[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 202 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55978-55979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28050]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 98-AEA-28]


Proposed Amendment to Class E Airspace; Pottsville, 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 
Pottsville, PA. The development of a new Standard Instrument Approach 
Procedure (SIAP), Helicopter Point In Space Approach, based on the 
Global Positioning System (GPS), and serving the Ashland Hospital 
heliport 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 to the heliport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 19, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
Airspace Branch, AEA-520, Docket No. 98-AEA-28, FAA 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 Regional 
Counsel, AEA-7, FAA 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, FAA 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, FAA 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. 98-
AEA-28.'' 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 the Regional Counsel, 
AEA-7, FAA 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.

[[Page 55979]]

The Proposal

    The FAA is considering an amendment to part 71 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 71) to amend the Class E airspace 
area at Pottsville, PA. A GPS Point In Space Approach has been 
developed for the Ashland Hospital Heliport. Additional controlled 
airspace extending upward from 700 feet AGL is needed to accommodate 
the SIAP and for IFR operations to the heliport. 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 7400.9F, 
dated September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 1998, 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 7400.9F, dated September 10, 1998, and 
effective September 16, 1998, is proposed to be 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  Pottsville, PA [Revised]

Schuykill County (Joe Zerby) Airport, Pottsville, PA
    (Lat. 40 deg.42'23'' N., long. 76 deg.22'24'' W.)
Ashland Hospital Heliport

Point In Space Coordinates

    (Lat. 40 deg.03'44'' N., long. 76 deg.18'27'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.8-mile radius of Schuykill County (Joe Zerby) Airport and 
within a 6-mile radius of the Point In Space serving Ashland 
Hospital Heliport, excluding the portion that coincides with the 
Shamokin, PA, Class E airspace area.
* * * * *
    Issued in Jamaica, New York, on October 6, 1998.
James K. Buckles,
Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 98-28050 Filed 10-19-98; 8:45 am]
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