[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 110 (Monday, June 8, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35026-35028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12102]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0551; Airspace Docket No. 20-ASW-6]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Revocation, Establishment, and Amendment of Class E 
Airspace; Multiple Texas Towns

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to revoke the Class E airspace extending 
upward from 700 feet above the surface at Ambassador Field, Big Sandy, 
TX; and establish and amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 
feet above the surface at several Texas airports. The FAA is proposing 
this action as the result of airspace reviews caused by the 
decommissioning of the Quitman VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) 
navigation aid, which provided navigation information for the 
instrument procedures these airports, as part of the VOR Minimum 
Operational Network (MON) Program. The names and geographic coordinates 
of several airports would also be updated to coincide with the FAA's 
aeronautical database.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 23, 2020.

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-2020-0551/Airspace Docket No. 20-ASW-6, at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at https://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 7400.11D, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and 
subsequent amendments can be viewed online at https://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

[[Page 35027]]

also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of FAA Order 
7400.11D at NARA, email [email protected] or go to https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation 
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 revoke the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface at Ambassador Field, Big Sandy, TX; establish Class E 
airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Fox 
Stephens Field-Gilmer Municipal Airport, Gilmer, TX; Gladewater 
Municipal Airport, Gladewater, TX; and Winnsboro Municipal Airport, 
Winnsboro, TX; and amend the Class E airspace upward from 700 above the 
surface at Wood County Airport-Collins Field, Mineola/Quitman, TX, 
contained within the Mineola, TX, airspace legal description, and at 
Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, Mount Pleasant, TX, to support 
instrument flight rule 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-2020-0551/
Airspace Docket No. 20-ASW-6.'' 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 https://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking 
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at https://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 7400.11D, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 8, 2019, and effective 
September 15, 2019. FAA Order 7400.11D is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11D 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:
    Removing the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface at Ambassador Field, Big Sandy, TX, as the instrument 
procedures at this airfield have been cancelled so the airspace is no 
longer required;
    Establishing Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface within a 6.4-mile radius of Fox Stephens Field-Gilmer 
Municipal Airport, Gilmer, TX. (This airspace was previously contained 
within the Big Sandy, TX, airspace legal description.)
    Establishing Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface within a 6.4-mile radius of Gladewater Municipal Airport, 
Gladewater, TX. (This airspace was previously contained within the Big 
Sandy, TX, airspace legal description.)
    Amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface to within a 6.4-mile (increased from a 6.3-mile) radius of 
Wood County Airport-Collins Field, Mineola/Quitman, TX, contained 
within the Mineola, TX, airspace legal description; adding an extension 
3.8 miles east and 5.7 miles west of the 182[deg] bearing from Wood 
County Airport-Collins Field extending from the 6.4-mile radius to 21.3 
miles south of Wood County Airport-Collins Field; removing the city 
associated with the Mineola-Wisener Airport, Mineola, TX, and Wood 
County Airport-Collins Field to comply with changes to FAA Order 
7400.2M, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters; and updating the 
name and geographic coordinates of the Wood County Airport-Collins 
Field (previously Mineola-Quitman Airport) to coincide with the FAA's 
aeronautical database.
    Amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above 
the surface to within a 6.6-mile (increased from a 6.4-mile) radius of 
Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, Mount Pleasant, TX; removing the 
Quitman VORTAC and Mount Pleasant RBN and the associated extensions 
from the airspace legal description, as they are no longer required; 
and removing Winnsboro Municipal Airport, Winnsboro, TX, from the Mount 
Pleasant, TX, airspace legal description as the airspace no longer 
adjoins the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport airspace; and updating the 
name and geographic coordinates of the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport 
(previously Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport) to coincide with the 
FAA's aeronautical database.
    And establishing Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface within a 6.3-mile radius of Winnsboro Municipal 
Airport, Winnsboro, TX. (This airspace was

[[Page 35028]]

previously contained within the Mount Pleasant, TX, airspace legal 
description but is being separated as the Winnsboro Municipal Airport 
airspace and Mount Pleasant Regional airspace no longer adjoin.)
    This action is the result of airspace reviews caused by the 
decommissioning of the Quitman VOR, which provided navigation 
information for the instrument procedures these airports, as part of 
the VOR MON Program.
    Class E airspace designations are published in paragraph 6005 of 
FAA Order 7400.11D, dated August 8, 2019, and effective September 15, 
2019, 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.
    FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

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).

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 
7400.11D, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 8, 
2019, and effective September 15, 2019, is amended as follows:

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

* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Big Sandy, TX [Removed]

* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Gilmer, TX [Establish]

Fox Stephens Field-Gilmer Municipal Airport, TX
    (Lat. 32[deg]41'53'' N, long. 94[deg]56'56'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.4-mile radius of Fox Stephens Field-Gilmer Municipal 
Airport.
* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Gladewater, TX [Establish]

Gladewater Municipal Airport, TX
    (Lat. 32[deg]31'44'' N, long. 94[deg]58'19'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.4-mile radius of Gladewater Municipal Airport.
* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Mineola, TX [Amended]

Mineola-Wisener Airport, TX
    (Lat. 32[deg]40'36'' N, long. 95[deg]30'39'' W)

Wood County Airport-Collins Field, TX
    (Lat. 32[deg]44'32'' N, long. 95[deg]29'47'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.3-mile radius of Mineola-Wisener Airport, and within a 
6.4-mile radius of Wood County Airport-Collins Field, and within 3.8 
miles east and 5.7 miles west of the 182[deg] bearing from the Wood 
County Airport-Collins Field extending from the 6.4-mile radius of 
Wood County Airport-Collins Field to 21.3 miles south of Wood County 
Airport-Collins Field.
* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Mount Pleasant, TX [Amended]

Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, TX
    (Lat. 33[deg]06'49'' N, long. 94[deg]57'42'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.6-mile radius of Mount Pleasant Regional Airport.
* * * * *

ASW TX E5 Winnsboro, TX [Establish]

Winnsboro Municipal Airport, TX
    (Lat. 32[deg]56'20'' N, long. 95[deg]16'44'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.3-mile radius of Winnsboro Municipal Airport.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 1, 2020.
Steven T. Phillips,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2020-12102 Filed 6-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P