[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3666-3668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1561]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

Airspace Docket No. 97-ASO-21


Proposed Establishment of the San Juan High Offshore Airspace 
Area, PR

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to establish the San Juan High Offshore 
Airspace Area. The proposed action would designate Class A airspace, 
extending upward from 18,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) to and including 
flight level (FL) 600, within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis 
Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. The FAA is proposing this action 
to provide additional airspace within which domestic air traffic 
control (ATC) procedures would be used. Establishment of this Class A 
airspace would enhance the management of air traffic operations and 
result in more efficient use of that airspace.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 11, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, Air 
Traffic Division, ASO-500, Docket No. 97-ASO-21, Federal Aviation 
Administration, P. O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320. The official docket 
may be examined in the Rules Docket, Office of the Chief Counsel, Room 
916, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, weekdays, except 
Federal holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours at the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, ASO-500, 
Federal Aviation Administration, P. O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Gallant, Airspace and Rules 
Division, ATA-400, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20591; telephone: (202) 267-8783.

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 providing supporting facts for the views and 
suggestions presented are particularly helpful in developing

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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-
ASO-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 examination in the Rules Docket both before and after the closing 
date for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact 
with FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking also will be filed in 
the docket.

Availability of NPRM's

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded, using a 
modem and suitable 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 
at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs for access to recently published 
rulemaking documents.
    Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, 
Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, ATA-400, 800 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-8783. 
Communications must identify the notice or docket number of this NPRM. 
Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future NPRM's 
should call the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677, for a copy 
of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
Distribution System, which describes the application procedure.

Background

    On March 2, 1993, the FAA published a final rule (58 FR 12128) 
which, in part, designated the San Juan Low Offshore Airspace Area. 
This designation was necessary to comply with the Airspace 
Reclassification final rule (56 FR 65638; December 17, 1991). The San 
Juan Low Offshore Airspace Area consists of Class E airspace from 5,500 
feet MSL up to, but not including, FL 180 within a 100-mile radius of 
the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. The rule, 
however, did not affect the status of airspace at and above FL 180 
within the San Juan domestic control area, which remains international 
airspace and wherein International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 
oceanic ATC separation procedures in Annex 11 apply. As a result of the 
rapid growth of air traffic activity in the Bahamas and Caribbean 
areas, there is a need to designate additional airspace wherein 
domestic ATC procedures would be used to provide more efficient control 
of aircraft operations. This proposed action would designate such a 
high-altitude strata that would increase system capacity, enhance 
safety, and enable more efficient use of this airspace.
    Additionally, the number of operational ground-based navigation 
aids (NAVAIDS) in the region has declined due to the loss of facilities 
caused by unprecedented storm damage, and the difficulty of replacing 
aging equipment at remote sites. Establishing the San Juan High 
Offshore Airspace Area would support the development of additional 
routes, not dependent on ground-based NAVAIDS, to supplement the 
current airway system.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to establish 
the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area. The proposed area would 
consist of Class A airspace, extending upward from 18,000 MSL up to and 
including FL 600, within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas 
Dominicci Airport, San Juan, PR. This action would facilitate the 
application of domestic ATC procedures within that airspace, thereby 
enhancing the flow of air traffic and increasing system capacity. In 
addition, this action would enhance safety by providing for the 
positive control of all aircraft operating in the area. The proposed 
action would also support the development of a more efficient route 
system in the Bahamas-Caribbean area and would enable airspace 
classification and ATC separation procedures to be consistently applied 
between Florida and Puerto Rico. Finally, the proposed modification 
would establish the same classification and operating rules that 
currently apply in adjacent airspace.
    Offshore Airspace Area designations are published in paragraph 2003 
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 
offshore airspace area 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. This proposed rule 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 
proposed 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.

ICAO Considerations

    As part of this proposal relates to navigable airspace outside the 
United States, this notice is submitted in accordance with the ICAO 
International Standards and Recommended Practices.
    The application of International Standards and Recommended 
Practices by the FAA, Office of Air Traffic Airspace Management, in 
areas outside U.S. domestic airspace, is governed by the Convention on 
International Civil Aviation. Specifically, the FAA is subject to 
Article 12 and Annex 11, which pertain to the establishment of 
necessary air navigational facilities and services to promote the safe, 
orderly, and expeditious flow of civil air traffic. The purpose of 
Article 12 and Annex 11 is to ensure that civil aircraft operations on 
international air routes are performed under uniform conditions.
    The International Standards and Recommended Practices in Annex 11 
apply to airspace under the jurisdiction of a contracting state, 
derived from ICAO. Annex 11 provisions apply when air traffic services 
are provided and a contracting state accepts the responsibility of 
providing air traffic services over high seas or in airspace of 
undetermined sovereignty. A contracting State accepting this 
responsibility may apply the International Standards and Recommended 
Practices that are

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consistent with standards and practices utilized in its domestic 
jurisdiction.
    In accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, State-owned 
aircraft are exempt from the Standards and Recommended Practices of 
Annex 11. The United States is a contracting State to the Convention. 
Article 3(d) of the Convention provides that participating state 
aircraft will be operated in international airspace with due regard for 
the safety of civil aircraft.
    Since this action involves, in part, the designation of navigable 
airspace outside the United States, the Administrator is consulting 
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense in accordance 
with the provisions of Executive Order 10854.

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 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 7400.9F, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 
1998, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 2003  Offshore Airspace Areas

* * * * *

San Juan High, PR [New]

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, PR
    (lat. 18 deg.27'25'' N., long. 66 deg.05'53'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 18,000 feet MSL to and 
including FL 600 within a 100-mile radius of the Fernando Luis Ribas 
Dominicci Airport.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 14, 1999.
Reginald C. Matthews,
Acting Program Director for Air Traffic Airspace Management.
[FR Doc. 99-1561 Filed 1-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P