[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32119-32120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13603]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2010-0187; Airspace Docket No. 09-AWP-10]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Amendment of the Pacific High and Low Offshore Airspace 
Areas; California

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend the Pacific High and Low 
Offshore Airspace Areas by providing additional airspace in which 
domestic air traffic control procedures could be used to separate and 
manage aircraft operations in the currently uncontrolled airspace off 
the California coast. This proposed change would enhance the efficient 
utilization of that airspace within the National Airspace System.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 22, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 
telephone: (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2010-
0187 and Airspace Docket No. 09-AWP-10 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken McElroy, Airspace and Rules Group, 
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-2010-0187 and Airspace Docket No. 09-AWP-10) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management Facility (see ``ADDRESSES'' section 
for address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.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-2010-0187 and Airspace Docket No. 09-AWP-10.'' 
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 
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://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking 
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's Web page at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/airspace_amendments/.
    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 Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, WA 
98055.
    Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future 
NPRMs 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.

History

    In October, 2009, the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center 
(ARTCC) personnel conducted a comprehensive review of the offshore 
airspace in the ARTCC's area of responsibility. The review revealed 
that many of the aircraft transiting in the offshore airspace are being 
diverted around pockets of uncontrolled airspace. In order to 
facilitate operations in the offshore areas, modification of the 
Pacific High and Low Offshore Airspace Areas is needed. Currently, 
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) oceanic air traffic 
control (ATC) procedures are used to separate and manage aircraft 
operations that extend beyond the lateral boundary of the existing 
Pacific High and Low Offshore Airspace Areas. Modifying the Pacific 
Offshore Airspace Areas by extending the boundaries further south of 
the current location to the Mexico Flight Information Region (FIR), 
will allow the application of domestic ATC separation procedures over a 
larger area. This proposal to modify the offshore airspace area would 
enhance system capacity and allow for more efficient utilization of 
that airspace. This action does not change the status of any warning 
areas contained within the Pacific Offshore Airspace Areas or affect 
Department of Defense (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.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to modify the Pacific High and Low 
Offshore Airspace Areas, by extending the present airspace boundaries 
further southeast of the current location to the Mexico FIR capturing 
pockets of uncontrolled airspace off the California coast. This 
proposed modification would allow the application of domestic ATC 
separation procedures in lieu of ICAO separation and enhance system 
capacity and allow for more efficient utilization of that airspace.
    Offshore airspace areas are published in paragraph 2003 and 6007, 
respectfully, 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 listed in this

[[Page 32120]]

document will 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 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.
    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 within the scope of that authority 
as it modifies the high and low offshore airspace areas off the coast 
of California.

ICAO Considerations

    As part of this proposal relates to navigable airspace outside the 
United States, this notice is submitted in accordance with the 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 and Rules Group, 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.

Environmental Review

    This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in 
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies 
and Procedures,'' prior to any FAA final regulatory action.

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

Paragraph 2003 Offshore Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

Pacific High, CA [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 18,000 feet MSL to and 
including FL 600 bounded on the north by the Vancouver FIR boundary, 
on the east by a line 12 miles from and parallel to the U.S. 
shoreline, and on south by the Mexico FIR boundary, and on the west 
by the Oakland Oceanic CTA/FIR boundary, excluding active Warning 
Area airspace.
* * * * *

Paragraph 6007 Offshore Airspace Areas.

* * * * *

Pacific Low, CA [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 5,500 feet MSL bounded on 
the north by the Vancouver FIR boundary, on the east by a line 12 
miles from and parallel to the U.S. shoreline, and on south by the 
Mexico FIR boundary, and on the west by the Oakland Oceanic FIR 
boundary, excluding active Warning Area airspace.

    Issued in Washington, DC, May 26, 2010.
Edith V. Parish,
Manager, Airspace and Rules Group.
[FR Doc. 2010-13603 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P