Document ID: FAA-2016-6271-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Class E Airspace; Establishments: Iron Mountain, MI
Posted Date: 2016-07-29T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49902-49903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17893]

 ========================================================================
 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. 81, No. 146 / Friday, July 29, 2016 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 49902]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2016-6271; Airspace Docket No. 16-AGL-15]

Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Iron Mountain, MI

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend Class E en route airspace around 
the Iron Mountain VHF omnidirectional range/distance measuring 
equipment, Iron Mountain, MI. This action would add additional airspace 
to facilitate the vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft 
under control of the Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center 
(ARTCC) in the Great Lakes area located north and northwest of the Iron 
Mountain, MI, VHF Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment 
(VOR/DME) navigation aid. This proposed action would enhance the safety 
and management of aircraft operations within the National Airspace 
System (NAS).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 12, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; 
telephone (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2016-
6271; Docket No. 16-AGL-15, 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. The Docket Office (telephone 1-800-
647-5527), is on the ground floor of the building at the above address.
    FAA Order 7400.9Z, 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 7400.9Z at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal-regulations/ibr_locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.9, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raul Garza Jr., Central Service 
Center, Operations Support Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 
Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177; 
telephone: 817-222-5874.

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 establish Class E airspace in the Iron Mountain, MI area.

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-2016-6271/
Airspace Docket No. 16-AGL-15.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped 
and returned to the commenter.

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/airports_airtraffic/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 Central Service Center, Operation Support Group, 
10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.
    Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future 
NPRMs should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking (202) 267-9677, to 
request a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application 
procedure.

Availability and Summary of Documents Proposed for Incorporation by 
Reference

    This document would amend FAA Order 7400.9Z, Airspace Designations 
and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and effective September 15, 
2015. FAA Order 7400.9Z is publicly available as listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.9Z lists

[[Page 49903]]

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 amending Class E en route airspace in 
the Iron Mountain, MI, area, for the Iron Mountain VOR/DME. The FAA is 
proposing to add additional controlled airspace to the southern and 
northern boundaries of the Iron Mountain en route airspace area, and 
remove exclusionary information from the regulatory text. This proposed 
action would provide controlled airspace enabling Minneapolis ARTCC 
greater latitude to use radar vectors and altitude changes within the 
entire area north and northwest of the Iron Mountain, MI, VOR/DME and 
remove unnecessary exclusion language for clarity.
    The FAA also would amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 
feet above the surface at Iron Mountain, MI, to reflect the name change 
of the navigation aid from Iron Mountain VORTAC to Iron Mountain VOR/
DME.
    Class E airspace areas are published in Sections 6005 and 6006, 
respectively, of FAA Order 7400.9Z, dated August 6, 2015, and effective 
September 15, 2015, 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 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 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 7400.9Z, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 6, 2015, and 
effective September 15, 2015, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6006 En Route Domestic Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

AGL MI E6 Iron Mountain, MI [Amended]

Iron Mountain VOR/DME, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]48'58'' N., long. 088[deg]06'44'' W.)
Thunder Bay Airport, ON, Canada
    (Lat. 48[deg]22'19'' N., long. 089[deg]19'26'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface 
within an area bounded by lat. 47[deg]05'00'' N., long. 
086[deg]40'39'' W.; to lat. 47[deg]05'00'' N., long. 088[deg]27'44'' 
W.; to the Iron Mountain VOR/DME; to lat. 46[deg]16'21'' N., long. 
089[deg]47'13'' W.; to lat. 46[deg]52'34'' N., long. 090[deg]13'09'' 
W. on the eastern boundary of the Wisconsin E5 airspace area; then 
northeast along the boundary of the Wisconsin and Minnesota E5 
airspace areas to the intersection of the 35 NM radius of the 
Thunder Bay Airport; then counterclockwise along the 35 NM radius of 
the Thunder Bay Airport to the intersection of the southern boundary 
of the Upper Peninsula E6 airspace area; then southeast along the 
boundary of the Upper Peninsula E6 airspace area to the point of 
beginning.

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

* * * * *

AGL MI E5 Iron Mountain, MI [Amended]

Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Ford Airport, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]49'06'' N., long. 88[deg]06'52'' W.)
Iron Mountain VOR/DME
    (Lat. 45[deg]48'58'' N., long. 88[deg]06'44'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within an 8.7-mile radius of Iron Mountain VOR/DME, and within 5.2 
miles west and 8.3 miles east of the Iron Mountain ILS localizer 
south course extending from the 8.7-mile radius to 21 miles south of 
the Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Ford Airport, and within 4.4 miles each 
side of the Iron Mountain ILS localizer north course extending from 
the 8.7-mile radius to 16 miles north of the airport.

    Issued in Fort Worth, TX, on July 18, 2016.
Vonnie L. Royal,
Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2016-17893 Filed 7-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P