[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7837-7839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03835]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2018-1074; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-29]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Modification of Class E Airspace, Hawaiian Islands, HI

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify the Hawaiian Islands Class E 
domestic airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet and 5,500 feet above 
the surface of the earth by removing that portion that extends beyond 
the Territorial Sea. This action would support the operation of 
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) under standard instrument approach and 
departure procedures in the Hawaiian Islands, for the safety and 
management of aircraft within the National Airspace System.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 19, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590; telephone: 
1-800-647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2018-1074; Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-29, at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
    FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and 
subsequent amendments can be viewed online 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 7400.11C 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: Richard Roberts, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 2200 
S. 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198-6547; telephone (206) 231-2245.

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 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 modify Class E airspace extending upward from 1200 feet 
above the surface for the Hawaiian Islands, HI, to support IFR 
operations in standard instrument approach and departure procedures at 
this airport.

Comments Invited

    Interested parties are invited to participate in this proposed 
rulemaking

[[Page 7838]]

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 and be submitted in 
triplicate to the address listed above. Persons wishing the FAA to 
acknowledge receipt of their comments on this notice must submit with 
those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the 
following statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-2018-1074/
Airspace Docket No. 18-AWP-29''. 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. 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 the ADDRESSES section for the 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 during normal 
business hours at the Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service 
Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 S. 216th St, Des Moines, WA, 
98198-6547.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective 
September 15, 2018. FAA Order 7400.11C is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11C lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by modifying the Hawaiian Islands, HI, 
Class E5 domestic airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet and 5,500 
feet above the surface of the earth. The FAA identified that the 
Hawaiian Islands Class E airspace was established, in error, beyond the 
United States Territorial Sea and into international airspace. The 
Territorial Sea of the United States was defined by Presidential 
Proclamation number 5928, on December 27, 1988, as that area extending 
to 12 nautical miles beyond the land territory and internal waters of 
the United States and the airspace above it. This action would modify 
the Class E Airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface 
of the earth by modifying the airspace's outer boundary to coincide 
with the Hawaiian Islands' Territorial Sea and remove the Class E 
airspace that extends upward from 5,500 feet above the surface of the 
earth. This action removes references to the Hilo and South Kauai 
VORTACs in the legal description for the Class E airspace extending 
upward from 1,200 feet. The airspace is being redesigned without the 
use of these references. This legal description considers the Hawaiian 
Islands as an archipelagic whole consistent with the definition 
established in the Constitution of the State of Hawaii. This 
designation includes all islands, together with their appurtenant reefs 
and territorial and archipelagic waters, included in the Territory of 
Hawaii on the date of enactment of the Admission Act, except the atoll 
known as Palmyra Island, together with its appurtenant reefs and 
territorial waters; but this State shall not be deemed to include the 
Midway Islands, Johnston Island, Sand Island (offshore from Johnston 
Island) or Kingman Reef, together with their appurtenant reefs and 
territorial waters. This action is being submitted coincidental with an 
FAA proposal, submitted on 04/11/18, NPRM FAA-2017-1013, 83 FR 15521, 
to establish Hawaiian Islands' High and Low Offshore Airspace Areas 
within international airspace. The Offshore Airspace would extend from 
the Hawaiian Islands' Territorial Sea outward to the boundary of the 
Flight Information Region. The proposal for offshore airspace will 
provide for the application of domestic air traffic control procedures, 
beyond the Territorial Sea, within areas of domestic radio navigational 
signal or Air Traffic Control radar coverage.
    Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6005 of 
FAA Order 7400.11C, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 
2018, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E 
airspace designations listed in this document will be published 
subsequently in the Order.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

    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, 
and is non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative 
comments. 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 rule, when promulgated, would 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.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

The Proposed Amendment

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me, 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 14 CFR 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.

[[Page 7839]]

Sec.  71.1  [Amended]

0
 2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 
7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 
2018, and effective September 15, 2018, is amended as follows:

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

* * * * *

AWP HI E5 Hawaiian Islands, HI [Amended]

    That airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface 
within 12 NM of the Hawaiian Islands shoreline Beginning at lat. 
22[deg]06'28'' N, long. 159[deg]04'39'' W, to lat. 21[deg]46'57'' N, 
long. 158[deg]14'41'' W, to 12 NM from the shoreline of Oahu.
    Thence, clockwise along the line 12 NM from and parallel to the 
shoreline of the State of Hawaii, to lat. 20[deg]30'29'' N, long. 
155[deg]53'40'' W, to lat. 20[deg]28'08'' N, long. 155[deg]52'03'' 
W, to 12 NM from the shoreline of Hawaii.
    Thence, clockwise along the line 12 NM from and parallel to the 
shoreline of Hawaii to lat. 20[deg]03'26'' N, long. 156[deg]05'30'' 
W, to lat. 20[deg]22'48'' N, long. 156[deg]18'51'' W, to 12 NM from 
the shoreline of Maui.
    Thence clockwise along the line 12 NM from and parallel to the 
shoreline of the State of Hawaii, to lat. 21[deg]25'19'' N, long. 
158[deg]26'08'' W, to lat. 21[deg]44'34'' N long. 159[deg]15'27'' W, 
to 12 NM from the shoreline of Kauai.
    Thence, clockwise along the line 12 NM from and parallel to the 
shoreline of the State of Hawaii to the beginning.


    Issued in Seattle, Washington, on February 20, 2019.
Shawn M. Kozica,
Group Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2019-03835 Filed 3-4-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P