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Wednesday, December 13, 2000 Part V Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Routes for the Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight Rules Area; Notice VerDate 11<MAY>2000 12:18 Dec 12, 2000 Jkt 194001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\13DEN4.SGM pfrm01 PsN: 13DEN4 78072 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 13, 2000 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. 2000. The Grand Canyon Trust, the You may comment on the routes as you National Parks and Conservation Federal Aviation Administration desire, but you must identify that you Association, the Sierra Club, the are commenting on the commercial Wilderness Society, Friends of the Commercial Routes for the Grand routes for Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon and Grand Canyon River Canyon National Park Special Flight The FAA will consider all comments Guides, Inc. (hereinafter will Rules Area received on or before the closing date collectively referred to The Trust) filed AGENCY: Federal Aviation for comments before finalizing the air a petition for review of the same rules Administration, DOT. tour routes. The FAA will consider late- on May 22, 2000. The Court, by motion ACTION: Notice of availability and filed comments to the extent of the federal respondents, consolidated request for comments. practicable. that case with that of the Air Tour Providers. The Hualapai Indian Tribe of History SUMMARY: This notice announces the Arizona filed a motion to intervene in availability of and requests comments On April 4, 2000, the Federal the Air Tour Providers petition for on commercial routes for the Grand Aviation Administration published two review on June 23, 2000. The Court Canyon National Park (GCNP) Special final rules the Modification of the granted that motion on July 19, 2000. Flight Rules Area (SFRA). The Dimensions of the Grand Canyon On July 31, 2000, the Air Tour commercial routes are not being National Park Special Flight Rules Area Providers filed a motion for stay before published in today's Federal Register and Flight Free Zones (Air Space the FAA. Both the Hualapai Indian because they are on very large and very Modification), and the Commercial Air Tribe and the Trust filed oppositions to detailed charts that would not publish Tour Limitation in the Grand Canyon the Air Tour Providers' stay motion. On well in the Federal Register. The National Park Special Flight Rules Area October 11, 2000, (65 FR 60352) the modifications are related to safety (Commercial Air Tour Limitation). See FAA published a disposition of the stay concerns identified by air tour operators 65 FR 17736; 65 FR 17708; April 4, request, denying the stay. On October and evaluated by the Federal Aviation 2000. The FAA also simultaneously 25, 2000, the Air Tour Providers filed a Administration (FAA). With this notice, published a notice of availability of Motion for Stay and Emergency Relief the FAA invites comments on the Commercial Routes for the Grand Pending Review of an Agency Order modifications of these routes. This Canyon National Park (Routes Notice). with the Court of Appeals. The federal notice solely proposes administrative See 65 FR 17698, April 4, 2000. The respondents filed their Opposition of changes in air tour routes to improve Commercial Air Tour Limitations final Petitioner's Motion for Stay Pending safety; it has no effect on the Airspace rule became effective on May 4, 2000. Review and Notification of Modification rule published in April the Air Space Modification final rule Administrative Stay of Route and 2000 nor any effect on the Commercial and the routes set forth in the Routes Airspace Rules on November 2, 2000. Operations Limitation rule also Notice were scheduled to become The FAA then issued an administrative approved in April 2000. effective December 1, 2000. The stay of the routes and airspace until DATES: Comments must be received on effective date of the Air Space December 28, 2000 so that it could or before January 12, 2001. Modification final rule and the new further investigate some new safety routes was extended to provide the air ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed allegations raised by the Air Tour tour operators ample opportunity to commercial air tour routes may be Providers during the course of litigation train on the new route system during delivered or mailed, in duplicate to: (65 FR 69846 and 65 FR 69848; the non-tour season. The Final Federal Aviation Administration, November 20, 2000). Supplemental Environmental Attention: Gary Davis, Air Assessment for Special Flight Rules in Discussion Transportation Division, Flight the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National The Air Tour Providers petitioned the Standards Service, AFS±201, Rm 831, Park (SEA) was completed on February United States Court of Appeals for the 800 Independence Avenue, SW., 22, 2000, and the Finding of No District of Columbia Circuit for a review