Proposed Amendment of VOR Federal Airways V-7, V-341, and V-493; in the vicinity of Menominee, MI, 67377-67379 [2021-25608]

Agencies

• Federal Aviation Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67377-67379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25608]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR 71

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0994; Airspace Docket No. 21-AGL-14]
RIN 2120-AA66


Proposed Amendment of VOR Federal Airways V-7, V-341, and V-493; 
in the vicinity of Menominee, MI

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to amend VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) 
Federal airways V-7, V-341, and V-493, in the vicinity of Menominee, 
MI. The airway amendments are necessary due to the planned 
decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Menominee, MI, VOR/Distance 
Measuring Equipment (DME) which these airways utilize for navigation 
guidance. The Menominee VOR is being decommissioned as part of the 
FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (VOR MON) program.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 10, 2022.

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: 
(800) 647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You must identify FAA Docket No. 
FAA-2021-0994; Airspace Docket No. 21-AGL-14 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: Jesse Acevedo, 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

[[Page 67378]]

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 airway structure 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-2021-0994; Airspace Docket No. 21-AGL-14) 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-2021-0994; Airspace Docket No. 21-AGL-14.'' 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 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 decommissioning activities for the VOR portion 
of the Menominee VOR/DME with a proposed effected date of September 8, 
2022. The Menominee 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 
NextGen Transition to Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) (Plan for 
Establishing a VOR MON),'' published in the Federal Register of July 
26, 2016 (81 FR 48694), Docket No. FAA-2011-1082. Although the VOR 
portion of the Menominee VOR/DME is planned for decommissioning, the 
co-located Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) of the navigational aid 
is being retained.
    The airways affected by the Menominee VOR are V-7, V-341, and V-
493. With the planned decommissioning of the Menominee VOR, the 
remaining ground-based navigational aid coverage in the area is 
insufficient to enable the continuity of these affected airways. As 
such, the proposal would result in airway segments being removed for V-
7 and V-493, and the creation of an airway gap in V-341. To overcome 
the removed airway segments and the gap in the airway, instrument 
flight rules (IFR) traffic may use adjacent VOR Federal airways V-78, 
V-133, V-217, and V-271, or receive air traffic control radar vectors 
to navigate through or around the affected area. Additionally, IFR 
pilots equipped with Area Navigation capabilities may also file point 
to point through the affected area using fixes that will remain in 
place. Visual flight rules pilots, who elect to navigate through the 
affected area, may utilize the ATC services listed previously.

The Proposal

    The FAA is proposing an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to amend three 
VOR Federal airways. The proposed airway amendments are described 
below.
    V-7: V-7 extends between the Dolphin, FL, VOR/Tactical Air 
Navigation (VORTAC) and the Muscle Shoals, AL, VORTAC; between the 
Pocket City, IN, VORTAC and the intersection of the Chicago Heights, 
IL, VORTAC 358[deg] radial and the Badger, WI, VOR/DME 117[deg] radial; 
and between the Green Bay, WI, VORTAC and the Sawyer, MI, VOR/DME. The 
airspace below 2,000 feet MSL outside the United States is excluded and 
the portion outside the United States has no upper limit. The FAA 
proposes to remove the segment of the airway that extends between the 
Green Bay, WI, VORTAC and Sawyer, MI, VOR/DME. Additionally, upon 
review of the V-7 airway, the FAA has determined that the airway lies 
wholly within the United States; therefore, the FAA also proposes to 
remove the below 2,000 MSL exclusionary language and no upper limit 
language for the portion outside the United States. The unaffected 
portions of the existing airway would remain as charted.
    V-341: V-341 extends between the Cedar Rapids, IA, VOR/DME and the 
Houghton, MI, VOR/DME. The FAA proposes to remove the segment of the 
airway between the Green Bay, WI, VORTAC and the Iron Mountain, MI, 
VOR/DME. The resulting airway would extend between the Cedar Rapids, 
IA, VOR/DME and the Green Bay, WI, VORTAC; and between the Iron 
Mountain, MI, VOR/DME and the Houghton, MI, VOR/DME.
    V-493: V-493 extends between the Livingston, TN, VOR/DME and the 
Appleton, OH, VORTAC; and between the Menominee, MI, VOR/DME and the 
Rhinelander, WI, VOR/DME. The FAA proposes to remove the segment of the 
airway from the Menominee, MI, VOR/DME and the Rhinelander, WI, VOR/
DME. The resulting airway would extend between the Livingston, TN,

[[Page 67379]]

VOR/DME and the Appleton, OH, VORTAC.
    All of the navigational aid radials in the airway descriptions 
below are stated in True degrees.
    Domestic VOR Federal airways are published in paragraph 6010(a) of 
FAA Order JO 7400.11F, dated August 10, 2021, and effective September 
15, 2021, which are incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The VOR 
Federal airways listed in this document would be published subsequently 
in FAA 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 6010(a), Domestic VOR Federal airways.

* * * * *

V-7 [Amended]

    From Dolphin, FL; INT Dolphin 299[deg] and Lee County, FL, 
120[deg] radials; Lee County; Lakeland, FL; Cross City, FL; 
Seminole, FL; Wiregrass, AL; INT Wiregrass 333[deg] and Montgomery, 
AL, 129[deg] radials; Montgomery; Vulcan, AL; to Muscle Shoals, AL. 
From Pocket City, IN; INT Pocket City 016[deg] and Terre Haute, IN, 
191[deg] radials; Terre Haute; Boiler, IN; Chicago Heights, IL; to 
INT Chicago Heights 358[deg] and Badger, WI, 117[deg] radials.
* * * * *

V-341 [Amended]

    From Cedar Rapids, IA; Dubuque, IA; Madison, WI; Oshkosh, WI; to 
Green Bay, WI. From Iron Mountain, MI; Sawyer, MI; to Houghton, MI.
* * * * *

V-493 [Amended]

    From Livingston, TN; Lexington, KY; York, KY; INT York 030[deg] 
and Appleton, OH, 183[deg] radials; to Appleton.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Michael R. Beckles,
Acting Manager, Rules and Regulations Group.
[FR Doc. 2021-25608 Filed 11-24-21; 8:45 am]
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