Document ID: FAA-2016-9588-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Class E Airspace; Amendments: Soldotna, AK
Posted Date: 2017-03-23T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 55 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14839-14841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05514]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2016-9588; Airspace Docket No. 16-AAL-5]

Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace, Soldotna, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Soldotna Airport, Soldotna, 
AK. After review of the airspace, the FAA found redesign is necessary 
due to procedure modifications. The FAA also proposes to remove the 
reference to the Soldotna nondirectional radio beacon (NDB) in the 
legal description. This action would enhance the safety and management 
of IFR operations at the airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 8, 2017.

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-2016-9588; Airspace Docket No. 16-AAL-5, at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://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 7400.11A, 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 7400.11A at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal-regulations/ibr_locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert LaPlante, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 
Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057; telephone (425) 203-4566.

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

[[Page 14840]]

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 Class E airspace at Soldotna Airport, 
Soldotna, AK, to conform the airspace to the size necessary for the 
current arrivals.

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. Persons 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-2016-9588/
Airspace Docket No. 16-AAL-5.'' 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 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 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 Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service 
Center, Operations Support Group, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 
98057.

Availability and Summary of Documents Proposed for Incorporation by 
Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11A, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and effective 
September 15, 2016. FAA Order 7400.11A is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11A 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 Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) Part 71 by modifying Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Soldotna Airport, Soldotna, 
AK. This proposed action is necessary because the airspace as 
configured exceeds the minimum size required for the current arrivals. 
The portion of airspace within a 10.1-mile radius of the Soldotna 
Airport and within 4 miles either side of the 270 degree bearing of the 
Soldotna NDB would be revised from 4 miles to 2.4 miles and the 
reference to the NDB would be changed to the Soldotna Airport. The 
portion of airspace extending from the 10.1-mile radius to 21 miles 
west of the Soldotna Airport would be modified to 11 miles west of the 
airport. The portion of airspace within 4 miles south of the 090 degree 
bearing of the Soldotna Airport would be revised to 3.5 miles.
    Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6004, 
6005, and 6006, of FAA Order 7400.11A, dated August 3, 2016, and 
effective September 15, 2016, which is incorporated by reference in 14 
CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in this document 
will be published subsequently in the Order.

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 Environmental Review.
    This proposal will criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.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 7400.11A, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and 
effective September 15, 2016, is amended as follows:

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

* * * * *

AAL AK E5 Soldotna, AK [Modified]

Soldotna, Soldotna Airport, AK
    (Lat. 60[deg]28'30'' N., long. 151[deg]02'17'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 10.1-mile radius of the Soldotna Airport and within 2.4 
miles either side of the 270[deg] bearing of the Soldotna Airport, 
AK, extending from the 10.1-mile radius to 11 miles west of the 
Soldotna Airport, AK, and within 3.5 miles either side of the 
090[deg] bearing of the Soldotna Airport, AK, extending from the 
10.1-mile radius to 14.3 miles east of the Soldotna Airport, AK; and 
that airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface

[[Page 14841]]

within a 73-mile radius of the Soldotna Airport.

    Issued in Seattle, Washington, on March 9, 2017.
Tracey Johnson,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2017-05514 Filed 3-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P