[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75488-75490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24078]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2023-0965; Airspace Docket No. 23-AGL-8]
RIN 2120-AA66


Amendment of VOR Federal Airways V-158 and V-172; Polo, IL

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action amends Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range 
(VOR) Federal airways V-158 and V-172 in the vicinity of Polo, IL. The 
amendments are due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of 
the Polo, IL (PLL), VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) 
navigational aid (NAVAID). The Polo VOR is being decommissioned as part 
of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

DATES: Effective date 0901 UTC, January 25, 2024. The Director of the 
Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference action under 
1 CFR part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order JO 7400.11 
and publication of conforming amendments.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), all 
comments received, this final rule, and all background material may be 
viewed online at www.regulations.gov using the FAA Docket number. 
Electronic retrieval help and guidelines are available on the website. 
It is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year.
    FAA Order JO 7400.11H, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, 
and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/. You may also contact the Rules and 
Regulations Group, Office of Policy, Federal Aviation Administration, 
800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colby Abbott, Rules and Regulations 
Group, Office of Policy, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783.

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 
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 modifies the Air Traffic Service (ATS) route structure 
as necessary to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic 
within the National Airspace System (NAS).

History

    The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking for Docket No. 
FAA-2023-0965 in the Federal Register (88 FR 23595; April 18, 2023), 
proposing to amend VOR Federal airways V-158 and V-172 due to the 
planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Polo, IL, VOR/DME 
NAVAID. Interested parties were invited to participate in this 
rulemaking effort by submitting written comments on the proposal. One 
comment was received.
    The commenter stated the FAA should keep the Polo VOR and 
associated VOR Federal airways, V-158 and V-172, because 
decommissioning them represented an aeronautical navigation challenge 
to instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft not yet equipped with an IFR 
suitable global positioning system (GPS) and as a backup to GPS 
navigation, since there is a lack of other suitable VOR navigational 
aids in the area.
    The VOR MON is designed to enable aircraft, having lost Global 
Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) service, to revert to conventional 
navigation procedures and enable aircraft to proceed to a MON airport 
where an Instrument Landing System (ILS) or VOR approach procedure can 
be flown without the necessity of GPS.
    In December 2011, the FAA published a notice of proposed policy and 
request for comments in the Federal Register (76 FR 77939). The notice 
addressed the FAA's proposed strategy for reducing the current VOR 
network to a Minimum Operational Network (MON) in support of 
transitioning the NAS to performance-based navigation (PBN) as part of 
the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The FAA 
announced that, as part of a NAS Efficient Streamlined Services 
Initiative, the number of VORs would be reduced while more efficient 
Area Navigation (RNAV) routes and procedures would be implemented 
throughout the NAS. The notice stated that the FAA, with assistance of 
a work group, would develop a candidate list of VORs for discontinuance 
using relevant operational, safety, cost, and economic criteria.
    In response to comments received to the notice of proposed policy, 
the FAA published a disposition of comments notice in the Federal 
Register (77 FR 50420; August 21, 2012), stating it would develop an 
initial VOR MON discontinuance plan which would be made publicly 
available. As a result, the FAA convened a working group for developing 
the objective criteria to be used to help identify those VORs that 
would remain operational. Stakeholders, aviation industry, and military 
services provided further input to the FAA for consideration in 
developing the criteria to select VORs that needed to be retained as a 
part of the MON. With this collective input, the FAA developed the 
criteria to determine which VORs would be retained. The VORs not 
meeting these criteria were considered discontinuance candidates.
    As referenced in the NPRM, the FAA published its VOR MON final 
policy statement in the Federal Register (81 FR 48694; July 26, 2016). 
In that notice, the

