[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 29, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29455-29456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10257]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2007-28139; Airspace Docket No. 07-AWP-3]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Modification of Class D Airspace; Castle Airport, 
Atwater, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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

SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify Class D airspace at Castle 
Airport, Atwater, CA. This proposal would reduce the ceiling of the 
Atwater, CA, Class D airspace to below 2,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), 
change the southern boundary of the airspace and add an extension to 
the north to provide controlled airspace for the safety of aircraft 
executing Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and other 
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Castle Airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 13, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the Docket Management 
System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, 
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 
Washington, DC 20590; telephone: (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA 
Docket No. FAA-2007-28139 and Airspace Docket No. 07-AWP-3, at the 
beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Higgins, Team Manager, System 
Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 
98057; telephone (425) 917-6715.

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 (Docket No. FAA-
2007-28139/Airspace Docket No. 07-AWP-3) 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 Docket No. FAA-2007-28139 and Airspace Docket No. 07-AWP-3.'' 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 action may be changed in light of 
the 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 NPRMs

    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, Western Service Center, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 
WA 98057.
    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

[[Page 29456]]

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 Class D airspace at Castle 
Airport, Atwater, CA. Local communities and aviation concerns met with 
the FAA on April 26, 2007, at Atwater, CA, to present alternative 
airspace designs for the existing Class D airspace at Atwater, CA, 
Castle Airport. The various airspace alternatives presented were 
designed to accommodate IFR and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations in 
and out of Merced Airport located 6 miles to the south. The FAA, local 
communities, and aviation concerns agreed on an alternative that would 
reduce the ceiling of the Class D airspace, modify the southern border, 
and add an extension on the north side of the Class D for the safety of 
aircraft executing SIAP's and other IFR operations at Castle Airport. 
Class D airspace will be effective during specified dates and times 
established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and 
time will, thereafter, be published in the Airport/Facility Directory.
    Class D airspace designations for airspace areas extending upward 
from the surface of the earth are published in Paragraph 5000 of FAA 
Order 7400.9P, dated September 1, 2006, and effective September 15, 
2006, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D 
airspace 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. 
Therefore, this proposed regulation; (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.

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 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., 389.


Sec.  71.1  [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9P, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 1, 2006, and effective September 15, 
2006, is amended as follows:

    Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.
* * * * *

AWP CA D Castle Airport, Atwater, CA [Revised]

Castle Airport, Atwater, CA
    (Lat. 37[deg]22'50'' N, long. 120[deg]34'05'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to but not 
including 2,000 feet MSL beginning at lat. 37[deg]20'22'' N., long. 
120[deg]38'49'' W. and extending clockwise around the 4.5 nautical 
mile radius of the Castle Airport to lat. 37[deg]20'02'' N., long. 
120[deg]29'39'', thence to the point of beginning and within 1.9 
miles each side of the El Nido VORTAC 320[deg] radial from the 4.5 
nautical mile radius to 17.6 miles from the El Nido VORTAC. This 
Class D airspace area is effective during the specific dates and 
times established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective 
dates and time will thereafter be continuously published in the 
Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *

    Issued in Seattle, Washington, on May 11, 2007.
Clark Desing,
Manager, System Support Group Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. E7-10257 Filed 5-25-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P