[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 241 (Wednesday, December 16, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69230-69231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33294]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 98-AAL-21]


Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Barter Island, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Barter 
Island, AK. The establishment of Global Positioning System (GPS) and 
Nondirectional Radion Beacon (NDB) instrument approaches at Barter 
Island, AK, has made this action necessary. The Barter Island Airport 
status will change from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to Instrument Flight 
Rules (IFR). Adoption of this proposal would result in the provision of 
adequate controlled airspace for IFR operations at Barter Island, AK.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
Operations Branch, AAL-530, Docket No. 98-AAL-21, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587.
    The official docket may be examined in the Office of the Regional 
Counsel for the Alaskan Region at the same address.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours in the Office of the Manager, Operations Branch, Air Traffic 
Division, at the address shown above and on the Internet at Alaskan 
Region's homepage at http://www.alaska.faa.gov/at or at address http://
162.58.28.41/at.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert van Haastert, Operations 
Branch, AAL-538, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, 
Box 14, Anchorage, AK 99513-7587; telephone number (907) 271-5863; fax: 
(907) 271-2850; e-mail: Robert.van.H[email protected]. Internet 
address: http://www.alaska.faa.gov/at or at address http://
162.58.28.41/at.

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. 98-
AAL-21.'' 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 light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available 
for

[[Page 69231]]

examination in the Operations Branch, Air Traffic Division, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK, 
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 NPRM's

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded, using a 
modem and suitable communications software, from the FAA regulations 
section of the Fedworld electronic bulletin board service (telephone: 
703-321-3339) or the Federal Register's electronic bulletin board 
service (telephone: 202-512-1661).
    Internet users may reach the Federal Register's web page for access 
to recently published rulemaking documents at http://
www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs/aces/aces140.html.
    Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the Operations Branch, AAL-530, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, 
Anchorage, AK 99513-7587. Communications must identify the notice 
number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing 
list for future NPRM's should also request a copy of Advisory Circular 
No. 11-2A, which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

    The FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 by establishing Class E 
airspace at Barter Island, AK, through the establishment of GPS and NDB 
instrument approaches to Barter Island, AK. The Barter Island Airport 
status will be upgraded from VFR to IFR. The intended effect of this 
proposal is to provide adequate controlled airspace for IFR operations 
at Barter Island, AK.
    The area would be depicted on aeronautical charts for pilot 
reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North 
American Datum 83. The Class E airspace areas designated as 700/1200 
foot transition areas are published in paragraph 6005 in FAA Order 
7400.9F, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 
10, 1998, and effective September 16, 1998, which is incorporated by 
reference in 14 CFR 71.1 (63 FR 50139; September 21, 1998). The Class E 
airspace listed in this document would be published in the Order.
    The FAA has determined that these proposed regulations only involve 
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); 
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, will not have a 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-- 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 Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9F, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 
1998, is to be 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  Barter Island, AK [New]

Barter Island Airport, AK
    (Lat. 70 deg. 08' 02'' N., long. 143 deg. 34' 55'' W.)
Barter Island NDB
    (Lat. 70 deg. 07' 50'' N., long. 143 deg. 38' 38'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 4.7 mile radius of the Barter Island Airport; and that 
airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface within 
the area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 70 deg. 17' 07'' N., 
long. 142 deg. 47' 30'' W. to lat. 69 deg. 59' 40'' N., long. 
142 deg. 55' 45'' W. to lat. 69 deg. 41' 50'' N., long. 143 deg. 39' 
55'' W. to lat. 69 deg. 42' 25'' N., long. 144 deg. 03' 50'' W. to 
lat. 70 deg. 05' 20'' N., long. 144 deg. 30' 00'' W. to lat. 70 deg. 
14' 31'' N., long. 144 deg. 35' 00'' W., thence east 12 miles away 
and parallel to the shoreline to the point of beginning.
* * * * *

    Issued in Anchorage, AK, on December 7, 1998.
Joseph F. Woodford,
Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 98-33294 Filed 12-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P