[[Page 75489]]

candidate list of VORs to be discontinued was announced. The Polo, MI, 
VOR was announced as a candidate VOR for discontinuance. The FAA 
remains committed to its final policy statement and plan to retain an 
optimized VOR MON that enables pilots to revert from PBN to 
conventional navigation for approach, terminal, and enroute operations 
in the event of a GPS outage. This action supports the NAS transition 
from ground-based to satellite-based navigation consistent with the 
FAA's NextGen goals and the NAS Efficient Streamlined Services 
Initiative.
    The commenter also stated that if the Polo VOR is decommissioned, 
there will not be any usable NAVAID between the Moline, IL, VOR and the 
DuPage, IL, VOR (a distance of 108 nautical miles (NM)) which is 
outside of the current VOR service volume, nor would there be any 
usable VOR connecting the Dubuque, IA, VOR/Tactical Air Navigation 
(VORTAC) with the Chicago area DuPage, IL, and Joliet, IL, VORs. The 
commenter continued that flying between the Dubuque, IA, VORTAC and the 
Joliet, IL, VOR/DME would put pilots outside current VOR service 
volumes due to significant limitations imposed on the Dubuque VOR and 
the limited ranges of the Davenport and Moline VORs.
    In response, the FAA offers that although the route between the 
Moline VOR/DME and the DuPage, IL, VOR/DME is approximately 108 NM, 
pilots flying direct between those two VORs today are required to have 
their aircraft RNAV equipped since the distance, as stated, is beyond 
the service volume of the two NAVAIDS. However, there are other VOR 
Federal airway alternatives in the area that allow pilots to navigate 
between the Moline and DuPage VORs. A pilot could choose to navigate 
between the Moline and DuPage VORs via V-63 between the Moline VOR/DME 
and the Davenport, IA, VORTAC, then via V-6 between the Davenport 
VORTAC and the DuPage VOR/DME.
    Likewise, there will continue to be VOR Federal airway alternatives 
available for navigating between the Dubuque, IA, area and the Chicago 
area DuPage, IL, and Joliet, IL, VORs. To navigate between the Dubuque 
VORTAC and DuPage VOR/DME, pilots may navigate via V-129 between the 
Dubuque and Davenport VORTACs, then via V-6 between the Davenport 
VORTAC and the DuPage VOR/DME. Alternatively, a pilot could choose to 
navigate between the Dubuque VORTAC and the Joliet VOR/DME via V-129 
between the Dubuque VORTAC and the GENSO Fix, then via V-8 between the 
GENSO Fix and the Joliet VOR/DME.
    Additionally, pilots may continue to navigate between the Dubuque, 
IA, area and the Chicago area Northbrook, IL, VOR/DME via V-246 between 
the Dubuque VORTAC and the Janesville, IL, VOR/DME, then via V-24 
between the Janesville VOR/DME and the Northbrook VOR/DME.
    Finally, pilots, regardless of flying under instrument flight rules 
or visual flight rules, may always request radar vectors from air 
traffic control for navigation assistance in the area or file and fly 
point-to-point using the Fixes and waypoints that will remain in the 
area if their aircraft is RNAV equipped.
    Lastly, the commenter stated that the FAA's plan to use VORs with 
the new VOR service volumes, labeled as VOR Low (VL) and VOR High (VH), 
as a backup plan in the event of a GPS outage did not provide 
sufficient coverage in the vicinity of the Polo VOR/DME due to the 
operational limitations imposed on the Dubuque VORTAC and the 
Northbrook VOR/DME. The commenter thought that the Polo VOR and 
associated V-158 and V-172 airways segments should be retained until 
the limitations currently being imposed on the Dubuque and Northbrook 
VORs can be removed and the service volumes of the Joliet VOR/DME and 
the Davenport VORTAC can be increased to ensure signal coverage 
throughout the entire area.
    As stated previously, the FAA remains committed to its final policy 
statement and plan to retain an optimized VOR MON that enables pilots 
to revert from PBN to conventional navigation for approach, terminal, 
and enroute operations in the event of a GPS outage. The limitations 
with the four listed VORs, Dubuque, Northbrook, Joliet, and Davenport, 
exist today due to the VOR type, user retention requirements, or an 
increase in tree/terrain blockage occurring over time causing certain 
radials of the VORs to become unusable. The limitations imposed on 
these four VORs do not affect the normal operation of the VORs until 
exceeding 40 NM below 14,500 feet mean seal level (MSL). Whether the 
Polo VOR remains operational or is decommissioned does not change the 
existing limitations on the four VORs, nor would it effect the use of 
the VOR Federal airway alternatives identified for pilots to continue 
navigating through the affected area. The FAA has determined that with 
the planned decommissioning of the Polo VOR, there remains sufficient 
conventional navigation enroute structure in place to enable pilots to 
navigate from the Dubuque, IA; Cedar Rapids, IA; or Moline, IL, areas 
into the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

