Document ID: FAA-2023-0034-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Airspace Designations and Reporting Points: Watertown, SD
Posted Date: 2023-01-23T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 14 (Monday, January 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3932-3933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01057]

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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 14 / Monday, January 23, 2023 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 3932]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2023-0034; Airspace Docket No. 23-AGL-3]
RIN 2120-AA66

Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Watertown, SD

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend the Class E airspace at 
Watertown, SD. The FAA is proposing this action due to an airspace 
review conducted as part of the decommissioning of the Watertown very 
high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) as part of the VOR Minimum 
Operating Network (MON) Program. The name and geographic coordinates of 
the airport would also be updated to coincide with the FAA's 
aeronautical database.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; telephone 
(202) 366-9826, or (800) 647-5527. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2023-0034/Airspace Docket No. 23-AGL-3 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at 
www.regulations.gov. You may review the public docket containing the 
proposal, any comments received, and any final disposition in person in 
the Dockets Office between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except federal holidays.
    FAA Order JO 7400.11G, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, 
and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Operations Support Group, Central Service Center, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177; telephone (817) 222-5711.

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 
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 amend the Class E surface airspace and the Class E airspace 
extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Watertown Regional 
Airport, Watertown, SD, to support instrument flight rule operations at 
this airport.

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 and be submitted in 
triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the FAA to 
acknowledge receipt of their comments on this notice must submit with 
those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the 
following statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2023-0034/
Airspace Docket No. 23-AGL-3.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped 
and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received before the specified closing date for 
comments will be considered before taking action on the proposed rule. 
The proposal contained in this notice may be changed in light of the 
comments received. 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 www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking 
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at 
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 the ADDRESSES section for the 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 Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic 
Organization, Central Service Center, Operations Support Group, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order JO 7400.11G, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 19, 2022, and effective 
September 15, 2022. FAA Order JO 7400.11G is publicly available as 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order JO 7400.11G 
lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service 
routes, and reporting points.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 by:
    Amending the Class E surface airspace at Watertown Regional 
Airport, Watertown, SD, by updating the name (previously Watertown 
Municipal

[[Page 3933]]

Airport) and geographic coordinates of the airport to coincide with the 
FAA's aeronautical database;
    And amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface at Watertown Regional Airport by removing the 
Watertown VOR/tactical air navigation (VORTAC) and the associated 
extension to the north of the airport; removing the extension south of 
the airport as it is no longer required; removing the airspace 
extending 1,200 feet above the surface from the airspace legal 
description as it is redundant with the airspace extending 1,200 feet 
above the surface over the State of South Dakota and State of 
Minnesota; and updating the name (previously Watertown Municipal 
Airport) and geographic coordinates of the airport to coincide with the 
FAA's aeronautical database.
    This action is the result of an airspace review conducted as part 
of the decommissioning of the Watertown VOR, which provided 
navigational information to this airport, as part of the VOR MON 
Program.
    Class E airspace designations are published in paragraphs 6002 and 
6005, respectively, of FAA Order JO 7400.11G, dated August 19, 2022, 
and effective September 15, 2022, which is incorporated by reference in 
14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in this document 
will 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 regulation only involves an 
established body of technical regulations for which frequent and 
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current, is 
non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative 
comments. It, therefore: (1) is not a ``significant regulatory action'' 
under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' under 
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, would 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

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me, 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 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 
7400.11G, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 19, 
2022, and effective September 15, 2022, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Area Designated as Surface Areas.

* * * * *

AGL SD E2 Watertown, SD [Amended]

Watertown Regional Airport, SD
    (Lat. 44[deg]54'50'' N, long. 97[deg]09'17'' W)

    Within a 4.3-mile radius of Watertown Regional Airport.

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 
Feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

AGL SD E5 Watertown, SD [Amended]

Watertown Regional Airport, SD
    (Lat. 44[deg]54'50'' N, long. 97[deg]09'17'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.8-mile radius of Watertown Regional Airport.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 17, 2023.
Martin A. Skinner,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2023-01057 Filed 1-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P