Washington, DC 20591. Comments may Significant Impact was issued on of the FAA's Commercial Air Tour be examined at the above address February 25, 2000. Limitations final rule and the Airspace between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays, On May 8, 2000, The United States Modification final rule. During the except Federal holidays. Air Tour Association (USATA) and ensuing litigation, the Air Tour FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: seven air tour operators (hereinafter Providers brought forth several new Howard Nesbitt, Special Assistant for collectively referred to as the Air tour safety issues regarding the east end National Parks, Flight Standards Providers) filed a petition for review of routes in the Dragon Corridor, the area Service, 800 Independence Avenue, the two final rules before the United north of the Zuni Point Corridor and SW., Washington, DC 20591, Telephone States Court of Appeals for the District around the Desert View Flight Free (202) 493±4981. of Columbia Circuit. The FAA, The Zone that were not clearly articulated in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA Department of Transportation, the prior comments to the agency during the is not publishing the commercial routes Department of Interior, the National rulemaking process. The FAA has in today's Federal Register because they Park Service (NPS) and various federal investigated the safety issues and has, in are on very large and very detailed officials were named as respondents in consultation with the NPS, developed charts that would not publish well in this action. On May 30, 2000, the Air suggested map changes to the routes to the Federal Register. You may obtain a Tour Providers filed a motion for stay improve safety in the Dragon Corridor copy of the commercial routes by pending review before the Court of and the area north of the Zuni Point contacting Denise Cashmere at (202) Appeals. The federal respondents in this Corridor, and around the Desert View 267±3717, by faxing a request to (202) case filed a motion for summary denial Flight Free Zone. These changes are 267±5229, or by sending a request in on grounds that petitioners had not reflected in the map that is the subject writing to the Federal Aviation exhausted their administrative of this Notice. The routes in the Marble Administration, Air Transportation remedies. The Court granted the federal Canyon area, Sanup region (the west Division, AFS±200, 800 Independence respondents summary denial on July 19, end of GCNP), and the routes running VerDate 11<MAY>2000 12:18 Dec 12, 2000 Jkt 194001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\13DEN4.SGM pfrm01 PsN: 13DEN4 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 13, 2000 / Notices 78073 east to west across the SFRA are not not significantly different than the that operators are able to navigate this reopened under this Routes Notice. current route structure and still placed area safely in visibility minimums, the However, for purposes of completeness, the turnaround south of the Dragon's FAA has added weather routes for both these routes are shown on the map Head. Thus, the FAA determined that fixed wing and helicopters. These routes together with the routes that are open this alternative would not provide would be closer to the Little Colorado for comment (Dragon, Zuni Point, adequate line of sight visibility for River and its canyons and thus should Kaibab Plateau and around Desert View oncoming traffic just prior to the be easy to navigate in marginal Flight Free Zone). turnaround and therefore would fail to conditions. The Dragon Corridor (Green Route 2/ address the safety issues. The FAA The placement of weather routes on 2R) would be modified by extending the invites comments on this decision. the map simply depicts an established turnaround approximately up to the The Green 1 and Black 1 routes north procedure for the operators should future incentive corridor for noise of the Zuni Point Corridor would be weather conditions require. Operators efficient aircraft (also sometimes modified to address concerns that the are always permitted to take whatever referred to as the Bright Angel Corridor). climb between Gunther's Castle and route is necessary for safety of flight in This creates a turnaround in the same Pete's Corner does not ensure adequate the event of adverse weather conditions. place as shown on the SFAR 50±2 map. vertical separation between fixed wing The FAA has projected that weather This change is necessary for safety aircraft and helicopters. The FAA has routes will be used less than 5 percent purposes because it was brought to the separated these two routes horizontally of the time. Thus, the depiction of the FAA's attention that the turnaround on and there would now be a slight weather routes is not a significant the Green 2/2R, shown on the map divergence between these two routes change from the route structure adopted published on April 4, 2000, occurs in an and then they would join up as they April 4, 2000.