Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / Proposed Rules 76333 

1 14 CFR 1.1 defines a balloon as a ‘‘lighter-thanair aircraft that is not engine driven, and that 

sustains flight through the use of either gas 

buoyancy or an airborne heater,’’ and defines a kite 

as a ‘‘framework, covered with paper, cloth, metal, 

or other material, intended to be flown at the end 

of a rope or cable, and having as its only support 

the force of the wind moving past its surfaces.’’ 

(i) Related Information 

Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD No.: 2011–0191, dated 

September 30, 2011; DG Flugzeugbau GmbH 

Technical Note No. 500/05, dated September 

19, 2011; and DG Flugzeugbau GmbH 

Working Instruction No. 1 for TN348/20, 

Issue 3, dated September 13, 2011, for related 

information. For service information related 

to this AD, contact DG Flugzeugbau GmbH, 

Otto-Lilienthal-Weg 2, 76646 Bruchsal, 

Federal Republic of Germany; telephone: +49 

(0) 7251 3020140; fax: +49 (0) 7251 3020149; 

Internet: http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/techmitteilungen-e.html; email: dirks@dgflugzeugbau.de. You may review copies of 

the referenced service information at the 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call (816) 329–4148. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on 

December 1, 2011. 

John Colomy, 

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–31425 Filed 12–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 77 

[Docket No.: FAA–2011–1279; Notice No. 

11–07] 

Notification for Airborne Wind Energy 

Systems (AWES) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of policy and request for 

information. 

SUMMARY: The FAA seeks comments on 

revising its policy regarding the 

application of Title 14 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 77, 

‘‘Safe, Efficient Use and Preservation of 

the Navigable Airspace,’’ to airborne 

wind energy systems (AWES). In 

addition, this notice requests 

information from airborne wind energy 

system developers and the public 

related to these systems so that the FAA 

can comprehensively analyze the AWES 

and their integration into the National 

Airspace System (NAS). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before February 6, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number 2011–1279 using any 

of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 of the West Building 

Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at (202) 493–2251. 

Privacy: The FAA will post all 

comments it receives, without change, 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information the 

commenter provides. Using the search 

function of the docket web site, anyone 

can find and read the electronic form of 

all comments received into any FAA 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement can be 

found in the Federal Register published 

on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–19478), 

as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning this action, 

contact Mr. Rene ́ Joseph (RJ) Balanga, 

Mission Support Services, Airspace, 

Regulations and ATC Procedures Group, 

Air Traffic Organization, AJV–11, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–8783, email rene.balanga@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority 

Title 49 of the United States Code, 

section 40103 vests the Administrator 

with broad authority to regulate the safe 

and efficient use of the navigable 

airspace. The Administrator is 

authorized to issue rules and regulations 

to govern the flight, navigation, 

protection, and identification of aircraft 

for the protection of persons and 

property on the ground, and for the 

efficient use of the navigable airspace 

(49 U.S.C. 40103(b)). The Administrator 

also is authorized under § 44701(a)(5) to 

promote safe flight of civil aircraft in air 

commerce by prescribing regulations 

and minimum standards for other 

practices, methods, and procedures 

necessary for safety in air commerce and 

national security. 

Background 

During the past decade, there has 

been an increased focus on the use of 

clean renewable energy resources, 

including wind energy. The FAA has 

been approached by various entities, 

including manufacturers, scientists, 

engineers, and advocacy groups 

representing the wind energy 

community, who are researching the use 

of more sustained and consistent winds 

at higher altitudes where conventional 

ground-based wind turbines cannot 

reach. As part of their research, the 

energy community is examining various 

concepts for system designs to harness 

high altitude winds as a potential source 

of energy. 

Airborne Wind Energy Systems 

(AWES) are described broadly as 

mechanical devices that are moored to 

the ground, via a tether or cabling 

component, for the purpose of capturing 

the fluid stream kinetic energy of winds. 

