Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace, Amendment of Class D Airspace, and Revocation of Class E Airspace; Tacoma, WA
Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 23 (Friday, February 2, 2018)
Federal Register Volume 83, Number 23 (Friday, February 2, 2018)
Proposed Rules
Pages 4863-4864
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2018-02021
Page 4863
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
Docket No. FAA-2017-1032; Airspace Docket No. 17-ANM-4
Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace, Amendment of Class D Airspace, and Revocation of Class E Airspace; Tacoma, WA
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish Class E surface area airspace, and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Tacoma Narrows Airport, Tacoma, WA. This proposal also would remove Class E airspace designated as an extension at Tacoma Narrows Airport. Additionally, this action would update the geographic coordinates of the airport in Class D airspace, and make an editorial change to the Class D description replacing Airport/Facility Directory with the term Chart Supplement. These changes are necessary to accommodate airspace redesign for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590; telephone: 1-800-647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2017-1032; Airspace Docket No. 17-ANM-4, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/. For further information, you can contact the Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783. The Order is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of FAA Order 7400.11B at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go to https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is published yearly and effective on September 15.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Clark, Federal Aviation Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, WA 98057; telephone (425) 203-4511.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for This Rulemaking
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 would establish Class E airspace, amend Class D airspace, and remove E airspace at Tacoma Narrows Airport, Tacoma, WA to support IFR operations at the airport.
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-2017-1032; Airspace Docket No. 17-ANM-4''. The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
All 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/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.
Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference
This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017. FAA Order 7400.11B is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11B lists
Page 4864
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points.
The Proposal
The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by modifying Class D airspace, establishing Class E surface area airspace, removing Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area, and establishing Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Tacoma Narrows Airport, Tacoma, WA.
Class D airspace would be modified to add a small extension south of the airport within 1.7 miles each side of a 189deg bearing from the airport extending from the 4-mile radius to 5.3 miles south of the airport.
Class E surface area airspace would be established coincident with the dimensions of the Class D airspace and effective during the hours when the Class D is not in effect to protect IFR operations continuously.
Class E airspace designated as an extension would be removed as the extension north of the airport (within 1.8 miles each side of the 009deg bearing from the Graye NDB extending from the 4-mile radius to .9 miles north of the NDB) protects no arrival aircraft within 1,000 feet of the surface. Also, the extension to the south (within 1.8 miles each side of the 187deg bearing from Scenn OM extending from the 4-
mile radius to 1 mile south of the OM; excluding that airspace within the Tacoma, McChord AFB, WA, Class D airspace area) protects no arrival aircraft within 1,000 feet of the surface beyond 5.3 miles south of the airport. By eliminating the unnecessary airspace, the remaining extension to the south would be less than 2 nautical miles in length, and must be Class D.
Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet would be established at Tacoma Narrows Airport within 4 miles each side of the 007deg and 187deg bearings from the airport extending to 8 miles north and 7 miles south of the airport. This new airspace would duplicate the larger Seattle Class E airspace area, but would ensure sufficient airspace is designated for Tacoma Narrows Airport in case of any future modification.
Class D and Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 5000, 6002, 6004, and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11B, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D and E airspace designations listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.
Regulatory Notices and Analyses
The FAA has determined that this regulation only involves an established body of technical regulations for which frequent and routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current, is non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative comments. 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, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Environmental Review
This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, ``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
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1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.
Sec. 71.1 Amended
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2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017, is amended as follows:
Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.
* * * * *
ANM WA D Tacoma, WA Amended
Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA
(Lat. 44deg16'05'' N, long. 122deg34'41'' W)
That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,800 feet MSL within a 4-mile radius of Tacoma Narrows Airport, and within 1.7 miles each side of the 189deg bearing from the airport extending from the 4-mile radius to 5.3 miles south of the airport, excluding that airspace within the Tacoma, McChord AFB, WA, Class D airspace area. This Class D airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.
Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Designated as Surface Areas.
* * * * *
ANM WA E2 Tacoma, WA New
Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA
(Lat. 44deg16'05'' N, long. 122deg34'41'' W)
That airspace extending upward from the surface within a 4-mile radius of the Tacoma Narrows Airport, and within 1.7 miles each side of the 189deg bearing from the airport extending from the 4-mile radius to 5.3 miles south of the airport, excluding that airspace within the Tacoma, McChord AFB, WA, Class D airspace area. This Class E airspace area is effective during the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the Chart Supplement.
* * * * *
ANM WA E4 Tacoma, WA Removed
Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA
(Lat. 44deg16'05'' N, long. 122deg34'41'' W)
Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.
* * * * *
ANM WA E5 Tacoma, WA New
Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA
(Lat. 44deg16'05'' N, long. 122deg34'41'' W)
That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within 4 miles each side of the 007deg bearing from the Tacoma Narrows Airport extending to 8 miles north of the airport, and within 4 miles each side of a 187deg bearing from the airport extending to 7 miles south of the airport.
Issued in Seattle, Washington, on January 25, 2018.
Shawn M. Kozica,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
FR Doc. 2018-02021 Filed 2-1-18; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
