[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 235 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72950-72952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23757]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2005-22708; Airspace Docket No. 05-AAL-32]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Modification of Offshore Airspace Areas: Gulf of Alaska 
Low and Control 1487L; AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend the Gulf of Alaska Low and 
Control 1487L Offshore airspace areas in Alaska. Specifically, this 
action proposes to modify the Gulf of Alaska Low and Control 1487L 
airspace areas in the vicinity of the Yakutat Airport, Yakutat, AK, by 
lowering the affected controlled airspace floor to 700 feet mean sea 
level (MSL) for the Gulf of Alaska Low, and 1,200 feet MSL for Control 
1487L. The FAA is proposing this action to provide additional 
controlled airspace for the safety of aircraft executing instrument 
flight rules (IFR) operations at the Yakutat Airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 23, 2006.

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 FAA Docket 
No. FAA-2005-22708 and Airspace Docket No. 05-AAL-32, at the beginning 
of your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken McElroy, Airspace and Rules, 
Office of System Operations Airspace and AIM, 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 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 (FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2005-22708 and Airspace Docket No. 05-AAL-32) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES section for 
address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
on this action must submit with those comments a self-addressed, 
stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: ``Comments 
to FAA Docket No. FAA-2005-22708 and Airspace Docket No. 05-AAL-32.'' 
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

[[Page 72951]]

taking action on the proposed rule. The proposal contained in this 
action may be changed in light of comments received. All comments 
submitted will be available for examination in the public docket 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 through the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. Recently published rulemaking documents 
can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http://www.faa.gov, 
or the Federal Register's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.
    You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any 
comments received, and any final disposition in person in the Dockets 
Office (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number) between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. An 
informal docket may also be examined during normal business hours at 
the office of the Regional Air Traffic Division, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue 14, Anchorage, AK 99513.
    Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future 
NPRM's should contact 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.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to modify the Gulf of Alaska Low airspace 
area, AK, by lowering the floor to 700 feet above the surface in the 
vicinity of Yakutat Airport, Yakutat, AK. Additionally, Control 1487L 
airspace area, AK, will be lowered from 5,500 feet MSL to 1,200 feet 
MSL in the vicinity of Yakutat Airport. These areas provide controlled 
airspace beyond 12 miles from the shoreline of the United States in 
those areas where there is a requirement to provide IFR enroute Air 
Traffic Control services and within which the United States is applying 
domestic procedures. The purpose of this proposal is to establish 
controlled airspace sufficient in size to support the Terminal Arrival 
Area associated with new IFR operations at Yakutat Airport, AK. The FAA 
Instrument Flight Procedures Production and Maintenance Branch has 
developed three new standard instrument approach procedures (SIAP), 
revised seven SIAPs and revised one departure procedure for the Yakutat 
Airport. Additional controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
and 1,200 feet above the surface in international airspace would be 
created by this action. The proposed airspace is sufficient to support 
IFR at the Yakutat Airport.
    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. 
Therefore, this proposed 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) 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 
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International 
Standards and Recommended Practices.
    The application of International Standards and Recommended 
Practices by the FAA, Office of System Operations Airspace and AIM, 
Airspace & Rules, in areas outside the United States domestic airspace, 
is governed by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. 
Specifically, the FAA is governed by 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 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, B, C, D AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 
TRAFFIC SERVICE 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 7400.9N, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 1, 2005, and effective September 15, 
2005, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6007 Offshore Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

Gulf of Alaska Low, AK [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet MSL bounded by a 
line beginning at a point where the 12-mile offshore limit 
intersects long. 144[deg]30'00''W.; thence eastward 12 miles 
offshore and parallel to the shoreline to lat. 59[deg]10'36'' N., 
long. 139[deg]31'10'' W.; to lat. 59[deg]02'49'' N., long. 
139[deg]47'45'' W.; to lat. 59[deg]27'12'' N., long. 140[deg]31'10'' 
W.; thence westward along the south boundary of V-440 to long. 
144[deg]30'00'' W.; thence northward along long. 144[deg]30'00'' W.; 
to the point of beginning. The portion within Control 1487L is 
excluded.
* * * * *

[[Page 72952]]

Control 1487L [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 5,500 feet MSL within the 
area bounded by a line beginning at lat. 58[deg]19'58'' N., long. 
148[deg]55'07'' W.; to lat. 59[deg]08'34'' N., long. 147[deg]16'06'' 
W.; thence counterclockwise via the arc of a 149.5-mile radius 
centered on the Anchorage VOR/DME to the intersection of the 149.5-
mile radius arc and a point 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. 
coastline; thence southeast 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. 
coastline to a point 12 miles offshore on the Vancouver FIR 
boundary; to lat. 54[deg]32'57'' N., long. 133[deg]11'29'' W.; to 
lat. 54[deg]00'00'' N., long. 136[deg]00'00'' W.; to lat. 
52[deg]43'00'' N., long. 135[deg]00'00'' W.; to lat. 56[deg]45'42'' 
N., long. 151[deg]45'00'' W.; to the point of beginning; and that 
airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet MSL within the area 
bounded by a line beginning at lat. 59[deg]33'25'' N., long. 
141[deg]03'22'' W.; thence southeast 12 miles from and parallel to 
the U.S. coastline to lat. 58[deg]56'18'' N., long. 138[deg]45'19'' 
W.; to lat. 58[deg]40'00'' N., long. 139[deg]30'00'' W.; to lat. 
59[deg]00'00'' N., long. 141[deg]10'00'' W.; to the point of 
beginning. The portion within Canada is excluded.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2005.
Edith V. Parish,
Manager, Airspace and Rules.
[FR Doc. 05-23757 Filed 12-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P