[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 20, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19310-19312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9781]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 20, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 19310]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 99-AAL-6]


Proposed Revision of Class D Airspace; Lake Hood, Elmendorf AFB, 
and Merrill Field, AK; Proposed Revision of Class E Airspace; Elmendorf 
AFB and Merrill Field, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This action would revise the Class D airspace at Lake Hood, 
Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB), and Merrill Field, AK, as well as the 
Class E airspace (designated as surface areas) at Elmendorf AFB and 
Merrill Field, AK. The revision of the Anchorage, Alaska, Terminal 
Airspace Area segment boundaries affecting Lake Hood, Elmendorf AFB, 
and Merrill Field, AK, has made this action necessary. Adoption of this 
proposal would result in the alignment of Class D airspace to coincide 
with the revised Anchorage Terminal Airspace segment boundaries, 
eliminating chart clutter and confusion between segment, Class D 
boundaries, and Class E boundaries. The adoption of this proposal would 
also align the Elmendorf AFB and Merrill Field, AK, Class E airspace 
areas (designated as surface areas) with the Class D boundaries.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 4, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
Operations Branch, AAL-530, Docket No. 99-AAL-6, 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; email: 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. 99-
AAL-6.'' 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 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.

Background

    On October 1, 1997, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (62 FR 190) to revise the 
Anchorage, Alaska, Terminal Area (Docket No. 29029, Notice No. 97-14). 
In this rulemaking, the boundaries for the Merrill, Lake Hood, and 
Elmendorf AFB segments were revised. On March 29, 1999, the FAA 
published the final rule in the Federal Register (62 FR 14971) for the 
Anchorage, Alaska, Terminal Area, revising boundaries and descriptions 
for each segment and listed the effective date as June 17, 1999. The 
Anchorage, Alaska, Terminal Area revisions and a graphic can be viewed 
at Alaskan Region's Internet homepage site located at Uniform Resource 
Locator (URL) http://www.alaska.faa.gov/at.

The Proposal

    The FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 by revising the Class D 
airspace at Lake Hood, Elmendorf AFB, and Merrill Field, AK, due to the 
revision of the Anchorage, Alaska, Terminal Airspace Area. The segment 
boundaries descriptions for Elmendorf AFB, Lake Hood, and Merrill, AK, 
have been revised in the Anchorage, Alaska,

[[Page 19311]]

Terminal Airspace update. Currently, the segment boundaries, the Class 
D airspace boundaries, and the Class E airspace (designated as surface 
area) boundaries do not coincide, which clutters the aeronautical 
charts and could cause confusion delineating between the segment, Class 
D, and Class E airspace boundaries. The intended effect of this 
proposal is to align the Class D airspace boundaries at Lake Hood, 
Elmendorf AFB, and Merrill Field, AK, to match the revised Anchorage, 
Alaska, Terminal Area segment boundaries and align the Class E airspace 
areas at Elmendorf AFB and Merrill Field, AK, to match the Class D 
boundaries.
    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 D airspace areas are published in 
paragraph 5000 and the Class E airspace designated as surface areas are 
published in paragraph 6002 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 (1 (63 FR 
50139; September 21, 1998). The Class D and Class E airspace 
designations listed in this document would be revised and published 
subsequently 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 5000  Class D Airspace

* * * * *

AAL AK D  Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB Airport, AK [Revised]

Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB Airport, AK
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 11'' N., long. 149 deg. 47' 38'' W.)
Point Noname
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 38'' N., long. 149 deg. 55' 38'' W.)
Ship Creek
    (Lat. 61 deg. 13' 32'' N., long. 149 deg. 58' 44'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
3,000 feet MSL within a line beginning at Point Noname; thence via 
the north bank of the Knik Arm to the intersection of the 4.7-mile 
radius of Elmendorf AFB Airport; thence clockwise along the 4.7-mile 
arc of Elmendorf AFB to long. 149 deg. 46' 44'' W., thence south 
along long. 149 deg. 46' 44'' W. to lat. 61 deg. 19' 10'' N., thence 
to lat. 61 deg. 17' 58'' N. long. 149 deg. 44' 08'' W., thence to 
lat. 61 deg. 17' 30'' N. long. 149 deg. 43' 08'' W., thence south 
along long. 149 deg. 43 deg. 08'' W. to the Glenn Highway, thence 
south and west along the Glenn Highway to Muldoon Road, thence 
direct to the mouth of Ship Creek, thence direct to the point of 
beginning; excluding that airspace within the Anchorage 
International Airport, AK, Class C airspace. This Class D airspace 
area is effective during the specific dates and times established in 
advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will 
thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility 
Directory.
* * * * *

AAL AK D  Anchorage, Lake Hood, AK [Revised]

