Proposed Modification of Air Traffic Service (ATS) Route in the Vicinity of Newberry, MI, 12885-12887 [2018-06003]

Agencies

• Federal Aviation Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 58 (Monday, March 26, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12885-12887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06003]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0222; Airspace Docket No. 18-AGL-2]


Proposed Modification of Air Traffic Service (ATS) Route in the 
Vicinity of Newberry, MI

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to modify VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) 
Federal airway, V-316, in the vicinity of Newberry, MI. The FAA is 
proposing this action due to the planned decommissioning of the 
Newberry, MI (ERY), VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) 
navigation aid (NAVAID) which provides navigation guidance for portions 
of the affected ATS route. The Newberry VOR/DME is a non-federal 
navigation aid (NAVAID) owned by the State of Michigan that is planned 
to be decommissioned in September 2018.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 10, 2018.

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-2018-0222 and Airspace Docket No. 18-AGL-2 at the beginning of your 
comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
    FAA Order 7400.11B, 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 also available for inspection at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of FAA Order 7400.11B at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go 
to https://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: Colby Abbott, Airspace Policy Group, 
Office of Airspace Services, 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 amend the route structure in the Newberry, MI, 
area as necessary to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air 
traffic within the National Airspace System.

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-2018-0222 and Airspace Docket No. 18-AGL-2) and be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Management Facility (see 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-2018-0222 and Airspace Docket No. 18-AGL-2.'' 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

[[Page 12886]]

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 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 Blvd., 
Fort Worth, TX 76177.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11B, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017, and effective 
September 15, 2017. FAA Order 7400.11B is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11B lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

Background

    The Newberry VOR/DME is a non-federal navaid, owned and maintained 
by the State of Michigan, and is located on the Luce County Airport in 
Newberry, MI. The Federal Aviation Administration received a request to 
decommission the Newberry VOR/DME NAVAID from the Michigan Department 
of Transportation, Office of Aeronautics, stating the State of Michigan 
intended to permanently remove the NAVAID from service in September 
2018, due to financial constraints. The request included concurrence by 
the Airport Manager of the Luce County Airport. As a result, the FAA is 
planning to decommission the Newberry, MI, VOR/DME NAVAID facility 
effective on September 13, 2018.
    With the planned decommissioning of the Newberry, MI, VOR/DME, the 
remaining ground-based NAVAID coverage in the area is insufficient to 
enable the continuity of VOR Federal airway, V-316. As such, the 
proposed modification to V-316 would result in a gap in the airway and 
the enroute ATS route structure in the Newberry, MI, area between the 
Sawyer, MI, VOR/DME and Sault Ste Marie, MI, VOR/DME. To overcome the 
gap in the airway and enroute structure, instrument flight rules (IFR) 
traffic could circumnavigate the entire area using V-133 and V-193 via 
the Traverse City VOR/DME, file point to point through the affected 
area using fixes that will remain in place, or receive air traffic 
control (ATC) radar vectors through the affected area. Visual flight 
rules (VFR) pilots who elect to navigate via the airways through the 
affected area could also take advantage of the adjacent airways to 
circumnavigate, the fixes that will remain, or the ATC services 
previously listed.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 to modify the description of VOR Federal 
airway V-316. The planned decommissioning of the Newberry, MI, VOR/DME 
has made this action necessary. The proposed VOR Federal airway change 
is described below.
    V-316: V-316 currently extends between the Ironwood, MI, VOR/
Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) and the Sudbury, ON, Canada, VOR/DME. 
The FAA proposes to remove the airway segment between the Sawyer, MI, 
VOR/DME and the Sault Ste Marie, MI, VOR/DME. The unaffected portions 
of the existing airway would remain as charted.
    All radials in the route descriptions below are unchanged and 
stated in True degrees.
    VOR Federal airways are published in paragraph 6010(a) of FAA Order 
7400.11B dated August 3, 2017, and effective September 15, 2017, which 
is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The VOR Federal airways 
listed in this document would be subsequently published in the Order.

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 7400.11B, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2017 and 
effective September 15, 2017, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6010(a) Domestic VOR Federal Airways.

* * * * *

V-316

    From Ironwood, MI; to Sawyer, MI. From Sault Ste Marie, MI; 
thence via Sault Ste Marie 091[deg] radial to Elliot Lake, ON, 
Canada, NDB; thence to Sudbury, ON, Canada, via the 259[deg] radial 
to Sudbury. The airspace within Canada is excluded.
* * * * *


[[Page 12887]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2018.
Rodger A. Dean Jr.,
Manager, Airspace Policy Group.
[FR Doc. 2018-06003 Filed 3-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P