The kinetic energy captured by the 

device is then utilized in various 

fashions to generate electricity. In one 

option, the wind energy is immediately 

converted into consumable power, at 

the system component keeping the 

system aloft, and then transferred to the 

ground by a mechanical tether, cabling 

conductor, or other method. In another 

option, the combination of the wind, the 

aloft device, and the mooring cables are 

systematically utilized to drive an 

electrical generator located on the 

ground. 

The basic overall components that 

comprise various AWESs are fairly 

similar in concept, however, the 

technologies and the specific devices 

that keep them aloft differ dramatically. 

Such devices have leveraged on similar 

engineering designs that apply to kites, 

balloons, kytoons, aircraft wings, 

aircraft, airfoils, as well as others.1

Although some of these AWES 

components could be covered by 14 

CFR part 101, Moored balloons, kites, 

amateur rockets and unmanned free 

balloons, some conceptual designs 

include hybrid concepts or utilize new 

innovative techniques that are not as 

easily classifiable. For example, the 

FAA identified some AWESs employing 

‘‘balloon-like’’ design structures with 


emcdonald on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
76334 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

2 14 CFR 1.1 defines an airship as, ‘‘an enginedriven lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered.’’ 

motorized rotors for vertical and/or 

horizontal control, resembling a moored 

airship which does not fall within the 

category of 14 CFR part 101 devices.2

Additionally, the FAA also identified 

some AWESs that employ a moored kite 

or balloon with one or more wind 

capturing devices (wings or blades) 

attached along the mooring cable that 

spin a separate cable and activate 

ground-based power generators. 

Consequently, the FAA has determined 

that AWES are unique and would not 

fall under 14 CFR part 101. 

Furthermore, since AWES is a 

relatively new technology that will be 

used to support clean, renewable energy 

initiatives, the FAA finds that part 101 

does not currently contain the necessary 

provisions to address these systems. 

Whether designed with conventional 

14 CFR part 101 type devices or nonconventional hybrid-type components, 

each AWES possesses differing 

attributes. These attributes include, but 

are not limited to, its physical design, 

how it operates, necessary airspace 

utilized, radar cross-section, and 

reflection coefficient. The FAA is 

concerned with these differing attributes 

and their unknown impacts to the NAS, 

navigable airspace, and to the flying 

public. Therefore, the FAA concludes 

that each AWES deployment needs to be 

studied on a case-by-case basis with 

respect to the surrounding aviation 

environment to ensure aviation safety. 

Policy 

Given the altitudes that these 

structures can operate and their 

operating characteristics, the FAA 

concludes that they should be studied 

and the potential impacts to the 

navigable airspace must be identified 

and addressed. Presently, the FAA has 

an existing regulatory framework that 

outlines standards for determining 

obstructions to air navigation or 

navigational aids or facilities (see 14 

CFR part 77). 14 CFR part 77 is utilized 

to evaluate the impact of wind turbines 

and other forms of renewable energy on 

the navigable airspace. Therefore, we 

conclude that any new forms of wind 

gathering devices would be included in 

the Obstruction Evaluation Process, 

which is administered under 14 CFR 

part 77. 

Accordingly, the FAA announces that 

the provision of part 77 will apply to 

temporary AWES proposals that will be 

used for data collection purposes. The 

FAA finds that the provisions of 14 CFR 

part 77 can be applied to these 

‘‘structures’’ without the need to amend 

the regulations. Permanent and 

operational AWES may be addressed in 

the future upon further evaluations and 

risk assessments are performed. The 

purpose of this change in policy is to 

allow for the continued development of 

this emerging technology and to provide 

the FAA with data regarding these 

devices so that the safety and integrity 

of the NAS is maintained. Persons 

proposing to conduct temporary 

airborne testing of AWES for data 

collection purposes must provide notice 

to the FAA pursuant to 14 CFR 

77.13(a)(1), which requires notice of any 

construction or alternation of more than 

200 feet above ground level. 