Incorporation by Reference

    VOR Federal airways are published in paragraph 6010(a) of FAA Order 
JO 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 on an annual basis. This 
document amends the current version of that order, FAA Order JO 
7400.11H, dated August 11, 2023, and effective September 15, 2023. FAA 
Order JO 7400.11H is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this document. This amendment action will be published in 
the next update to FAA Order JO 7400.11.
    FAA Order JO 7400.11H lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, 
air traffic service routes, and reporting points.

The Rule

    This action amends 14 CFR part 71 by amending VOR Federal airways 
V-158 and V-172 due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion 
of the Polo, IL, VOR/DME. The airway actions are described below.
    V-158: Prior to this final rule, V-158 extended between the Mason 
City, IA, VOR/DME and the intersection of the Polo, IL, VOR/DME 
122[deg] and Davenport, IA, VORTAC 087[deg] radials (SHOOF Fix). The 
airway segment between the Dubuque, IA, VORTAC and the intersection of 
the Polo, IL, 122[deg] and Davenport, IA, 087[deg] radials (SHOOF Fix) 
is removed. As amended, the airway now extends between the Mason City 
VOR/DME and the Dubuque VORTAC.
    V-172: Prior to this final rule, V-172 extended between the 
Columbus, NE, VOR/DME and the DuPage, IL, VOR/DME. The airway segment 
between the Cedar Rapids, IA, VOR/DME and the DuPage, IL, VOR/DME is 
removed. As amended, the airway now extends between the Columbus VOR/
DME and the Cedar Rapids VOR/DME.
    The NAVAID radials contained in the VOR Federal airway descriptions 
listed below in The Amendment section are unchanged and stated in 
degrees True north.

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. 
It, therefore: (1) is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT

[[Page 75490]]

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 
only affects air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is certified 
that this rule, when promulgated, does not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Environmental Review

    The FAA has determined that this action of amending VOR Federal 
airways V-158 and V-172, due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR 
portion of the Polo, IL, VOR/DME NAVAID, qualifies for categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR part 1500, and in 
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and 
Procedures, paragraph 5-6.5a, which categorically excludes from further 
environmental impact review rulemaking actions that designate or modify 
classes of airspace areas, airways, routes, and reporting points (see 
14 CFR part 71, Designation of Class A, B, C, D, and E Airspace Areas; 
Air Traffic Service Routes; and Reporting Points); and paragraph 5-
6.5i, which categorically excludes from further environmental impact 
review the establishment of new or revised air traffic control 
procedures conducted at 3,000 feet or more above ground level (AGL); 
procedures conducted below 3,000 feet AGL that do not cause traffic to 
be routinely routed over noise sensitive areas; modifications to 
currently approved procedures conducted below 3,000 feet AGL that do 
not significantly increase noise over noise sensitive areas; and 
increases in minimum altitudes and landing minima. As such, this action 
is not expected to result in any potentially significant environmental 
impacts. In accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, paragraph 5-2 regarding 
Extraordinary Circumstances, the FAA has reviewed this action for 
factors and circumstances in which a normally categorically excluded 
action may have a significant environmental impact requiring further 
analysis. The FAA has determined that no extraordinary circumstances 
exist that warrant preparation of an environmental assessment or 
environmental impact study.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

The Amendment

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation 
Administration amends 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

0
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]

0
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 
7400.11H, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 11, 
2023, and effective September 15, 2023, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6010(a) Domestic VOR Federal Airways.

* * * * *

V-158 [Amended]

    From Mason City, IA; INT Mason City 106[deg] and Dubuque, IA, 
293[deg] radials; to Dubuque.
* * * * *

V-172 [Amended]

    From Columbus, NE; Omaha, IA; INT Omaha 066[deg] and Newton, IA, 
262[deg] radials; Newton; to Cedar Rapids, IA.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Karen L. Chiodini,
Acting Manager, Rules and Regulations Group.
[FR Doc. 2023-24078 Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
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