[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33022-33024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14633]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0502; Airspace Docket No. 19-ASO-13]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Amendment of the Class E Airspace; Haleyville, AL, and 
Hamilton, AL

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend the Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Posey Field Airport, 
Haleyville, AL, and Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport, Hamilton, AL. 
The FAA is proposing this action as the result of the decommissioning 
of the Hamilton VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) navigation aid, which 
provided navigation information for the instrument procedures at this 
airport, as part of the VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) Program. 
The name and geographic coordinates of Marion County-Rankin Fite 
Airport would also be updated to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical 
database. Airspace redesign is necessary for the safety and management 
of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at these airports.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; telephone 
(202) 366-9826, or (800) 647-5527. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2019-0502; Airspace Docket No. 19-ASO-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 7400.11C, 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 http://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: Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation

[[Page 33023]]

Administration, Operations Support Group, Central Service Center, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177; telephone (817) 222-5711.

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 amend the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface at Posey Field Airport, Haleyville, AL, and Marion 
County-Rankin Fite Airport, Hamilton, AL, to support IFR operations at 
these airports.

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 and be submitted in 
triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters 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-2019-0502/
Airspace Docket No. 19-ASO-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. 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 Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic 
Organization, Central Service Center, Operations Support Group, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

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:
    Amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface to within a 6.5-mile radius (increased from a 6.4-mile 
radius) at Posey Field Airport, Haleyville, AL; removing the city 
associated with the airport in the airspace legal description to comply 
with a change in FAA Order 7400.2M, Procedures for Handling Airspace 
Matters; removing the Hamilton VORTAC and associated extension from the 
airspace legal description; and adding an extension 2 miles each side 
of the 002[deg] bearing from the airport extending from the 6.5-mile 
radius to 11 miles north of the airport;
    And amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface to within a 6.5-mile radius (reduced from a 6.6-mile 
radius) of Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport, Hamilton, AL; removing 
the city associated with the airport in the airspace legal description 
to comply with a change in FAA Order 7400.2M; removing the Hamilton 
VORTAC and associated extension from the airspace legal description; 
adding an extension 4 miles each side of the 002[deg] bearing from the 
airport extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 11.8 miles north of the 
airport; adding an extension 4 miles each side of the 182[deg] bearing 
from the airport extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 11.4 miles south 
of the airport; and would update the name and geographic coordinates of 
the Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport (formerly Marion County Airport) 
to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.
    This action is the result of an airspace review caused by the 
decommissioning of the Hamilton VOR, which provided navigation 
information for the instrument procedures at these airports, as part of 
the VOR MON Program.
    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, 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 will 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).

[[Page 33024]]

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.


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.

* * * * *

ASO AL E5 Haleyville, AL [Amended]

Posey Field Airport, AL
    (Lat. 34[deg]16'49'' N, long. 87[deg]36'02'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.5-mile radius of Posey Field Airport, and within 2 miles 
each side of the 002[deg] bearing from the airport extending from 
the 6.5-mile radius to 11 miles north of the airport.

ASO AL E5 Hamilton, AL [Amended]

Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport, AL
    (Lat. 34[deg]07'01'' N, long. 87[deg]59'54'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.5-mile radius of Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport, and 
within 4 miles each side of the 002[deg] bearing from the airport 
extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 11.8 miles north of the 
airport, and within 4 miles each side of the 182[deg] bearing from 
the airport extending from the 6.5-mile radius to 11.4 miles south 
of the airport.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 1, 2019.
John Witucki,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2019-14633 Filed 7-10-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P