[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 15, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18115-18117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9179]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2003-14843; Airspace Docket No. 03-ACE-28]


Modification of Class E Airspace; Rock Rapids, IA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Direct final rule, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This action revises Class E airspace at Rock Rapids, IA. The 
Rock Rapids Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) that served Rock Rapids 
Municipal Airport, Rock Rapids, IA has been decommissioned and standard 
instrument approach procedures (SIAPs) that utilized the NDB have been 
cancelled. Controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above 
Ground Level (AGL) that accommodated the NDB SIAPs is no longer needed.
    The intended effect of this rule is to provide appropriate 
controlled Class E airspace for aircraft operating under Instrument 
Flight Rule (IFR) at Rock Rapids, IA, delete the Rock Rapids NDB and 
coordinates from the legal

[[Page 18116]]

description of Class E airspace at Rock Rapids, IA, and comply with the 
criteria of FAA Order 7400.2E.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective on 0901 UTC, August 7, 2003.
    Comments for inclusion in the Rules Docket must be received on or 
before May 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the Docket Management 
System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket 
number FAA-2003-14843/Airspace Docket No. 03-ACD-28, at the beginning 
of your comments. You may also submit comments on the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov. You may review the public docket containing the 
proposal, any comments received, and any final disposition in person in 
the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone 1-800-647-5527) 
is on the plaza level of the Department of Transportation NASSIF 
Building at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Randolph, Air Traffic Division, 
Airspace Branch, ACE-520C, DOT Regional Headquarters Building, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone: 
(816) 329-2525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This amendment to 14 CFR 71 revises the 
Class E airspace at Rock Rapids, IA. The Rock Rapids NDB has been 
decommissioned and the NDB SIAPs that served Rock Rapids Municipal 
Airport, Rock Rapids, IA has been cancelled. Controlled airspace 
extending upward from 700 feet AGL that accommodated these SIAPs is no 
longer needed. The amendment to Class E airspace at Rock Rapids, IA 
provides controlled airspace at and above 700 feet AGL to contain 
SIAPs, other than the NDB SIAPs, at Rock Rapids Municipal Airport. The 
additional Class E airspace necessary for the NDB SIAPs is revoked. The 
Rock Rapids NDB and coordinates, and reference to these, are deleted 
from the legal description of Rock Rapids, IA Class E airspace. The 
area will be depicted on appropriate aeronautical charts. Class E 
airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface 
of the earth are published in paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9K, 
dated August 30, 2002, and effective September 16, 2002, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace 
designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in 
the Order.

The Direct Final Rule Procedure

    The FAA anticipates that this regulation will not result in adverse 
or negative comment and, therefore, is issuing it as a direct final 
rule. Previous actions of this nature have not been controversial and 
have not resulted in adverse comments or objections. The amendment will 
enhance safety for all flight operations by designating an area where 
VFR pilots may anticipate the presence of IFR aircraft at lower 
altitudes, especially during inclement weather conditions. A greater 
degree of safety is achieved by depicting the area on aeronautical 
charts. Unless a written adverse or negative comment, or a written 
notice of intent to submit an adverse or negative comment is received 
within the comment period, the regulation will become effective on the 
date specified above. After the close of the comment period, the FAA 
will publish a document in the Federal Register indicating that no 
adverse or negative comments were received and confirming the date on 
which the final rule will become effective. If the FAA does receive, 
within the comment period, an adverse or negative comment, or written 
notice of intent to submit such a comment, a document withdrawing the 
direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register, and a 
notice of proposed rulemaking may be published with a new comment 
period.

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 both docket numbers 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 Docket No. FAA-2003-14843/
Airspace Docket No. 03-ACE-28'' The postcard will be date/time stamped 
and returned to the commenter.

Agency Findings

    The regulations adopted herein will not have a substantial direct 
effect on the States, on the relationship between the national 
Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, it 
is determined that this final rule does not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132.
    The FAA has determined that this regulation is noncontroversial and 
unlikely to result in adverse or negative comments. For the reasons 
discussed in the preamble, I certify that this regulation (1) is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866; (2) is 
not a ``significant rule'' under Department of Transportation (DOT) 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); 
and (3) if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact, 
positive or negative, 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).

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 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

0
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]

0
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal Aviation 
Administration Order 7400.09K, dated August 30, 2002, and effective 
September 16, 2002, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 
feet or more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

ACE IA E5 Rock Rapids, IA

Rock Rapids Municipal Airport, IA
    (Lat 43[deg]27'08'' N., long 96[deg]10'47'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.2-mile radius of Rock Rapids Municipal Airport.
* * * * *



[[Page 18117]]


    Issued in Kansas City, MO, on April 4, 2003.
Herman J. Lyons, Jr.
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Central Region.
[FR Doc. 03-9179 Filed 4-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M