Anchorage, Lake Hood, AK
    (Lat. 61 deg. 10' 48'' N., long. 149 deg. 58' 19'' W.)
Anchorage Air Traffic Control Tower
    (Lat. 61 deg. 10' 36'' N., long. 149 deg. 58' 59'' W.)
Point MacKenzie
    (Lat. 61 deg. 14' 14'' N., long. 149 deg. 59' 12'' W.)
West Anchorage High School
    (Lat. 61 deg. 12' 13'' N., long. 149 deg. 55' 22'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
2,500 feet MSL within a line beginning at Point Mackenzie, thence 
direct to West Anchorage High School, thence direct to the 
intersection of Tudor Road and the New Seward Highway, thence south 
along the New Seward Highway to the 090 deg. bearing from the 
Anchorage Air Traffic Control Tower, thence west direct to the 
Anchorage Air Traffic Control Tower, thence north along the 350 deg. 
bearing from the Anchorage Air Traffic Control Tower to the north 
bank of Knik Arm, thence via the north bank of Knik Arm to the point 
of beginning; excluding that airspace within the Anchorage 
International Airport, AK, Class C airspace.
* * * * *

AAL AK D  Anchorage, Merrill Field, AK [Revised]

Anchorage, Merrill Field, AK
    (Lat. 61 deg. 12' 52'' N., long. 149 deg. 50' 46'' W.)
Point Noname
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 38'' N., long. 149 deg. 55' 38'' W.)
Point MacKenzie
    (Lat. 61 deg. 14' 14'' N., long. 149 deg. 59' 12'' W.)
Ship Creek
    (Lat. 61 deg. 13' 32'' N., long. 149 deg. 5' 44'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
2,500 feet MSL within a line beginning at Point Noname, thence 
direct to the mouth of Ship Creek, thence direct to the intersection 
of the Glenn Highway and Muldoon Road, thence south along Muldoon 
Road to Tudor Road, thence west along Tudor Road to the New Seward 
Highway, thence direct to West Anchorage High School, thence direct 
to Point MacKenzie, thence via the north bank of Knik Arm to the 
point of beginning; excluding that airspace within the Anchorage 
International Airport, AK, Class C airspace. This Class D airspace 
area is effective during the specific dates and times established in 
advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will 
thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility 
Directory.
* * * * *

Paragraph 6002  Class E airspace designated as surface areas

* * * * *

AAL AK E2  Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB Airport, AK [Revised]

Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB Airport, AK
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 11'' N., long. 149 deg. 47' 38'' W.)
Point Noname
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 38'' N., long. 149 deg. 55' 38'' W.)
Ship Creek
    (Lat. 61 deg. 13' 32'' N., long. 149 deg. 58' 44'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
3,000 feet MSL within a line beginning at Point Noname; thence via 
the north bank of the Knik Arm to the intersection of the 4.7-mile 
radius of Elmendorf AFB Airport; thence clockwise along the 4.7-mile 
arc of Elmendorf AFB to long. 149 deg. 46' 44'' W., thence south 
along long. 149 deg. 46' 44'' W. to lat. 61 deg. 19' 10'' N., thence 
to lat. 61 deg. 17' 58'' N. long. 149 deg. 44' 08'' W., thence to 
lat. 61 deg. 17' 30'' N. long. 149 deg. 43' 08'' W., thence south 
along long. 149 deg. 43' 08'' W. to the Glenn Highway, thence south 
and west along the Glenn Highway to Muldoon Road, thence direct to 
the mouth of Ship Creek, thence direct to the point of beginning; 
excluding that airspace within the Anchorage International Airport, 
AK, Class C airspace. This Class E airspace area is effective during 
the specific dates and

[[Page 19312]]

times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective 
date and time will thereafter be continuously published in the 
Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *

AAL AK E2  Anchorage, Merrill Field, AK [Revised]

Anchorage, Merrill Field, AK
    (Lat. 61 deg. 12' 52'' N., long. 149 deg. 50' 46'' W.)
Point Noname
    (Lat. 61 deg. 15' 38'' N., long. 149 deg. 55' 38'' W.)
Point MacKenzie
    (Lat. 61 deg. 14' 14'' N., long. 149 deg. 59' 12'' W.)
Ship Creek
    (Lat. 61 deg. 13' 32'' N., long. 149 deg. 58' 44'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
2,500 feet MSL within a line beginning at Point Noname, thence 
direct to the mouth of Ship Creek, thence direct to the intersection 
of the Glenn Highway and Muldoon Road, thence south along Muldoon 
Road to Tudor Road, thence west along Tudor Road to the New Seward 
Highway, thence direct to West Anchorage High School, thence direct 
to Point MacKenzie, thence via the north bank of Knik Arm to the 
point of beginning; excluding that airspace within the Anchorage 
International Airport, AK, Class C airspace. This Class E airspace 
area is effective during the specific dates and times established in 
advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will 
thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility 
Directory.

    Issued in Anchorage, AK, on April 9, 1999.
Willis C. Nelson,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 99-9781 Filed 4-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P