[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60418-60421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23711]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0821; Airspace Docket No. 21-ASW-1]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Amendment, Establishment, and Revocation of Multiple Air 
Traffic Service (ATS) Routes in the Vicinity of Borger, TX

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend Jet Route J-8 and VHF 
Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal airway V-272; establish Area 
Navigation (RNAV) route T-420; and remove Jet Route J-142 and VOR 
Federal airways V-304 and V-390. The FAA is proposing this action due 
to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Borger, TX, 
VOR/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) navigational aid

[[Page 60419]]

(NAVAID). The Borger VOR is being decommissioned in support of the 
FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 17, 2021.

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-2021-0821; Airspace Docket No. 21-ASW-1 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
    FAA Order JO 7400.11F, 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 
Rules and Regulations Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783. FAA Order JO 7400.11F is also available for inspection at the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on 
the availability of FAA Order JO 7400.11F at NARA, email: 
[email protected] or go to https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colby Abbott, Rules and Regulations 
Group, Office of Policy, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783.

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 
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 would modify the National Airspace System (NAS) as 
necessary to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic.

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-2021-0821; Airspace Docket No. 21-ASW-1) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management Facility (see the ADDRESSES section 
for address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the 
internet at https://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-2021-0821; Airspace Docket No. 21-ASW-1.'' The 
postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
    All communications received on or before the specified comment 
closing date 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 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 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 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 office of the Operations Support Group, Central 
Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood 
Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order JO 7400.11F, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 10, 2021, and effective 
September 15, 2021. FAA Order JO 7400.11F is publicly available as 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order JO 7400.11F 
lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service 
routes, and reporting points.

Background

    The FAA is planning to decommission the Borger, TX, VOR in July 
2022. The Borger VOR was one of the candidate VORs identified for 
discontinuance by the FAA's VOR MON program and listed in the Final 
policy statement notice, ``Provision of Navigation Services for the 
Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Transition to 
Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) (Plan for Establishing a VOR Minimum 
Operational Network),'' published in the Federal Register of July 26, 
2016 (81 FR 48694), Docket No. FAA-2011-1082.
    Although the VOR portion of the Borger VORTAC is planned for 
decommissioning, the co-located Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) portion 
of the NAVAID, which includes Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) 
service, is being retained to support NextGen PBN flight procedure 
requirements.
    The air traffic service (ATS) routes effected by the Borger VOR 
decommissioning are Jet Routes J-8 and J-142, and VOR Federal airways 
V-272, V-304, and V-390. With the planned decommissioning of the Borger 
VOR, the remaining ground-based NAVAID coverage in the area is 
insufficient to enable the continuity of the affected ATS routes. As 
such, proposed modification to J-8 would result in a gap in the route 
and to V-272 would result in the airway being shortened, as well as the 
proposed revocation of J-142, V-304, and V-390 in their entirety. To 
overcome the proposed modifications and revocations to the affected ATS 
routes, instrument flight rules (IFR) traffic could use portions of 
adjacent ATS routes, including J-6, J-14, J-58, J-76, J-78, and J-98 in 
the high altitude enroute structure and V-12, V-47, V-81, V-190, V-280, 
and V-402 in the low altitude enroute structure, or receive air traffic 
control (ATC) radar

[[Page 60420]]