In order to facilitate the timely 

manner in which AWES proposals are 

reviewed, AWES developers and 

operators are requested to limit 

temporary operations to the following: 

(1) Airborne operations of AWES 

should be temporary in nature for 

testing and data collection purposes 

only; 

(2) Single AWES devices only (e.g.— 

no ‘‘farms’’ or multiple simultaneous 

testing); 

(3) AWES should be limited to a 

single fixed location (e.g.—no mobile 

ground facilities); 

(4) Testing is confined to heights at or 

below 499 feet above ground level 

(AGL); 

(5) Airborne flight testing of AWES 

will only occur during daylight hours; 

and 

(6) AWES will be made conspicuous 

to the flying public. (The sponsor of the 

AWES will provide the FAA with their 

marking and lighting scheme. FAA 

Advisory Circular 70/7460–1K (AC 70/ 

7460–1K), Obstruction Marking and 

Lighting, currently does not address 

AWES, but may be used as a guide, as 

some portions may be applicable.) 

Request for Information 

The FAA is working jointly with 

industry, the Department of Energy, as 

well as other airspace stakeholders, and 

believes that additional information 

from AWES developers would be 

beneficial. The information will assist 

the FAA as it considers long-term 

policies and guidance to integrate the 

AWES safely into the NAS. 

The FAA has several concerns 

regarding AWES operations in the NAS, 

including: 

(1) Impact(s) to various surveillance 

systems (radars); 

(2) Conspicuity to aircraft (marking 

and lighting); 

(3) Overall safety—safety to other 

airspace users, safety to persons and 

property on the ground, safety to the 

efficient and effective use of NAS 

facilities, safety to airports, safety to air 

commerce, and safety to the efficient 

operations and managing of the NAS; 

(4) AWES fly-away protection 

(mooring cable is severed); 

(5) AWES physical dimensions per 

unit and per farm; 

(6) AWES operating dimensions per 

unit and per farm (amt. of airspace it 

may require); 

(7) AWES mobility (potential for 

AWES to relocate from physical ground 

location to a different ground location); 

and 

(8) Wake turbulence or vortices of 

wind capturing component(s). 

The FAA recognizes the various 

design concepts utilized by AWES 

developers for components of their 

overall AWES. These may include the 

components that keep the system aloft, 

the power generating equipment, the 

energy transferring equipment, the 

maneuvering controls, and the physical 

and operational dimensions, amongst 

others. Given these variations in 

technologies, the FAA seeks information 

from the industry to help us evaluate 

the potential risks of permanent AWES 

and AWES farms operating in the NAS. 

The FAA is requesting AWES 

sponsors provide information on the 

following. Additional information may 

be requested upon further contact and 

coordination. This information must be 

submitted by February 6, 2012. 

• General information on a 

developer’s specific AWES design 

concept and plans for operation. 

Æ What type(s) of mechanical devices 

are you employing to keep the system 

aloft? 

Æ What are the physical dimensions 

of the device(s) with relation to the 

above? 

Æ What kind of materials will 

comprise this device? 

Æ What are the operational 

dimensions (requirement for airspace) 

for the system? 

Æ Is there a requirement to operate 

more than one device in the air? 

Æ What are your long-term plans for 

this system? 

• Marking and lighting. 

Æ Can you comply with marking and 

lighting requirements? 

Æ Can you identify any impacts to 

your system when complying with 

current guidance for marking and 

lighting standards? 

Æ What are your plans or how is your 

system designed to make the system 

conspicuous to the flying public? 

• Safety to other airspace users and 

persons and property on the ground. 

Æ What safety mechanisms or devices 

have you designed into the system to 

ensure all aspects of aviation safety? 


emcdonald on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / Proposed Rules 76335 

Æ What safety mechanisms or devices 

have you designed into the system to 

minimize or mitigate hazards to persons 

or property on the ground? 

• Minimized impacts to NAS 

facilities. 

Æ What are your plans or how is your 

system designed to reduce a large radar 

cross-section and become less 

conspicuous to surveillance systems? 

Æ What are your plans or how is your 

system designed to reduce impacts to 

any communication or navigation 

systems supporting the NAS? 

In addition, the FAA is requesting 

input from airspace users regarding the 

impact AWES would have on the NAS. 

Specifically, we request airspace users 

provide comments to the following. 

Additional information may be 

requested upon further contact and 

coordination. This information must be 

submitted by February 6, 2012. 

• What safety implications do you 

foresee of AWES operations with 

respect to your use of the airspace or 

your interest to the NAS? 

