[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 233 (Monday, December 7, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63971-63973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28899]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2008-1167; Airspace Docket No. 08-ASO-16]


Amendment of the South Florida Low Offshore Airspace Area; 
Florida

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action lowers the altitude floor within a part of the 
South Florida Low Offshore Airspace Area. This action provides 
additional controlled airspace to enable air traffic control (ATC) to 
more efficiently handle arriving instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft 
at various coastal airports bordering along the South Florida Low 
Offshore Airspace Area.

DATES: Effective Dates: 0901 UTC, February 11, 2010. The Director of 
the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference action 
under 1 CFR part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order 7400.9 
and publication of conforming amendments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Gallant, Airspace and Rules 
Group,

[[Page 63972]]

Office of System Operations Airspace and AIM, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 
telephone: (202) 267-8783.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

History

    On Wednesday January 21, 2009, the FAA published in the Federal 
Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the South Florida Low 
Offshore Airspace Area (74 FR 3466). Interested parties were invited to 
participate in this rulemaking effort by submitting written comments on 
the proposal. One comment was received. The commenter concurred with 
the proposal.
    Currently, ATC cannot vector arriving aircraft below 2,700 feet 
mean sea level (MSL) while operating within the South Florida Low 
Offshore Airspace Area, limiting system efficiency and increasing 
operational complexity. Lowering the floor of the South Florida Low 
Offshore Airspace Area to 1,300 feet MSL provides additional controlled 
airspace allowing ATC to use lower altitudes to vector arriving IFR 
aircraft at various coastal airports along the southeastern United 
States (U.S.) and the west coast of Florida. Airports that will benefit 
from this change include, but are not necessarily limited to, those 
that receive approach control service Myrtle Beach, SC; Airport Traffic 
Control Tower/Terminal Radar Approach Control (ATCT/TRACON), Fort 
Lauderdale, FL; ATCT, Miami, FL; ATCT/TRACON and Fort Myers 
International, FL, ATCT/TRACON. The change will increase National 
Airspace System (NAS) efficiency and reduce operational complexity at 
the terminal areas.
    In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to lower the airspace floor from 
2,700 feet MSL to 1,300 feet MSL throughout the entire South Florida 
Low Offshore Airspace Area. Following consultations with the Department 
of Defense (DOD) and a review of ATC requirements, the FAA determined 
that a 1,300 foot MSL floor was only needed within an 8 nautical mile 
(NM) wide segment of airspace along the boundary of the South Florida 
Low Offshore Airspace Area. Based on this review, the airspace 
extending upward from 1,300 feet MSL will apply only to that portion of 
the South Florida Low Offshore Airspace Area that lies between a line 
drawn 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline and a line drawn 
20 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline. To clarify the 
airspace description in the vicinity of the Florida Keys, the new 
1,300-foot MSL floor segment between 12 miles and 20 miles from the 
shoreline extends around the Marquesas Keys, but does not extend out 
to, or include the airspace around, the Dry Tortugas Islands. The floor 
in the remainder of the South Florida Low Offshore Airspace Area, 
outward from 20 NM from the shoreline, will continue to extend upward 
from 2,700 feet MSL.
    This action does not change the status of any warning areas 
contained within the South Florida Low Offshore Airspace Area or affect 
DOD operations conducted therein. As with all warning areas, a letter 
of agreement between the controlling and using agencies is executed to 
define the conditions and procedures under which the controlling agency 
may authorize nonparticipating aircraft to transit the warning area.
    With the exception of the change described above, and editorial 
changes, this amendment is the same as that proposed in the NPRM.
    Offshore Airspace Areas are published in paragraph 6007 of FAA 
Order 7400.9T, signed August 27, 2009, and effective September 15, 
2009, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Offshore 
Airspace Area listed in this document will be published subsequently in 
the order.

The Rule

    This action amends Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 
part 71 by lowering the floor in a portion of the South Florida Low 
Offshore Airspace Area from 2,700 feet MSL to 1,300 feet MSL. The 
amendment applies to that segment of the South Florida Low that lies 
between a line drawn 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline 
and a line drawn 20 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline. The 
change provides additional controlled airspace allowing ATC to use 
lower altitudes to vecotor arriving IFR aircraft at various coastal 
airports along the boundary of the South Florida Low Offshore Airspace 
Area, increasing NAS efficiency and reducing operational complexity.
    The FAA has determined that this regulation only involves an 
established body of technical regulations for which frequent and 
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current. 
Therefore, 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) 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.
    The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is 
found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle I, Section 106 
describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, 
Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the agency's 
authority.
    This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in 
Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that section, the 
FAA is charged with prescribing regulations to assign the use of the 
airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient 
use of airspace. This regulation is with the scope of that authority as 
it provides additional controlled airspace for IFR aircraft operations 
at airports along the coast of the southeastern U.S.

ICAO Considerations

    As part of this action 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

[[Page 63973]]

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 the designation of navigable 
airspace outside the United States, it has been reviewed by the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense in accordance with the 
provisions of Executive Order 10854.

Environmental Review

    The FAA has determined that this action qualifies for categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act in accordance 
with FAA Order 1050.1E, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies and 
Procedures,'' paragraph 311a. This airspace action is not expected to 
cause any potentially significant environmental impacts, and no 
extraordinary circumstances exist that warrant preparation of an 
environmental assessment.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

Adoption of the Amendment

0
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration 
amends 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

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 FAA Order 7400.9T, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, signed August 27, 2009, and 
effective September 15, 2009 is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6007 Offshore Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

South Florida Low, FL [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 2,700 feet MSL bounded on 
the west by the Houston Oceanic CTA/FIR; bounded on the north from 
west to east by the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center 
boundary, a line 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline 
and lat. 34[deg]00'00'' N., bounded on the east by the New York 
Oceanic CTA/FIR and the San Juan Oceanic CTA/FIR; bounded on the 
south from east to west by the Santo Domingo FIR, the Port-Au-Prince 
CTA/FIR and the Havana CTA/FIR; excluding the Grand Bahama TCA and 
the Nassau TCA; and that airspace extending upward from 1,300 feet 
MSL within the portion of the South Florida Low that lies between a 
line drawn 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline and a 
line drawn 20 miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline, along 
the full length of the South Florida Low and extending around the 
Marquesas Keys, but excluding the Dry Tortugas Islands.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2009.
Edith V. Parish,
Manager, Airspace and Rules Group.
[FR Doc. E9-28899 Filed 12-4-09; 8:45 am]
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