vectors to fly around or through the affected area. Additionally, IFR 
pilots equipped with RNAV capabilities could also navigate point to 
point using the existing NAVAIDs and fixes that would remain in place 
to support continued operations though the affected area. Visual flight 
rules (VFR) pilots who elect to navigate via the affected ATS routes 
could also take advantage of the adjacent ATS routes or ATC services 
listed previously.
    Further, the FAA proposes to establish RNAV route T-420 between the 
Dalhart, TX, VORTAC and Will Rogers, OK, VORTAC. The new T-route would, 
in part, mitigate the proposed removal of the V-272 airway segment 
affected by the planned Borger VOR decommissioning, reduce air traffic 
control (ATC) sector workload and complexity, and reduce pilot-to-
controller communication. The new route would also increase NAS 
capacity in the route's vicinity and assist ATC when non-radar 
procedures are required due to frequent outages of the Amarillo 
Approach Control radar. Finally, the new T-route would provide airspace 
users equipped with RNAV an ATS route between the Dalhart, TX, area 
eastward to the Oklahoma City, OK, area and support the FAA's NextGen 
efforts to modernize the NAS navigation system from a ground-based 
system to a satellite-based system.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to amend Jet 
Route J-8 and VOR Federal airway V-272; establish RNAV route T-420; and 
remove Jet Route J-142 and VOR Federal airways V-304 and V-390 due to 
the planned decommissioning of the Borger, TX, VOR. The proposed ATS 
route actions are described below.
    J-8: J-8 currently extends between the Needles, CA, VORTAC and the 
Casanova, VA, VORTAC. The FAA proposes to remove the route segment 
between the Fort Union, NM, VORTAC and the Kingfisher, OK, VORTAC. 
Additional changes to other portions of the route have been proposed in 
a separate NPRM. The unaffected portions of the existing airway would 
remain as charted.
    J-142: J-142 currently extends between the Socorro, NM, VORTAC and 
the Borger, TX, VORTAC. The FAA proposes to remove the route segment 
between the Anton Chico, NM, VORTAC and Borger VORTAC due to the 
planned decommissioning of the Borger VOR. Additionally, the FAA 
proposes to remove the remaining route segment between the Socorro 
VORTAC and the Anton Chico VORTAC since the distance between the 
VORTACs is within NAVAID service volumes and pilots could file direct. 
As a result, the FAA proposes to remove J-142 in its entirety.
    V-272: V-272 currently extends between the Dalhart, TX, VORTAC and 
the Will Rogers, OK, VORTAC. The FAA proposes to remove the airway 
segment between the Dalhart VORTAC and the Burns Flat, OK, VORTAC. The 
unaffected portions of the existing airway would remain as charted.
    V-304: V-304 currently extends between the Panhandle, TX, VORTAC 
and the Lamar, CO, VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME). The FAA 
proposes to remove the airway segment between the Panhandle VORTAC and 
Liberal, KS, VORTAC due to the planned decommissioning of the Borger 
VOR. Additionally, the FAA proposes to remove the remaining airway 
segment between the Liberal VORTAC and the Lamar VOR/DME since it 
overlays V-210 between the two NAVAIDs and will remain available for 
use by NAS users. As a result, the FAA proposes to remove V-304 in its 
entirety.
    V-390: V-390 currently extends between the Tucumcari, NM, VORTAC 
and the Mitbee, OK, VORTAC. The FAA proposes to remove the airway in 
its entirety.
    T-420: T-420 is a proposed new route that would extend between the 
Dalhart, TX, VORTAC and the Will Rogers, OK, VORTAC. This T-route would 
mitigate the proposed removal of the V-272 airway segment between the 
Dalhart, TX, VORTAC and the Burns Flat, OK, VORTAC (noted above), as 
well as provide RNAV routing capability from the Dalhart, TX, area, 
eastward to the Oklahoma City, OK, area.
    All NAVAID radials listed in the Jet Route description below are 
unchanged and stated in True degrees.
    Jet Routes are published in paragraph 2004, VOR Federal airways are 
published in paragraph 6010(a), and RNAV T-routes are published in 
paragraph 6011 of FAA Order JO 7400.11F, dated August 10, 2021, and 
effective September 15, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in 14 
CFR 71.1. The ATS routes listed in this document would be published 
subsequently in FAA Order JO 7400.11.
    FAA Order JO 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 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 
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.

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

    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 JO 
7400.11F, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 10, 
2021, and effective September 15, 2021, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 2004 Jet Routes.

* * * * *

J-8 [Amended]

    From Needles, CA; Flagstaff, AZ; Gallup, NM; to Fort Union, NM. 
From Kingfisher, OK; Springfield, MO; St Louis, MO; Louisville, KY; 
Charleston, WV; INT Charleston 092[deg] and Casanova, VA, 253[deg] 
radials; to Casanova.
* * * * *

[[Page 60421]]

J-142 [Removed]

* * * * *

Paragraph 6010(a) Domestic VOR Federal Airways.

* * * * *

V-272 [Amended]

    From Burns Flat, OK; to Will Rogers, OK.
* * * * *

V-304 [Removed]

* * * * *

V-390 [Removed]

* * * * *

Paragraph 6011 United States Area Navigation Routes.

* * * * *

T-420 Dalhart, TX (DHT) to Will Rogers, OK (IRW) [New]
 
Dalhart, TX (DHT)                                      VORTAC                      (Lat. 36[deg]05'29.24'' N, long. 102[deg]32'40.71'' W)
Burns Flat, OK (BFV)                                   VORTAC                      (Lat. 35[deg]14'13.00'' N, long. 099[deg]12'22.20'' W)
Will Rogers, OK (IRW)                                  VORTAC                      (Lat. 35[deg]21'30.95'' N, long. 097[deg]36'33.22'' W)
 


    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2021.
Michael R. Beckles,
Acting Manager, Rules and Regulations Group.
[FR Doc. 2021-23711 Filed 11-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P