[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9462-9463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4768]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97-ANM-20 ]


Proposed Revision of Class E Airspace, Livingston, MT, and Butte, 
MT, and Removal of Class E Airspace, Coppertown, MT

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would combine the Coppertown, MT, Class E 
airspace area with the existing Butte, MT, Class E airspace area. This 
combined airspace area would be designated the Butte, MT, Class E 
airspace area. This proposal would also amend the adjacent Class E 
Airspace at Livingston, MT, by providing additional controlled airspace 
to accommodate the development of new Standard Instrument Approach 
Procedures (SIAP) utilizing the Global Positioning System (GPS) at the 
Livingston Airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
Airspace Branch, ANM-520, Federal Aviation Administration, Docket No. 
97-ANM-20, 1601 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, Washington 98055-4056.
    The official docket may be examined in the office of the Assistant 
Chief Counsel for the Northwest Mountain Region at the same address.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours in the office of the Manager, Air Traffic Division, Airspace 
Branch, at the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dennis Ripley, ANM-520.6, Federal Aviation Administration, Docket No. 
97-ANM-20, 1601 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, Washington 98055-4056; 
telephone number: (425) 227-2577.

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, aeronautical, 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-
ANM-20.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the 
commenter. All communications received on or 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 the light of comments received. All comments submitted will be 
available for examination at the address listed above both before and 
after the closing date for comments. A report summarizing each 
substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerned with this 
rulemaking will be filed in the docket.

Availability of NPRMs

    Any person may obtain a copy of this NPRM by submitting a request 
to the Federal Aviation Administration, Airspace Branch, ANM-520, 1601 
Lind Avenue SW, Renton, Washington 98055-4056. 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 Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations, part 71 (14 CFR 71) to remove Coppertown, MT, Class E 
airspace while revising Class E airspace at Livingston, MT, and Butte, 
MT. The proposal enlarges Butte, MT, airspace by combining it with 
Coppertown, MT, airspace. The incorrectly named Coppertown, MT, 
airspace does not serve an airport, has no associated town, and is 
solely a navigational aid located close to Butte, MT. This amendment 
would also provide the additional airspace necessary to fully encompass 
the GPS-A SIAP to the Livingston Airport, Livingston, MT. Additionally, 
this amendment proposes to revise the common airspace boundaries where 
Livingston, MT, and Butte, MT, airspace areas meet in order to better 
distribute the airspace serving the respective airports and to provide 
for easier cartography. The intended effect of this proposal would be 
to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to 
promote safe Instrument Flight Rules operations between the terminal 
and en route transition stages.
    The area would be depicted on aeronautical charts for pilot 
reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North 
American Datum 83. Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 
feet or more above the surface of the earth 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. 
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); 
(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, will not have a

[[Page 9463]]

significant 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--DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D, AND 
CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS

    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR 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 the Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9E, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, 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.

* * * * *

ANM MT E5  Coppertown, MT [Removed]

* * * * *

ANM MT E5  Butte, MT [Revised]

Bert Mooney Airport, Butte, MT
    (Lat. 45 deg.57'17'' N, long, 112 deg.29'51'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
bounded by a line beginning at lat. 46 deg.20'30'' N, long. 
112 deg.48'33'' W; to lat. 46 deg.10'30'' N, long. 113 deg.07'03'' 
W; to lat. 45 deg.57'05'' N, long. 112 deg.47'43'' W; to lat. 
45 deg.51'20'' N, long. 112 deg.27'33'' W; to lat. 46 deg.03'20'' N, 
long. 112 deg.20'03'' W; to lat. 46 deg.18'30'' N, long. 
112 deg.30'33'' W; thence to point of beginning; that airspace 
extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface bounded by a line 
beginning at lat. 45 deg.35'00'' N, long. 113 deg.05'00'' W; to lat. 
46 deg.37'00'' N, long. 113 deg.05'00'' W; to lat. 46 deg.37'00'' N; 
long. 112 deg.26'00'' W; to lat. 46 deg.16'00'' N, long. 
112 deg.00'00'' W; to lat. 45 deg.35'00'' N, long. 112 deg.00'00'' 
W; thence to point of beginning; excluding that airspace within 
Federal airways, and the Helena, MT, the Dillion, MT, and the 
Missoula, MT, Class E airspace areas.

ANM MT E5  Livingston, MT [Revised]

Mission Field, Livingston, MT
    (Lat. 45 deg.41'58'' N, long. 110 deg.26'54'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 4.2-mile radius of the Livingston Airport, and that 
airspace bounded by a line beginning at lat. 45 deg.40'30'' N, long. 
110 deg.15'20'' W; to lat 45 deg.47'30'' N, long. 110 deg.15'30'' W; 
to lat. 45 deg.47'30'' N, long. 110 deg.23'00'' W; to lat. 
46 deg.02'20'' N, long. 110 deg.31'00'' W; to lat. 45 deg.58'00'' N, 
long. 110 deg.47'15'' W; to lat. 45 deg.38'45'' N, long. 
110 deg.37'00'' W, thence to point of beginning and that airspace 
extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface within an area 
bounded by a line beginning at lat. 46 deg.16'00'' N, long. 
112 deg.00'00'' W; to lat. 46 deg.37'00'' N, long. 111 deg.30'00'' 
W; to lat. 46 deg.37'00'' N, long. 110 deg.43'00'' W; to lat. 
46 deg.00'00'' N; to long. 110 deg.29'00'' W; to lat. 46 deg.00'00'' 
N, long. 109 deg.30'00'' W; to lat. 45 deg.30'00'' N, long. 
109 deg.30'00'' W; to lat. 45 deg.30'00'' N, long. 112 deg.00'00'' 
W; thence to point of beginning, excluding that airspace within 
Federal airways, the Helena, MT, and the Billings, MT, Class E 
airspace areas.
* * * * *
    Issued in Seattle, Washington, on February 2, 1998.
Glenn A. Adams III,
Assistant Manager, Air Traffic Division, Northwest Mountain Region.
[FR Doc. 98-4768 Filed 2-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M