Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 26, 2022 / Proposed Rules 24483 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 20, 

2022. 

Scott M. Rosenbloom, 

Manager, Airspace Rules and Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08785 Filed 4–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0435; Airspace 

Docket No. 19–AAL–73] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Proposed Amendment of United States 

Area Navigation (RNAV) Route T–270; 

Shishmaref, AK 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

amend United States Area Navigation 

(RNAV) T-route, T–270 in the vicinity of 

Shishmaref, AK due to the planned 

decommissioning of the Shishmaref, 

AK, (SHH) Non-Directional Beacons 

(NDB) and the Norton Bay, AK, (OAY) 

NDB. Both NDBs will be 

decommissioned as part of a large and 

comprehensive T-route modernization 

project for the state of Alaska. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before June 10, 2022. 

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: (800) 

647–5527, or (202) 366–9826. You must 

identify FAA Docket No. FAA–2022– 

0435; Airspace Docket No. 19–AAL–73 

at the beginning of your comments. You 

may also submit comments through the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov. 

FAA Order JO 7400.11F, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, and 

subsequent amendments can be viewed 

online at https://www.faa.gov/air_

traffic/publications/. For further 

information, you can contact the Rules 

and Regulations Group, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC, 20591; telephone: (202) 267–8783. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jesse Acevedo, 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 would 

expand the availability of RNAV in 

Alaska and improve the efficient flow of 

air traffic within the National Airspace 

System (NAS) by lessoning the 

dependency on ground based 

navigation. 

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 (FAA Docket No. FAA– 

2022–0435; Airspace Docket No. 19– 

AAL–73) and be submitted in triplicate 

to the Docket Management Facility (see 

ADDRESSES section for address and 

phone number). You may also submit 

comments through the internet at 

https://www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters wishing the FAA to 

acknowledge receipt of their comments 

on this action must submit with those 

comments a self-addressed, stamped 

postcard on which the following 

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to FAA 

Docket No. FAA–2022–0435; Airspace 

Docket No. 19–AAL–73.’’ The postcard 

will be date/time stamped and returned 

to the commenter. 

All communications received on or 

before the specified comment closing 

date will be considered before taking 

action on the proposed rule. The 

proposal contained in this action may 

be changed in light of comments 

received. All comments submitted will 

be available for examination in the 

public docket both before and after the 

comment closing date. A report 

summarizing each substantive public 

contact with FAA personnel concerned 

with this rulemaking will be filed in the 

docket. 

Availability of NPRM 

An electronic copy of this document 

may be downloaded through the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov. 

Recently published rulemaking 

documents can also be accessed through 

the FAA’s web page at https://

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 

ADDRESSES section for 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 office of 

the Western Service Center, Operations 

Support Group, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 2200 South 216th St., 

Des Moines, WA 98198. 

Availability and Summary of 

Documents for Incorporation by 

Reference 

This document proposes to amend 

FAA Order JO 7400.11F, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, 

dated August 10, 2021, and effective 

September 15, 2021. FAA Order JO 

7400.11F is publicly available as listed 

in the ADDRESSES section of this 

document. FAA Order JO 7400.11F lists 

Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, 

air traffic service routes, and reporting 

points. 

Background 

In 2003, Congress enacted the Vision 

100—Century of Aviation 

Reauthorization Act (Pub L., 108–176), 

which established a joint planning and 

development office in the FAA to 

manage the work related to the Next 

Generation Air Transportation System 

(NextGen). Today, NextGen is an 

ongoing FAA-led modernization of the 

nation’s air transportation system to 

make flying safer, more efficient, and 

more predictable. 

In support of NextGen, this proposal 

is part of a larger and comprehensive 

RNAV T-route modernization project in 

the state of Alaska. The project’s 

mission statement is ‘‘to modernize 

Alaska’s Air Traffic Service route 

structure using satellite based 

navigation. Development of new 

T-routes and optimization of existing 

T-routes will enhance safety, increase 

efficiency and access, and will provide 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
24484 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 26, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

enroute continuity that is not subject to 

the restrictions associated with ground 

based airway navigation.’’ As part of 

this project, the FAA evaluated the 

existing Colored airway structure for: (a) 

Direct replacement (i.e., overlay) with a 

T-route that offers a similar or lower 

Minimum Enroute Altitude (MEA) or 

Global Navigation Satellite System 

Minimum Enroute Altitude (GNSS 

MEA); (b) the replacement of the 

Colored airway with a T-route in an 

optimized but similar geographic area, 

while retaining similar or lower MEA; 

or (c) removal with no route structure 

(T-route) restored in that area because 

the value was determined to be 

insignificant. 

Industry and users have indicated a 

desire that the FAA transition the 

Alaskan enroute navigation structure 

away from any dependency on NDBs, 

and move to develop and improve the 

RNAV route structure. The FAA 

believes this request is time sensitive 

given the increasing number of NDBs 

that are currently and/or scheduled out 

of service, and the lack of an NDB 

acquisition, maintenance, or 

sustainment program, which forces 

aircraft flying under Instrument Flight 

Rules (IFR) that are without de-icing 

protection to fly at higher MEAs, with 

the potentially associated loss of safety. 

The FAA is proposing to amend 

RNAV T-route T–270. This proposed 

action is necessary due to the planned 

decommissioning of the Norton Bay, 

AK, (OAY) NDB and the Shishmaref, 

AK, (SHH) NDB. Both NDBs will 

decommissioned as part of the RNAV 

modernization effort for the state of 

Alaska. The FAA proposes to replace 

the Norton Bay and Shishmaref, AK, 

NDBs with the HALUS and the HIPIV 

waypoints (WPs), respectively. The FAA 

also proposes to reverse the order of the 

RNAV T-route in the route description 

to comply with guidance in FAA Order 

JO 7400.2. Finally, the FAA proposes to 

remove the HEXOG, AK, WP from the 

legal description due to it having less 

than a 1 degree turn and is not required. 

The Proposal 

The FAA is proposing an amendment 

to 14 CFR part 71 to amend RNAV route 

T–270 in the vicinity of Shishmaref, AK 

in support of a large and comprehensive 

T-route modernization project in the 

state of Alaska. 

The proposed RNAV T-route 

amendment is described below. 

T–270: T–270 currently extends 

between the Norton Bay, AK, (OAY) 

NDB and the Shishmaref, AK, (SHH) 

VOR/DME. This FAA proposes to 

replace the OAY NDB and the SHH NDB 

with the HALUS, AK, WP and the 

HIPIV, AK, WP, respectively. Further, 

the FAA proposes to remove the 

HEXOG, AK, WP from the legal 

description. Finally, the order of the 

T-route would be reversed from the 

published legal description to comply 

with current guidance in FAA Order JO 

7400.2. As a result, T–270 would extend 

between the HIPIV, AK, WP and the 

HALUS, AK, WP. 

United States Area Navigation Routes 

are published in paragraph 6011 of FAA 

Order JO 7400.11F dated August 10, 

2021 and effective September 15, 2021, 

which is incorporated by reference in 14 

CFR 71.1. The RNAV route listed in this 

document would be published 

subsequently in FAA Order JO 7400.11. 

FAA Order JO 7400.11, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, is 

published yearly and effective on 

September 15. 

Regulatory Notices and Analyses 

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. It, 

therefore: (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 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. 

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 

In consideration of the foregoing, 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 

■ 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. 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

■ 2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11F, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, dated August 10, 2021, and 

effective September 15, 2021, is 

amended as follows: 

Paragraph 6011 United States Area 

Navigation Routes. 

* * * * * 

T–270 HIPIV, AK TO HALUS, AK

HIPIV, AK WP (Lat. 66°15′29.11′′ N, long. 166°03′23.59′′ W) 

HALUS, AK WP (Lat. 64°41′43.78′′ N, long. 162°04′03.53′′ W) 

* * * * * Issued in Washington, DC, on April 20, 

2022. 

Scott M. Rosenbloom, 

Manager, Airspace Rules and Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08783 Filed 4–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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