[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 28 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6793-6796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3359]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97-AWA-4]
RIN 2120-AA66


Establishment of Class C Airspace and Revocation of Class D 
Airspace, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX; and Revocation of 
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport Class C Airspace; TX

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action establishes a Class C airspace area and revokes 
the existing Class D airspace area at the Austin-Bergstrom 
International Airport, Austin, TX. In addition, this action revokes the 
existing Class C airspace area at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, 
Austin, TX. The FAA is taking this action in support of the planned 
closure of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, and the transfer of 
airport operations from the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport to the 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The Austin-Bergstrom 
International Airport is a public-use facility serviced by a Level IV 
control tower and a Radar Approach Control. The establishment of this 
Class C airspace area will require pilots to maintain two-way radio 
communications with air traffic control (ATC) while in Class C 
airspace. Implementation of the Class C airspace area will promote the 
efficient use of airspace, and reduce the risk of midair collision in 
the terminal area. Additionally, this action corrects the coordinates 
for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 0601 UTC, May 2, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheri Edgett Baron, 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:

Background

    On April 22, 1982, the National Airspace Review (NAR) plan was 
published in the Federal Register (47 FR 17448). The plan encompassed a 
review of airspace use and the procedural aspects of the ATC system. 
Among the main objectives of the NAR was the improvement of the ATC 
system by increasing efficiency and reducing complexity. In its review 
of terminal airspace, NAR Task Group 1-2 concluded that Terminal Radar 
Service Areas (TRSA's) should be replaced. Four types of airspace 
configurations were considered as replacement candidates and Model B, 
the Airport Radar Service Area (ARSA) configuration, was recommended by 
a consensus of the task group.
    The FAA published NAR Recommendation 1-2.2-1, ``Replace Terminal 
Radar Service Areas with Model B Airspace and Service'' in Notice 83-9 
(48 FR 34286, July 28, 1983), proposing the establishment of ARSA's at 
the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, Austin, TX, and the Port of 
Columbus International Airport, Columbus, OH. ARSA's were designated at 
these airports on a temporary basis by Special Federal Aviation 
Regulation No. 45 (48 FR 50038; October 28, 1983) to provide 
operational confirmation of the ARSA concept for potential application 
on a national basis.
    Following a confirmation period of more than a year, the FAA 
adopted the NAR recommendation and, on February 27, 1985, issued a 
final rule (50 FR 9252; March 6, 1985) defining ARSA airspace and 
prescribing rules for operation within such an area.
    Concurrently, by separate rulemaking action, ARSA's were 
permanently established at the Austin, TX, Columbus, OH, and the 
Baltimore/Washington International Airports (50 FR 9250; March 6, 
1985). The FAA stated that future notices would propose ARSA's for 
other airports at which TRSA procedures were in effect.
    Additionally, the NAR Task Group recommended that the FAA develop 
quantitative criteria for establishing ARSA's at locations other than 
those which were included in the TRSA replacement program. The task 
group recommended that these criteria include, among other things, 
traffic mix, flow and density, geographical features, collision risk 
assessment, and ATC capabilities to provide service to users. These 
criteria have been developed and are published via the FAA directives 
system (Order 7400.2, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters).
    The NAR Task Group also recommended that each ARSA be of the same 
airspace configuration insofar as is practicable. The FAA adopted this 
recommendation. The standard ARSA consists of airspace within 5 
nautical miles (NM) of the primary airport, extending from the surface 
to an altitude of 4,000 feet above airport elevation (AEE), and that 
airspace between 5 and 10 NM from the primary airport from 1,200 feet 
above ground level to an altitude of 4,000 feet AEE. Proposed 
deviations from this standard have been necessary at some airports 
because of adjacent regulatory airspace, international boundaries, 
topography, or unusual operational requirements.

Related Rulemaking Actions

    On December 17, 1991 the FAA published the Airspace 
Reclassification Final Rule (56 FR 65638). This rule, in part, 
discontinued the use of the term ``airport radar service area (ARSA)'' 
and replaced it with the designation ``Class C airspace area.'' This 
change in terminology is reflected in the remainder of this final rule.