• Would you have any concerns 

about AWES permanently operating at 

altitudes above 500 feet AGL, but, under 

1,999 feet AGL? If so, what and why? 

• If AWES were permitted to 

permanently operate in altitudes at or 

above 2,000 feet AGL, how do you 

foresee this as negatively impacting 

your missions, use of the airspace, or 

other interests in the NAS? 

• What other concerns and/or issues 

might you have with respect to AWES 

co-existing in the NAS? 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons to 

submit written comments, data, or 

views. The agency also invites 

comments relating to the economic, 

environmental, energy, or federalism 

impacts that might result from adopting 

the proposals in this document. The 

most helpful comments reference a 

specific portion of the proposal, explain 

the reason for any recommended 

change, and include supporting data. To 

ensure the docket does not contain 

duplicate comments, commenters 

should send only one copy of written 

comments, or if comments are filed 

electronically, commenters should 

submit only one time. 

The FAA will file in the docket all 

comments it receives. Before acting on 

this proposal, the FAA will consider all 

comments it receives on or before the 

closing date for comments. The FAA 

will consider comments filed after the 

comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. The agency may 

change this proposal in light of the 

comments it receives. 

Proprietary or Confidential Business 

Information: Commenters should not 

file proprietary or confidential business 

information in the docket. Such 

information must be sent or delivered 

directly to the person identified in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this document, and marked as 

proprietary or confidential. If submitting 

information on a disk or CD–ROM, mark 

the outside of the disk or CD–ROM, and 

identify electronically within the disk or 

CD–ROM the specific information that 

is proprietary or confidential. 

Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), the FAA is 

aware of proprietary information filed 

with a comment, the agency does not 

place it in the docket. It is held in a 

separate file to which the public does 

not have access, and the FAA places a 

note in the docket that it has received 

it. If the FAA receives a request to 

examine or copy this information, it 

treats it as any other request under the 

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 

552). The FAA processes such a request 

under Department of Transportation 

procedures found in 49 CFR part 7. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 

30, 2011. 

Dennis E. Roberts, 

Director of Airspace Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–31430 Filed 12–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 152 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0305; FRL–9328–5] 

RIN 2070–AJ79 

Notification of Draft Proposed Rule 

Submission to the Secretaries of 

Agriculture and Health and Human 

Services 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notification of submission to 

the Secretaries of Agriculture and 

Health and Human Services. 

SUMMARY: This document notifies the 

public that EPA has forwarded to the 

Secretary of the United States 

Department of Agriculture and the 

Secretary of the United States 

Department of Health and Human 

Services a draft proposed rule under 

sections 21(b) and 25(a) of the Federal 

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 

Act (FIFRA), entitled ‘‘Pesticides; 

Revisions to Minimum Risk 

Exemptions’’ and identified in the 

Regulatory Agenda under RIN 2070– 

AJ79. FIFRA requires EPA to publish a 

notice in the Federal Register whenever 

such a submission occurs. The draft 

proposed rule is not available to the 

public until after it has been signed by 

EPA. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under docket 

identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– 

OPP–2010–0305. All documents in the 

docket are listed in the docket index 

available in http://www.regulations.gov. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available in the electronic docket at 

http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only 

available in hard copy, at the OPP 

Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S– 

4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 

2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The 

Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. 

to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. The Docket 

Facility telephone number is (703) 305– 

5805. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Martha Shimkin, Field and External 

Affairs Division (7506P), Office of 

Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington DC 20460–0001; 

telephone number: (703) 305–5160; 

email address: 

shimkin.martha@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this action apply to me? 

This action is directed to the public 

in general. It simply announces the 

submission of a draft proposed rule to 

the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

and does not otherwise affect any 

specific entities. This action may, 

however, be of particular interest to 

manufacturers, distributors, retailers, 

and users of minimum risk pesticide 

products as described in 40 CFR 

152.25(f). Since other entities may also 

be interested, the Agency has not 

attempted to describe all the specific 

entities that may be interested in this 

action. If you have any questions 

regarding this action, consult the person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 


emcdonald on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS