Document ID: FAA-2018-0985-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Amendment of Air Traffic Service Routes: T-331; Western United States
Posted Date: 2018-11-27T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60786-60788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25710]

 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 27, 2018 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 60786]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0985; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-19]
RIN 2120-AA66

Proposed Amendment of Air Traffic Service (ATS) Route T-331; 
Western United States

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend Area Navigation (RNAV) Route T-
331 in the western United States. The modification is necessary due to 
the planned decommissioning of Clovis, CA, VOR portion of the VOR/
Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) navigation aid (NAVAID), which 
provides navigation guidance for portions of affected ATS route V-23. 
The decommissioning has rendered portions of V-23 unusable and amending 
T-331 helps overcome affected portions of V-23. The Clovis, CA, VOR is 
being decommissioned as part of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational 
Network (MON) program.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 11, 2019.

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-2018-0985; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-19 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
    FAA Order 7400.11C, 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 7400.11C 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: Kenneth Ready, Airspace Policy Group, 
Office of Airspace Services, 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 modify the route structure as necessary to 
preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic within the National 
Airspace System.

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-2018-0985; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-19) 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 http://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-2018-0985; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-19.'' 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 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 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.

[[Page 60787]]

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective 
September 15, 2018. FAA Order 7400.11C is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11C lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

Background

    The FAA is planning decommissioning activities for the Clovis, CA, 
VOR in 2019 as one of the candidate VORs identified for discontinuance 
by the FAA's VOR MON program and listed in the final policy statement 
notice, ``Provision of Navigation Services for the Next Generation Air 
Transportation System (NextGen) Transition to Performance-Based 
Navigation (PBN) (Plan for Establishing a VOR Minimum Operational 
Network),'' published in the Federal Register of July 26, 2016 (81 FR 
48694), Docket No. FAA-2011-1082. Although the VOR portion of the 
Clovis, CA, VORTAC NAVAID is planned for decommissioning, the Tactical 
Air Navigation (TACAN) portion is being retained. The ATS route 
effected by the Clovis VOR decommissioning is V-23. RNAV route T-331 is 
proposed to be amended to overcome the gap to V-23.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by modifying RNAV route T-331. The 
proposed route change is outlined below.
    T-331: T-331 currently extends between the NTELL, CA, waypoint (WP) 
and the FONIA, ND, FIX. The FAA proposes to extend the route to the 
southeast by 15 miles to connect to the FRAME, CA, FIX, which is the 
new proposed starting point of the RNAV route. The extension is needed 
for navigation in the low altitude structure as V-23 is being gapped in 
a separate rulemaking action due to the decommissioning of the Clovis, 
CA, VOR. Additionally, five WPs (ESSOH, CA, HIXUP, NV, WAHNZ, ID, 
SPECT, MT, and TRUED, MT) and one FIX (CUTVA, NV) are being removed 
from the current legal description as they are unnecessary to the RNAV 
route description required by policy. The unaffected portion of the 
existing route will remain as charted.
    United States RNAV Routes are published in paragraph 6011 of FAA 
Order 7400.11C dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018, 
which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The RNAV Route 
listed in this document will be subsequently published in the Order.

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

0
1. The authority citation for 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 7400.11C, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018 and 
effective September 15, 2018, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6011 United States Area Navigation Routes.

T-331 FRAME, CA to FONIA, ND [Amended]
FRAME, CA                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 36[deg]36'46.74'' N, long. 119[deg]40'25.53'' W)
NTELL, CA                                                   WP                       (Lat. 36[deg]53'58.99'' N, long. 119[deg]53'22.21'' W)
KARNN, CA                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 37[deg]09'03.79'' N, long. 121[deg]16'45.22'' W)
VINCO, CA                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 37[deg]22'35.11'' N, long. 121[deg]42'59.52'' W)
NORCL, CA                                                   WP                       (Lat. 37[deg]31'02.66'' N, long. 121[deg]43'10.60'' W)
MOVDD, CA                                                   WP                       (Lat. 37[deg]39'40.88'' N, long. 121[deg]26'53.53'' W)
EVETT, CA                                                   WP                       (Lat. 38[deg]00'36.11'' N, long. 121[deg]07'48.14'' W)
TIPRE, CA                                                   WP                       (Lat. 38[deg]12'21.00'' N, long. 121[deg]02'09.00'' W)
SQUAW VALLEY, CA(SWR)                                       VORDME                   (Lat. 39[deg]10'49.16'' N, long. 120[deg]16'10.60'' W)
TRUCK, CA                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 39[deg]26'15.67'' N, long. 120[deg]09'42.48'' W)
MUSTANG, NV (FMG)                                           VORTAC                   (Lat. 39[deg]31'52.60'' N, long. 119[deg]39'21.87'' W)
LOVELOCK, NV (LLC)                                          VORTAC                   (Lat. 40[deg]07'30.95'' N, long. 118[deg]34'39.34'' W)
BATTLE MOUNTAIN, NV (BAM)                                   VORTAC                   (Lat. 40[deg]34'08.69'' N, long. 116[deg]55'20.12'' W)
PARZZ, NV                                                   WP                       (Lat. 41[deg]36'14.64'' N, long. 115[deg]02'09.69'' W)
TULIE, ID                                                   WP                       (Lat. 42[deg]37'58.49'' N, long. 113[deg]06'44.54'' W)
AMFAL, ID                                                   WP                       (Lat. 42[deg]45'56.67'' N, long. 112[deg]50'04.64'' W)
POCATELLO, ID (PIH)                                         VOR/DME                  (Lat. 42[deg]52'13.38'' N, long. 112[deg]39'08.05'' W)
VIPUC, ID                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 43[deg]21'09.64'' N, long. 112[deg]14'44.08'' W)
IDAHO FALLS, ID (IDA)                                       VOR/DME                  (Lat. 43[deg]31'08.42'' N, long. 112[deg]03'50.10'' W)
SABAT, ID                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 44[deg]00'59.71'' N, long. 111[deg]39'55.04'' W)
BILLINGS, MT (BIL)                                          VORTAC                   (Lat. 45[deg]48'30.81'' N, long. 108[deg]37'28.73'' W)
EXADE, MT                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 47[deg]35'56.78'' N, long. 104[deg]32'40.61'' W)

[[Page 60788]]

 
JEKOK, ND                                                   WP                       (Lat. 47[deg]59'31.05'' N, long. 103[deg]27'17.51'' W)
FONIA, ND                                                   FIX                      (Lat. 48[deg]15'35.07'' N, long. 103[deg]10'37.54'' W)
 

* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2018.
Gemechu Gelgelu,
Acting Manager, Airspace Policy Group.
[FR Doc. 2018-25710 Filed 11-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P