[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35047-35049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15443]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0549; Airspace Docket No. 19-AGL-22]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Amendment of Class D and E Airspace; Alpena, MI

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to amend the Class D airspace, the Class 
E surface airspace, the Class E airspace designated as an extension to 
Class D and Class E surface airspace, and the Class E airspace 
extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Alpena County 
Regional Airport, Alpena, MI. The FAA is proposing this action as the 
result of an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the Au 
Sable 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 
of MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, Alpena MI, 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 this airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 5, 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-2019-0549; Airspace Docket No. 19-AGL-22, 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 
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 D airspace, the Class E surface airspace, 
the Class E airspace designated as an extension to Class D and Class E 
surface airspace, and the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 
feet above the surface at Alpena County Regional Airport, Alpena, MI, 
and support IFR operations at the this airport.

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-2019-0549; 
Airspace Docket No. 19-AGL-22.'' 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

[[Page 35048]]

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 D airspace to within a 4.3-mile radius 
(decreased from a 4.4-mile radius) of Alpena County Regional Airport, 
Alpena, MI; and updating the outdated term ``Airport/Facility 
Directory'' with ``Chart Supplement'';
    Amending the Class E surface airspace to within a 4.3-mile radius 
(decreased from a 4.4-mile radius) of Alpena County Regional Airport; 
adding a 3,200 MSL altitude limit to the airspace legal description; 
removing the Alpena VORTAC and associated extensions from the airspace 
legal description; and updating the outdated term ``Airport/Facility 
Directory'' with ``Chart Supplement'';
    Amending the Class E airspace designated as an extension to Class D 
and Class E surface areas at Alpena County Regional Airport by amending 
the extension to the north to within 4.8 mile west and 3 miles east of 
the Alpena VORTAC 355[deg] radial extending from the 4.3 mile radius of 
the Alpena County Regional Airport to 7 miles north of the Alpena 
VORTAC; and removing the extension to the south from the airspace legal 
description, as it is no longer needed;
    And amending the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet 
above the surface to within a 6.8-mile radius (decreased from a 7-mile 
radius) of the Alpena County Regional Airport; removing the FELPS NDB 
and associated extension from the airspace legal description; adding an 
extension 10 miles west and 6 miles east of the Alpena VORTAC 355[deg] 
radial extending from the 6.8-mile radius of the Alpena County Regional 
Airport to 10 miles north of the Alpena VORTAC; adding an extension 3.9 
miles each side of the Alpena VORTAC 194[deg] radial extending from the 
6.8-mile radius of the Alpena County Regional Airport to 14.3 miles 
south of the Alpena VORTAC; and updating the name of MidMichigan 
Medical Center-Alpena, Alpena, MI (previously Alpena General Hospital), 
to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.
    This action is necessary due to an airspace review caused by the 
decommissioning of the Au Sable VOR, which provided navigation 
information for the instrument procedures at these airports, as part of 
the VOR MON Program.
    Class D and E airspace designations are published in paragraph 
5000, 6002, 6004, and 6005, respectively, 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 D and E airspace 
designation 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).

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 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

AGL MI D Alpena, MI [Amended]

Alpena County Regional Airport, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'41'' N, long. 83[deg]33'37'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
3,200 feet MSL within a 4.3-mile radius of Alpena County Regional 
Airport. 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 Chart Supplement.

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as a Surface Area.

* * * * *

AGL MI E2 Alpena, MI [Amended]

Alpena County Regional Airport, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'41'' N, long. 83[deg]33'37'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
3,200 feet MSL within a 4.3-mile radius of Alpena County Regional 
Airport. This Class E 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 Chart Supplement.

Paragraph 6004 Class E Airspace Areas Designated as an Extension to 
a Class D or Class E Surface Area.

* * * * *

AGL MI E4 Alpena, MI [Amended]

Alpena County Regional Airport, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'41'' N, long. 83[deg]33'37'' W)
Alpena VORTAC
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'58'' N, long. 83[deg]33'25'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface within 4.8 miles 
west and 3 miles east of the Alpena VORTAC 355[deg] radial extending 
from the 4.3-mile radius of the Alpena County Regional Airport to 7 
miles north of the Alpena VORTAC.

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

* * * * *

AGL MI E5 Alpena, MI [Amended]

Alpena County Regional Airport, MI
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'41'' N, long. 83[deg]33'37'' W)
Alpena VORTAC
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'58'' N, long. 83[deg]33'25'' W)
MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, MI, Point in Space Coordinates
    (Lat. 45[deg]04'38'' N, long. 83[deg]26'53'' W)


[[Page 35049]]


    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6.8-mile radius of Alpena County Regional Airport, and 
within 10 miles west and 6 miles east of the Alpena VORTAC 355[deg] 
radial extending from the 6.8-mile radius of Alpena County Regional 
Airport to 10 miles north of the Alpena VORTAC, and within 3.9 miles 
each side of the Alpena VORTAC 194[deg] radial extending from the 
6.8-mile radius of the Alpena County Regional Airport to 14.3 miles 
from the Alpena VORTAC, and within a 6-mile radius of the Point in 
Space serving MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 15, 2019.
John Witucki,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2019-15443 Filed 7-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


