12976 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 52 / Thursday, March 18, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 73 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0693; Airspace 

Docket No. 09–AAL–14] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Amendment of Restricted Area R–2204 

High and R–2204 Low; Oliktok Point, 

AK 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action amends R–2204 

High and R–2204 Low at Oliktok Point, 

AK, by increasing the authorized times 

of designation and extending the 

duration of the restricted areas beyond 

2009, until they are no longer needed by 

the Department of Energy (DOE). 

Continued access to R–2204 High and 

R–2204 Low at Oliktok, AK, is required 

for current moored balloon and future 

climate-related aviation activities. 

DATES: Effective date 0901 UTC, June 3, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken 

McElroy, Airspace and Rules Group, 

Office of System Operations Airspace 

and AIM, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (202) 267–8783. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On November 24, 2009, the FAA 

published in the Federal Register a 

notice of proposed rulemaking to amend 

Restricted Area R–2204 High and R– 

2204 Low in Alaska (74 FR 61291). 

Interested parties were invited to 

participate in this rulemaking effort by 

submitting written comments on the 

proposal. One comment was received in 

support of the proposed rule stressing 

the importance of continued climate 

studies at Oliktok Point, Alaska. 

Section 73.22 of Title 14 CFR part 73 

was republished in FAA Order 7400.8S, 

effective February 16, 2010. 

The DOE, Sandia National 

Laboratories, is continuing its arctic 

climatology research on the North Slope 

of Alaska. Their Adjacent Arctic Ocean 

site is providing data about cloud and 

radiative processes at high latitudes. 

The arctic area has been identified as 

one of the most sensitive regions to 

climate change. In 2004, the need to 

operate an unlighted moored balloon in 

clouds resulted in the establishment of 

R–2204 at Oliktok Point. That site was 

selected because of it’s proximity to the 

Arctic Ocean, availability of ground 

infrastructure to support the scientists, 

and remoteness that lessens the impacts 

to other instrument flight rules and 

visual flight rules air traffic. 

In addition to the current moored 

balloon activities, scientists are 

interested in testing the use of 

unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over 

the coastal waters (in clouds) of the 

Arctic Ocean and propose to launch and 

recover UAS aircraft at the Oliktok 

station. A Certificate of Approval for 

flight outside of R–2204 would be 

required by the FAA for UAS operations 

not contained within R–2204. The DOE 

has stated that they are anticipating the 

development of Letters of Agreement 

with other aircraft operators using 

airspace in the vicinity of Oliktok to 

ensure that access to airspace within R– 

2204 is available within the parameters 

agreed upon by the parties involved. On 

April 21, 2008, the FAA published in 

the Federal Register a final rule to 

amend R–2204 by changing the using 

agency and subdividing the area to 

create R–2204 High and R–2204 Low (73 

FR 21246). 

The Rule 

This action amends Title 14 Code of 

Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 73 by 

amending the time of designation to 

allow activation of R–2204 High and R– 

2204 Low by NOTAM 24 hours in 

advance for up to 75 days per year. 

Special Use Airspace R–2204 High and 

R–2204 Low would continue to be 

designated until it is no longer required 

by the DOE to conduct research. 

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. Therefore, this 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 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 amends the times of designation for 

restricted area airspace at Oliktok Point, 

Alaska. 

Environmental Review 

The FAA has determined that this 

action qualifies for categorical exclusion 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act in accordance with FAA 

Order 1050.1E, Environmental Impacts: 

Polices and Procedures, paragraph 311p. 

This airspace action is not expected to 

cause any potentially significant 

environmental impacts, and no 

extraordinary circumstances exist that 

warrant preparation of an 

environmental assessment. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 73 

Airspace, Prohibited areas, Restricted 

areas. 

Adoption of the Amendment 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, the 

FAA amends 14 CFR part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

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. 

§ 73.22 [Amended] 

■ 2. § 73.22 is amended as follows: 

* * * * * 

R–2204 High, Oliktok Point, AK [Amended] 

Under Time of Designation, remove the 

words ‘‘By NOTAM, 24 hours in advance, not 

to exceed 30 days annually’’ and insert ‘‘By 

NOTAM, 24 hours in advance, not to exceed 

75 days per year.’’ 

* * * * * 

R–2204 Low, Oliktok Point, AK [Amended] 

Under Time of Designation, remove the 

words ‘‘By NOTAM, 24 hours in advance, not 

to exceed 30 days annually’’ and insert ‘‘By 

NOTAM, 24 hours in advance, not to exceed 

75 days per year.’’ 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 4, 

2010. 

Edith V. Parish, 

Manager, Airspace and Rules Group. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5269 Filed 3–17–10; 8:45 am] 

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