore Airspace Area. This designation was necessary to comply with the Airspace Reclassification final rule (56 FR 65638; December 17, 1991). The San Juan Low Offshore Airspace Area consists of Class E airspace from 5,500 feet MSL up to, but not including, FL 180 within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. The rule, however, did not affect the status of airspace at and above FL 180 within the San Juan domestic control area, which remains international airspace and wherein International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) oceanic ATC separation procedures in Annex 11 apply. As a result of the rapid growth of air traffic activity in the Bahamas and Caribbean areas, there is a need to designate additional airspace wherein domestic ATC procedures would be used to provide more efficient control of aircraft operations. This proposed action would designate such a high-altitude strata that would increase system capacity, enhance safety, and enable more efficient use of this airspace.

Additionally, the number of operational ground-based navigation aids (NAVAIDS) in the region has declined due to the loss of facilities caused by unprecedented storm damage, and the difficulty of replacing aging equipment at remote sites. Establishing the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area would support the development of additional routes, not dependent on ground-based NAVAIDS, to supplement the current airway system.

The Proposal

The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to establish the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area. The proposed area would consist of Class A airspace, extending upward from 18,000 MSL up to and including FL 600, within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. This action would facilitate the application of domestic ATC procedures within that airspace, thereby enhancing the flow of air traffic and increasing system capacity. In addition, this action would enhance safety by providing for the positive control of all aircraft operating in the area. The proposed action would also support the development of a more efficient route system in the Bahamas-Caribbean area and would enable airspace classification and ATC separation procedures to be consistently applied between Florida and Puerto Rico. Finally, the proposed modification would establish the same classification and operating rules that currently apply in adjacent airspace.

Offshore Airspace Area designations are published in paragraph 2003 of FAA Order 7400.9F, dated September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 1998, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The offshore airspace area 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. This proposed rule 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 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.

ICAO Considerations

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

The application of International Standards and Recommended Practices by the FAA, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, in areas outside U.S. domestic airspace, is governed by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Specifically, the FAA is subject to 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

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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, 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 the Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9F, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 1998, is amended as follows:

   Paragraph 2003 Offshore Airspace Areas

   * * * * *

   San Juan High, PR [New]

   Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, PR

   (lat. 18 deg.27'25'' N., long. 66 deg.05'53'' W.)

   That airspace extending upward from 18,000 feet MSL to and including FL 600 within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport.

   Issued in Washington, DC, on January 14, 1999. Reginald C. Matthews, Acting Program Director for Air Traffic Airspace Management.

   [FR Doc. 99-1561Filed1-22-99; 8:45 am]

   BILLING CODE 4910-13-P