[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5965-5966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02556]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0783; Airspace Docket No. 17-AEA-13]


Proposed Revocation of Class E Airspace; Seven Springs, PA, and 
Somerset, PA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to remove Class E airspace at Seven 
Springs, PA, as Seven Springs Borough Airport has been abandoned, and 
controlled airspace is no longer required. This proposal would also 
remove reference to the Seven Springs, PA, Class E airspace area from 
the Somerset County Airport, Somerset, PA, description, and update the 
geographic coordinates of Somerset County Airport to coincide with the 
FAA's database. This action would enhance the safety and management of 
controlled airspace within the national airspace system.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this rule to: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 
Telephone: (800) 647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You must identify the 
Docket No. FAA-2017-0783; Airspace Docket No. 17-AEA-13, at the 
beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov. You may review the public 
docket containing the proposal, any comments received, and any final 
disposition in person in the Dockets Office between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and 
subsequent amendments can be viewed on line at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/. For further information, you can contact the 
Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783. The Order is also available for inspection at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of FAA Order 7400.11B at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go 
to https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Fornito, Operations Support 
Group, Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 1701 
Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337; telephone (404) 305-6364.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking

    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 proposed 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 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 would remove Class E airspace extending upward from 700 
feet above the surface at Seven Springs Borough Airport, Seven Springs, 
PA, due to the closing of the airport.

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to comment on this 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-2017-0783 and Airspace Docket No. 17-AEA-13) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the DOT Docket Operations (see ADDRESSES section for 
address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

[[Page 5966]]

    Persons 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-2017-0783; Airspace Docket No. 17-AEA-13.'' The postcard 
will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received before the specified closing date for 
comments will be considered before taking action on the proposed rule. 
The proposal contained in this notice 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 comment 
closing date. 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 from and 
comments submitted through 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 the ADDRESSES section for address and phone number) between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal 
holidays. An informal docket may also be examined between 8:00 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays at the office 
of the Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, Room 
350, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective 
September 15, 2017. FAA Order 7400.11B is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11B lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points

The Proposal

    The FAA is considering an amendment to Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to remove Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Seven Springs Borough 
Airport, Seven Springs, PA, as the airport has been abandoned. 
Therefore, the airspace is no longer necessary. Also, this action would 
remove the words ``excluding that portion that coincides with the Seven 
Springs, PA, Class E airspace area'' from the regulatory text In Class 
E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface for 
Somerset County Airport, Somerset, PA, and update the geographic 
coordinates of Somerset County Airport, to be in concert with the FAA's 
aeronautical database.
    Class E airspace designations are published in Paragraph 6005 of 
FAA Order 7400.11B, dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 
2017, 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.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

    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. 
It, therefore, (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.

Environmental Review

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

Lists 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

0
1. The authority citation for part 71 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 106(f), 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 7400.11B, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, 
effective September 15, 2017, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 
Feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

AEA PA E5 Seven Springs, PA [Removed]

AEA PA E5 Somerset, PA [Amended]

Somerset County Airport, PA
    (Lat. 40[deg]02'20'' N, long. 79[deg]00'54'' W)
Stoystown NDB
    (Lat. 40[deg]05'09'' N, long. 78[deg]55'00'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.4-mile radius of Somerset County Airport and within 3.1 
miles each side of the 058[deg] bearing from the Stoystown NDB 
extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 9.6 miles northeast of the NDB 
and 4 miles each side of the 236[deg] bearing from the Somerset 
County Airport extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 9.5 miles 
southwest of the airport.

    Issued in College Park, Georgia, on February 1, 2018.
Ryan W. Almasy,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Eastern Service Center, Air Traffic 
Organization.
[FR Doc. 2018-02556 Filed 2-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P