Public Input

    As announced in the Federal Register on June 10, 1998 (63 FR 
31678), pre-NPRM airspace meetings were held on August 11, 1998, in 
Georgetown, TX; August 12, in Austin, TX; and August 13, in San Marcos, 
TX. These meetings provided local airspace users an opportunity to 
present input on the design of the planned establishment of the Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport Class C airspace area.
    On July 30, 1998, the FAA proposed to amend 14 CFR part 71 as 
follows: (1) establish a Class C airspace area at the Austin-Bergstrom 
International Airport; (2) revoke the Class D airspace area at the 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport; and (3) revoke the Class C 
airspace area at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport (63 FR 40668, 
Notice 97-AWA-4). Interested parties were invited to participate in 
this rulemaking proceeding by submitting written comments on the 
proposal to the FAA. No comments were received.

The Rule

    This amendment to part 71 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR part 71) establishes a Class C airspace area and revokes the 
existing Class D airspace area at the Austin-Bergstrom International 
Airport located in Austin, TX. In addition, this action revokes the 
existing Class C airspace area at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport

[[Page 6794]]

located in Austin, TX. The FAA is taking this action in support of the 
planned closure of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, and the 
transfer of airport operations from the Robert Mueller Municipal 
Airport to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport is a public-use facility serviced by a 
Level IV control tower and a Radar Approach Control. The establishment 
of this Class C airspace area will require pilots to establish two-way 
radio communications with the ATC facility providing air traffic 
services prior to entering the airspace and thereafter maintain those 
communications while within the Class C airspace area. Implementation 
of the Class C airspace area will promote the efficient use of airspace 
and reduce the risk of midair collision in the terminal area.
    The establishment of a Class C airspace area and revocation of the 
Class D airspace area at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, as 
well as the revocation of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport Class C 
airspace area, will be effective on May 2, 1999. The effective date for 
this final rule does not correspond with a scheduled publication date 
for the appropriate aeronautical chart for this area. The Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport Class C airspace area will, therefore, 
be published on the San Antonio Sectional Aeronautical Chart effective 
May 20, 1999, and the Houston Sectional Aeronautical Chart effective 
October 7, 1999. In the interim, the FAA will disseminate information 
regarding the implementation of the Austin-Bergstrom Class C airspace 
area in the Notices to Airmen publication and will publish a special 
notice in the Airport/Facility Directory to ensure that pilots and 
airspace users are advised of the status. Additionally, the FAA's 
Southwestern Regional Office will distribute Letters to Airmen that 
will advertise the implementation of the airspace area. The revocation 
of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Class D airspace area, as 
well as the revocation of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport Class C 
airspace area, coincides with the effective date for the Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport Class C airspace area.
    Additionally, this action corrects the coordinates for the Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport. Except for editorial changes and the 
correction to the airport coordinates, this amendment is the same as 
that proposed in the notice.
    Definitions and operating requirements applicable to Class C 
airspace can be found in section 71.51 of part 71 and sections 91.1 and 
91.130 of part 91 of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The 
coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North American Datum 
83. Class C and Class D airspace designations are published, 
respectively, in paragraphs 4000 and 5000 of FAA Order 7400.9F, dated 
September 10, 1998, and effective September 16, 1998, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR Section 71.1. The Class C airspace 
designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in 
the Order, and the Class C, as well as the Class D airspace designation 
listed in this document will be removed subsequently from the Order.

Regulatory Evaluation Summary

    Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic 
analyses. First, Executive Order 12866 directs that each Federal agency 
shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination 
that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. Second, 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 requires agencies to analyze the 
economic effect of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the 
Office of Management and Budget directs agencies to assess the effect 
of regulatory changes on international trade. In conducting these 
analyses, the FAA has determined that this rule is not ``a significant 
regulatory action'' as defined in the Executive Order and the 
Department of Transportation Regulatory Policies and Procedures. This 
final rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number 
of small entities, will not constitute a barrier to international 
trade, and does not contain any Federal intergovernmental or private 
sector mandate. These analyses, available in the docket, are summarized 
below.
    The final rule will effectively move the Class C airspace area, 
presently located at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, 5 miles to 
the south to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when Robert 
Mueller Municipal Airport closes (in May 1999) and all operations are 
transferred to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
    Costs of approximately $850 will be incurred by the FAA in order to 
send a Letter to Airmen to pilots within a 50-mile radius of the 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport informing them of the airspace 
change. The FAA will not incur any other costs for ATC staffing, 
training, or equipment. Changes to sectional charts will occur during 
the chart cycle and will cause no additional costs beyond the normal 
update of the charts. Any public meeting and safety seminar will not 
result in costs to the aviation community because they will occur 
regardless of this final rule. Aircraft owners and operators will not 
incur costs for equipment because they are already operating in Class C 
airspace at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. As for Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport, though it is currently surrounded by 
Class D airspace, most of its air traffic comes from cargo aircraft. 
These aircraft already have the necessary equipment to transition Class 
C airspace.
    The FAA contends that moving the Class C airspace area from Robert 
Mueller Municipal Airport to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport 
will maintain the level of safety for the operations that will be 
transferred from Robert Mueller Municipal Airport to Austin-Bergstrom 
International Airport when Robert Mueller Municipal Airport closes and 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport opens for air carrier 
operations. Furthermore, using Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 
instead of Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, as the primary commercial 
airport will allow future airport expansion that is not possible at 
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Therefore, the FAA has determined 
that the final rule will be cost-beneficial.

