[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 219 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60814-60815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29835]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97-AEA-43]


Proposed Amendment to Class E Airspace; Somerset, PA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This notice proposes to amend the Class E airspace area at 
Somerset, PA. The development of a new Standard Instrument Approach 
Procedure (SIAP) based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) at 
Somerset County Airport has made this proposal necessary. Additional 
controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level 
(AGL) is needed to accommodate the SIAP and for Instrument Flight Rules 
(IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
Airspace Branch, AEA-520, Docket No. 97-AEA-43, F.A.A. Eastern Region, 
Federal Building #111, John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport, Jamaica, NY 
11430.
    The official docket may be examined in the Office of the Assistant 
Chief Counsel, AEA-7, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal Building #111, 
John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York 11430.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours in the Airspace Branch, AEA-520, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal 
Building #111, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY 
11430.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Francis T. Jordan, Jr., Airspace Specialist, Airspace Branch, AEA-
520 F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal Building #111, John F. Kennedy 
International Airport, Jamaica, New York 11430; telephone: (718) 553-
4521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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, economic, 
environmental, and energy-related aspects of the proposal. 
Communications should identify the airspace docket number 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 Airspace Docket No. 97-
AEA-43.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the 
commenter. All communications received on or before the 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 
comments received. All comments submitted will be available for 
examination in the Rules Docket both before and after the closing date 
for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with 
the FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed in the 
docket.

Availability of NPRMs

    Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the Office of

[[Page 60815]]

the Assistant Chief Counsel, AEA-7, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal 
Building #111, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY 
11430. Communications must identify the notice number of this NPRM. 
Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs 
should also request a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, which 
describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

    The FAA is considering an amendment to 14 CFR Part 71 to amend the 
Class E airspace area at Somerset, PA. A GPS RWY 6 SIAP has been 
developed for the Somerset County Airport. Additional controlled 
airspace extending upward from 700 feet AGL is needed to accommodate 
the SIAP and for IFR operations at the airport. Class E airspace 
designations for airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more 
above the surface are published in Paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9E, 
dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16, 1997, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace 
designation listed in this document would be published subsequently in 
the Order.
    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. 
Therefore, this proposed regulation--(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 would only affect air traffic procedures 
and air navigation, it is certified that this proposed rule would not 
have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

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--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 71 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.


Sec. 71.1  [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9E, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Pants, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16, 
1997, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005  Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 
feet or more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

AEA PA E5  Somerset, PA [Revised]

Somerset County Airport, PA
    (lat. 40 deg.02'20''N., long. 79 deg.00'47''W.)
Stoystown NDB
    (lat. 40 deg.05'09''N., long. 78 deg.55'00''W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.4-mile radius of Somerset County Airport and within 3.1 
miles each side of the 058 deg. bearing from the Stoystown NDB 
extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 9.6 miles northeast of the NDB 
and 4 miles each side of the 236 deg. bearing from the Somerset 
County Airport extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 9.5 miles 
southwest of the airport, excluding that portion that coincides with 
the Seven Springs, PA, Class E airspace area.
* * * * *
    Issued in Jamaica, New York, on October 7, 1997.
Franklin D. Hatfield,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 97-29835 Filed 11-12-97; 8:45 am]
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