[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25484-25486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09992]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No.: FAA-2016-4756]
Reduction of Remote Communications Outlets Used by Flight Service
Stations in the Conterminous United States
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed policy.
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SUMMARY: The FAA is proposing to reduce the number of radio frequencies
used by flight service stations to communicate with aircraft in flight.
Under the proposal, six hundred and sixty-six (666) remote
communications outlets (RCOs) will be decommissioned. Frequencies
especially designated for emergency or military use are not included in
this proposal. Frequencies in the state of Alaska are also not included
in this proposal.
DATES: Submit comments on or before June 27, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2016-
4756 using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the
West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
[[Page 25485]]
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Wilkes, Manager, Flight Service
National Efficient Streamlined Services (FSNESS) Initiative, Operations
and Implementation, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-7771; Fax (202)
267-6310; email [email protected]. Jeff Black, Quality Assurance
Evaluator, Flight Services Program Operations; telephone (940) 584-
0409; email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Federal Aviation Administration maintains a network of over
2,100 remote communications outlets (RCOs) throughout the conterminous
United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The RCOs are used by its
contract service provider, Lockheed Martin Flight Services (LMFS), to
communicate with pilots in flight. Pilots can obtain weather briefings,
file flight plans and receive numerous other services by using these
frequencies.
The frequency infrastructure currently in use was developed nearly
50 years ago, with little or no modifications since. In 2005, LMFS took
over flight service operations at 58 locations in the Conterminous
United States (CONUS), Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. In doing so, it
inherited a vast network of 2,162 frequencies used to provide a variety
of services. For example, 347 frequencies are designated for emergency
use only and 194 frequencies are designated for military use only.
These 541 frequencies are not being considered for removal. The
remaining 1,621 frequencies can be divided into two groups.
(1) Remote communications outlets in which aircraft can contact a
flight service station by transmitting and receiving on a common or
discrete frequency, for example, 122.2, 122.5, etc. There are 1,223
RCOs in the CONUS.
(2) Frequencies that are co-located with navigational aids known as
VORs in which aircraft can contact flight service by transmitting on a
frequency (usually 122.1) and receiving on the appropriate VOR
frequency. There are 398 VOR frequencies in the CONUS.
The 1,621 frequencies cover a vast majority of the conterminous
United States and include duplicate, overlapping and seldom used
frequencies. Last year, FAA contracted the MITRE Corporation to study
the areas covered by RCO and VOR frequencies for possible removal
without significantly impacting the area of coverage. The study
concluded that as many as 666 frequencies could be removed and still
provide 99-100% coverage at 5,000 feet; 98-100% coverage at 3,000 feet;
and 93-100% coverage at 1,000 feet.
The FAA proposes to begin decommissioning 666 remote communications
outlets in the Conterminous United States, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii in
late 2017. Several types of frequencies are not considered a part of
this proposal: Frequencies especially designated for emergency or
military use; frequencies in the state of Alaska; and Ground
Communications Outlets (frequencies used by pilots while still on the
ground).
By reducing radio coverage, the Agency estimates that it can save
approximately $2.5 million annually in maintenance costs alone.
Additionally, more savings will be realized once property leases are
terminated and voice-switch communications infrastructure is decreased.
By soliciting comment to this notice, the FAA seeks to address
public concerns and will consider any comments in determining whether
to change the policy.
Applicability
A link to the frequencies proposed for decommissioning can be found
here: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/fs/media/RCO_Master_List.pdf.
Also, a link to maps showing frequency coverage throughout the
United States at various altitudes, with percentages of coverage can be
found here: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/fs/media/Radio_Reduction_Fed_Reg.pdf.
II. Additional Information
A. Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this notice by
submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency also invites
comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism
impacts that might result from adopting the notice in this document.
The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the notice,
explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting
data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments,
commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or if
comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit only one
time.
The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this action. Before acting on this notice, the FAA
will consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date
for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment
period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense
or delay. The agency may change this notice in light of the comments it
receives.
Proprietary or Confidential Business Information: Do not file
proprietary or confidential business information in the docket. Such
information must be sent or delivered directly to the person identified
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document, and
marked as proprietary or confidential. If submitting information on a
disk or CD-ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM, and identify
electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that
is proprietary or confidential.
Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), if the FAA is aware of proprietary
information filed with a comment, the agency does not place it in the
docket. It is held in a separate file to which the public does not have
access, and the FAA places a note in the docket that it has received
it. If the FAA receives a request to examine or copy this information,
it treats it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act
(5 U.S.C. 552). The FAA processes such a request under Department of
Transportation procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.
B. Availability of Documents
An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the
Internet by--
1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies or
3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680.
Commenters must identify the docket or amendment number of this notice.
All documents the FAA considered in developing this notice,
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from
the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item
(1) above.
[[Page 25486]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2016.
Steven Villanueva,
Acting Director of Flight Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-09992 Filed 4-27-16; 8:45 am]
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