Modification of Class E Airspace; Chappell, NE

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Direct final rule; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

This action amends Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, part 71 (14 CFR 71) by revising Class E airspace at Chappell, NE. A review of controlled airspace for Billy G Ray Field revealed it does not comply with the criteria for 700 feet above ground level (AGL) airspace required for diverse departures. The review also identified discrepancies in the legal description for the Chappell, NE Class E airspace area. The area is modified and enlarged to conform to the criteria in FAA Orders.

DATES:

This direct final rule is effective on 0901 UTC, August 5, 2004. Comments for inclusion in the Rules Docket must be received on or before June 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number FAA-2004-17421/Airspace Docket No. 04-ACE-22, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments on the Internet at http://dms.dot.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 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone 1-800-647-5527) is on the plaza level of the Department of Transportation NASSIF Building at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brenda Mumper, Air Traffic Division, Airspace Branch, ACE-520A, DOT Regional Headquarters Building, Federal Aviation Administration, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone: (816) 329-2524.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This amendment to 14 CFR 71 modified the Class E airspace area extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Chappell, NE. An examination of controlled airspace for Billy G Ray Field revealed it does not meet the criteria for 700 feet AGL airspace required for diverse departures as specified in FAA Order 7400.2E, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters. The criteria in FAA Order 7400.2E for an aircraft to reach 1200 feet AGL is based on a standard climb gradient of 200 feet per mile plus the distance from the airport reference point to the end of the outermost runway. Any fractional part of a mile is converted to the next higher tenth of a mile. The review also identified that the Chappell, NE Class E airspace area legal description was not in compliance with FAA Order 8260.19C, Flight Procedures and Airspace. The limit of the Class E airspace area extension should be defined as a distance from the Chappell nondirectional radio beacon (NDB). Inclusion of 1,200 AGL airspace in the legal description is unnecessary since this area is also defined in ANM CO E5 Denver, CO. This amendment expands the airspace area from a 6-mile radius to a 6.4-mile radius of Billy G Ray Field, defines the extension in relation to the Chappell NDB, corrects an error in the bearing from the NDB describing the Class E airspace area extension, deletes a description of 1,200 AGL airspace and brings the legal description of the Chappell, NE Class E airspace area into compliance with FAA Orders 7400.2E and 8260.19C. This area will be depicted on appropriate aeronautical charts. Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth are published in paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9L, airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 2, 2003, and effective September 16, 2003, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

The Direct Final Rule Procedure

The FAA anticipates that this regulation will not result in adverse or negative comment and, therefore, is issuing it as a direct final rule. Previous actions of this nature have not been controversial and have not resulted in adverse comments or objections. Unless a written adverse or negative comment, or a written notice of intent to submit an adverse or negative comment is received within the comment period, the regulation will become effective on the date specified above. After the close of the comment period, the FAA will publish a document in the Federal Register indicating that no adverse or negative comments were received and confirming the date on which the final rule will become effective. If the FAA does receive, within the comment period, an adverse or negative comment, or written notice of intent to submit such a comment, a document withdrawing the direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register, and a notice of proposed rulemaking may be published with a new comment period.

Comments Invited

Interested parties are invited to participate in this 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, aeronatucial, 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-2004-17421/Airspace Docket No. 04-ACE-22.” The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

Agency Findings

The regulations adopted herein will not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the national Government and States or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, it is determined that his final rule does not have federalism implications under Executive Order 13132.

The FAA has determined that this regulation is noncontroversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative comments. For the reasons discussed in the preamble, I certify that this regulation (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) if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

• Airspace
• Incorporation by reference
• Navigation (air)

Adoption of the Amendment

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows:

PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D, AND CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIRWAYS; ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS

1. The authority citation of 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.

2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal Aviation Administration Order 7400.9L, dated September 2, 2003, and effective September 16, 2003, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth.

ACE NE E5 Chappell, NE

Chappell, Billy G Ray Field, NE

(Lat. 41°04′39″ N., long. 102°27′51″ W.)

Chappell NDB

(Lat. 41°04′36″ N., long. 102° 27′ 32″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 6.4-mile radius of Billy G Ray Field and within 2.2 miles each side of the 142° bearing from the Chappell NDB extending from the 6.4 mile radius of the airport to 7 miles southeast of the NDB.