Regulatory Flexibility Determination

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) establishes ``as a 
principle regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor, consistent 
with the objective of the rule and of applicable statutes, to fit 
regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of business, 
organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to regulation.'' 
To achieve that principal, the RFA requires agencies to solicit and 
consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the rationale for 
their actions. The Act covers a wide-range of small entities, including 
small businesses, not-for-profit organizations and small governmental 
jurisdictions.
    Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a proposed or 
final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. If the determination is that it will, the 
agency must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in 
the Act.
    However, if an agency determines that a proposed or final rule is 
not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities, section 605(b) of the 1980 act provides that 
the head of the agency may so certify and an RFA is not required. The 
certification must include

[[Page 6795]]

a statement providing the factual basis for this determination, and the 
reasoning should be clear.
    All commercial and general aviation operators who presently use the 
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport are currently equipped to use the 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. As for Austin-Bergstrom 
International Airport, though it is currently surrounded by Class D 
airspace, most of its air traffic comes from cargo aircraft. These 
aircraft already have the necessary equipment to transition Class C 
airspace. Those general aviation operators who currently transit the 
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport terminal area without Mode C 
transponders can circumnavigate the Austin-Bergstrom Class C airspace 
area at negligible cost, without significantly deviating from their 
regular flight paths. For those aircraft operators who choose not to 
circumnavigate or fly below the Class C airspace, standard procedures 
may be used to enter the Austin-Bergstrom Class C airspace area. 
Accordingly, pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 
605(b), the Federal Aviation Administration certifies that this rule 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.

International Trade Impact Assessment

    This rule will not constitute a barrier to international trade, 
including the export of U.S. goods and services to foreign countries or 
the import of foreign goods and services into the United States.

Unfunded Mandates Assessment

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (the Act), 
enacted as Public Law 104-4 on March 22, 1995, requires each Federal 
agency, to the extent permitted by law, to prepare a written assessment 
of the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final agency 
rule that may result in the expenditure of $100 million or more (when 
adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year by state, local, and 
tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the private sector. Section 
204(a) of the Act, 2 U.S.C. 1534(a), requires the Federal agency to 
develop an effective process to permit timely input by elected officers 
(or their designees) of state, local, and tribal governments on a 
proposed ``significant intergovernmental mandate.'' A ``significant 
intergovernmental mandate'' under the Act is any provision in a Federal 
agency regulation that would impose an enforceable duty upon state, 
local, and tribal governments in the aggregate of $100 million 
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year. Section 203 of the 
Act, 2 U.S.C. 1533, which supplements section 204(a), provides that, 
before establishing any regulatory requirements that might 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, the agency shall 
have developed a plan, which, among other things, must provide for 
notice to potentially affected small governments, if any, and for a 
meaningful and timely opportunity for those small governments to 
provide input in the development of regulatory proposals.
    This rule does not contain any Federal intergovernmental or private 
sector mandates. Therefore, the requirements of Title II of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 do not apply.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

Adoption of the 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 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 4000--Subpart C--Class C Airspace

* * * * *

ASW TX C  Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX [New]

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX
    (Lat. 30 deg.11'41'' N., long. 97 deg.40'12'' W.) AUS

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to, and 
including, 4,500 feet MSL within a 5-mile radius of the Austin-
Bergstrom International Airport, and that airspace extending upward 
from 2,100 feet MSL to and including 4,500 feet MSL within a 10-mile 
radius of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
* * * * *

ASW TX C  Austin, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, TX [Removed]

* * * * *

Paragraph 5000--Subpart D--Class D Airspace

* * * * *

ASW TX D  Austin Bergstrom, TX [Removed]

* * * * *
    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 4, 1999.
Nancy B. Kalinowski,
Acting Program Director for Air Traffic Airspace Management.

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[FR Doc. 99-3359 Filed 2-10-99; 8:45 am]
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