Revocation of Alaskan Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range Federal Airway V-414 and Amendment of United States Area Navigation Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Aviation Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>14 CFR Part 71</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FAA-2024-2348; Airspace Docket No. 23-AAL-53]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2120-AA66</RIN> <SUBJECT>Revocation of Alaskan Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range Federal Airway V-414 and Amendment of United States Area Navigation Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> This action revokes Alaskan Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airway V-414 and amends United States Area Navigation (RNAV) Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska. These actions are due to the decommissioning of the Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) portion of the Gambell NDB/distance measuring equipment (DME) in Alaska. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Effective date 0901 UTC, August 7, 2025. The Director of the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference action under 1 CFR part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order JO 7400.11 and publication of conforming amendments. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> A copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), all comments received, this final rule, and all background material may be viewed online at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> using the FAA Docket number. Electronic retrieval help and guidelines are available on the website. It is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. FAA Order JO 7400.11J, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at <E T="03">www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/.</E> You may also contact the Rules and Regulations Group, Policy Directorate, Federal Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20597; telephone: (202) 267-8783. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Steven Roff, Rules and Regulations Group, Office of Policy, Federal Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20597; telephone: (202) 267-8783. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Authority for This Rulemaking</HD> 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 modifies the Air Traffic Service (ATS) route structure as necessary to preserve the safe and efficient flow of air traffic within the National Airspace System. <HD SOURCE="HD1">History</HD> The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking for Docket No. FAA-2024-2348 in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> (89 FR 81406; October 8, 2024), proposing to revoke Alaskan VOR Federal Airway V-414 and amend RNAV Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska. Interested parties were invited to participate in this rulemaking effort by submitting written comments on the proposal. No comments were received. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Differences From the NPRM</HD> The NPRM proposed to replace the Gambell NDB/DME with a new waypoint (WP) FOXNO. After the publication of the NPRM, the FAA decided to retain the DME portion of the Gambell NDB/DME and continue with the decommissioning of the NDB. With the retention of the DME portion of the Gambell NDB/DME, the FOXNO WP will no longer be utilized by RNAV Routes T-248 or T-250. This action updates the route descriptions for T-248 and T-250 in accordance with that change. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Incorporation by Reference</HD> Alaskan VOR Federal Airways are published in paragraph 6010(b) and United States RNAV Routes are published in paragraph 6011 of FAA Order JO 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 on an annual basis. This document amends the current version of that order, FAA Order JO 7400.11J, dated July 31, 2024, and effective September 15, 2024. These amendments will be published in the next update to FAA Order JO 7400.11. FAA Order JO 7400.11J is publicly available as listed in the <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section of this document. FAA Order JO 7400.11J lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points. <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Rule</HD> This action amends 14 CFR part 71 by revoking Alaskan Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airway V-414 and amending RNAV Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska. These proposed actions are due to the decommissioning of the NDB portion of the Gambell NDB/DME in Alaska. <E T="03">V-414:</E> Prior to this final rule, V-414 extended between the Gambell, AK, NDB/DME and the Kukuliak, AK, VOR/DME. This rule revokes V-414 in its entirety. <E T="03">T-248:</E> Prior to this final rule, T-248 extended between the Gambell, AK, NDB/DME and the Emmonak, AK, VOR/DME. This rule amends T-248 by replacing the Gambell NDB/DME with the Gambell, AK, DME. As amended, T-248 would extend between the Gambell DME and the Emmonak VOR/DME. <E T="03">T-250:</E> Prior to this final rule, T-250 extended between the Kukuliak, AK, VOR/DME and the Bethel, AK, Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC). This rule extends the route westward by adding the Gambell, AK, DME to the route description. As amended, T-250 would extend between the Gambell DME and the Bethel VORTAC. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Regulatory Notices and Analyses</HD> 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. 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 only affects air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this rule, when promulgated, does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Environmental Review</HD> The FAA has determined that this action of revoking Alaskan VOR Federal Airway V-414 and amending RNAV Routes T-248 and T-250 in Alaska qualifies for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321, <E T="03">et seq.</E> ), and in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, paragraph 5-6.5a, which categorically excludes from further environmental impact review rulemaking actions that designate or modify classes of airspace areas, airways, routes, and reporting points (see 14 CFR part 71, Designation of Class A, B, C, D, and E Airspace Areas; Air Traffic Service Routes; and Reporting Points); and paragraph 5-6.5k, which categorically excludes from further environmental impact review the publication of existing air traffic control procedures that do not essentially change existing tracks, create new tracks, change altitude, or change concentration of aircraft on these tracks. As such, this action is not expected to result in any potentially significant environmental impacts. In accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, paragraph 5-2 regarding Extraordinary Circumstances, the FAA has reviewed this action for factors and circumstances in which a normally categorically excluded action may have a significant environmental impact requiring further analysis. The FAA has determined that no extraordinary circumstances exist that warrant preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact study. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71</HD> Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air). </LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Amendment</HD> In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS</HD> <REGTEXT TITLE="14" PART="71"> 1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority:</HD> 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389. </REGTEXT> <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 71.1</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>[Amended]</SUBJECT> </SECTION> <REGTEXT TITLE="14" PART="71"> 2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11J, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated July 31, 2024, and effective September 15, 2024, is amended as follows: <EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">Paragraph 6010(b) Alaskan VOR Federal Airways.</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">V-414 [Removed]</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD2">Paragraph 6011 United States Area Navigation Routes.</HD> <STARS/> <GPOTABLE COLS="3" OPTS="L0,tp0,p0,7/8,g1,t1,i1" CDEF="xls75,xls50,xls180"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1"> </CHED> <CHED H="1"> </CHED> <CHED H="1"> </CHED> <ROW EXPSTB="02"> <ENT I="22"> <E T="04">T-248 Gambell, AK (GAM) to Emmonak, AK (ENM) [Amended]</E> </ENT> </ROW> <ROW EXPSTB="00"> <ENT I="01">Gambell, AK (GAM)</ENT> <ENT>DME</ENT> <ENT>(Lat. 63°46′54.75″ N, long. 171°44′12.40″ W)</ENT ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 11k characters. 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