[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37997-37998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15133]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
[Docket No. FAA-2011-0611; Airspace Docket No. 11-AWP-11]
Proposed Amendment of Class D Airspace; Santa Monica, CA
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM).
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SUMMARY: This SNPRM would further modify the Class D airspace area at
Santa Monica Municipal Airport, Santa Monica, CA. In a NPRM published
in the Federal Register of October, 27, 2011, the FAA proposed to
create additional Class D airspace at Santa Monica Municipal Airport.
The FAA has reassessed the proposal and finds that further enlargement
of the airspace area is necessary for the safety and management of
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations in the Santa Monica, CA, area.
The geographic coordinates of the airport also would be adjusted.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590;
telephone (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2011-
0611; Airspace Docket No. 11-AWP-11, at the beginning of your comments.
You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Roberts, Federal Aviation
Administration, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 1601
Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057; telephone (425) 203-4517.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
History
On October 27, 2011, the FAA published a NPRM to modify Class D
airspace, at Santa Monica Municipal Airport, Santa Monica, CA (76 FR
66662). The comment period closed December 12, 2011. No comments were
received. Subsequent to publication, the Los Angeles Visual Flight
Rules (VFR) Airspace Task Force identified airspace in the areas
adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport as highly congested with
participating and non-participating VFR aircraft. This action would
increase the level of safety for aircraft in the Santa Monica, CA,
airspace area. The FAA seeks comments on this SNPRM.
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 2011-0611 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AWP-11) and be submitted in
triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES section for
address and phone number). You may also submit comments through the
Internet at http://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-2011-0611 and Airspace Docket No. 11-AWP-11''. The
postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
All communications received on or before the specified closing date
for comments 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 closing date
for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with
FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed in the
docket.
Availability of NPRM's
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/airports_airtraffic/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, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA
98057.
Persons interested in being placed on a mailing list for future
NPRM's should contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, (202) 267-9677,
for a copy of Advisory Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking Distribution System, which describes the application
procedure.
[[Page 37998]]
The Supplemental Proposal
The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal
Regulations (14 CFR) Part 71 by further modifying the size of the Class
D airspace area at Santa Monica Municipal Airport, Santa Monica, CA, to
accommodate IFR aircraft departing and arriving at the airport. The
airspace would be increased from a 2.7-mile radius to a 4-mile radius
of the airport, leaving the extension to the northeast the same as the
NPRM. The geographic coordinates of the airport would also be updated
to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database. Expanding the current
Santa Monica Municipal Airport Class D airspace would reduce those
areas that pose a high collision risk to low level commercial, general
aviation, military and helicopter operations.
Class D airspace designations are published in paragraph 5000, of
FAA Order 7400.9W, dated August 8, 2012, and effective September 15,
2012, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D
airspace designation listed in this document will be published
subsequently in this Order.
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.
Therefore, this proposed regulation; (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, would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is
found in Title 49 of the U.S. Code. Subtitle 1, Section 106, describes
the authority for 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 controlled airspace at Santa Monica Municipal
Airport, Santa Monica, CA.
This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, ``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(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 the Federal
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9W, Airspace Designations and
Reporting Points, dated August 8, 2012, and effective September 15,
2012 is amended as follows:
Paragraph 5000 Class D airspace.
* * * * *
AWP CA D Santa Monica, CA [Modified]
Santa Monica Municipal Airport, CA
(Lat. 34[deg]00'57'' N., long. 118[deg]27'05'' W.)
That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including
2,700 feet MSL within a 4-mile radius of the Santa Monica Municipal
Airport and within 1.5 miles each side of the 047[deg] bearing of
the Santa Monica Airport extending from the 4-mile radius to 4.6
miles northeast of the airport, excluding that airspace within the
Los Angeles, CA, Class D airspace area. This Class D airspace area
is effective during the specific dates and times established in
advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective date and time will
thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility
Directory.
Issued in Seattle, Washington, on June 17, 2013.
Clark Desing,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2013-15133 Filed 6-24-13; 8:45 am]
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