FAA Procedures for Processing SUA Actions: Aeronautical and Environmental Summary Table

AERONAUTICAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

Pre-SUA ProposalProponent must coordinate with locally affect­ed ATC facilities and military units to discuss ­the concept (for example, new/revisions to ­SUA needed or required).

The DoD Proponent must coordinate an envi­ronmental review of its proposal (for both rule­making and non-rulemaking actions) with the ­appropriate FAA Service Center OSG Manager ­and Environmental Specialist early in the Pro­ponent's environmental documentation process ­to determine the potential for environmental ­impacts associated with the airspace portion of ­the DoD proposal.The Service Center Environmental Specialist is ­the FAA primary point of contact throughout ­the development of required environmental ­document reviews and required FAA adoption ­documentation. He/she is also responsible for ­ensuring DoD NEPA documents and FAA ­adoption NEPA documents comply with FAA ­Order 1050.1, paragraph 1-10.23, and Chapter ­32, Environmental Matters, of this order.

2.Service Center Airspace Specialist coordinates ­with the Service Center Environmental Spe­cialist to discuss the proposal's environmental ­review requirements.

If there is the potential for airspace environ­mental impacts1, Proponent must make a re­quest to the FAA for a Cooperating Agency ­(CA) status when Proponent decides to initiate ­the NEPA documentation process. Proponent ­forwards a request for Cooperating Agency Sta­tus to the Director of Mission Support, Policy ­(AJV-P). Rules and Regulations Group Manag­er (AJV-P2) and the AJV-P21 Environmental ­Specialist will prepare and forward the re­sponse to the DoD Proponent and coordinate ­the action for tracking by the Mission Support ­Environmental Policy Team (AJV-P21) which ­sends a courtesy copy of FAA's Acceptance of ­Cooperating Agency Status to the responsible ­Service Center Environmental Specialist.

3.Proponent meets with the ATC facility having ­jurisdiction over the affected airspace area to ­discuss mission requirements and desired SUA ­parameters.

Proponent submits a Preliminary Draft EA or ­Draft EIS (or other relevant environmental doc­umentation), along with the aeronautical infor­mation package, to the Service Center Mil Rep, ­who shares it with the Environmental Specialist ­for review and comment. For previously re­viewed and revised SUA actions, or proposals ­for re-activation of previously established ­SUA, the Service Center Environmental Spe­cialist should request, and DoD Proponent ­should submit, previous environmental analy­sis documentation to the Service Center Envi­ronmental Specialist who will review and in­corporate updated SUA information in the FAA ­Adoption document.The Service Center Environmental Specialist ­must provide comments, in consultation with ­the Service Center Airspace Specialist and the ­Headquarters Airspace and Rules Team (AJV-­P21), back to Proponent via the Service Cen­ter's Mil Rep and or other appropriate DoD ­project POC.

4.Proponent submits the SUA proposal to the ­FAA Service Center for review and processing ­by the Airspace Specialist.

5.After the Service Center Environmental Spe­cialist reviews the DoD Proponent's draft envi­ronmental document to ensure that all airspace ­and other pertinent and applicable environmen­tal issues were addressed per FAA Order ­1050.1, the Service Center Environmental Spe­cialist then forwards the DoD Proponent's draft ­environmental document to the FAA Headquar­ters Environmental Team (AJV-P21) for re­view and comment by the Headquarters Envi­ronmental Specialist and the Office of Chief ­Counsel (AGC-600) to begin Legal Sufficiency ­Review (LSR).6.The Service Center Environmental Specialist ­then prepares a draft FAA Adoption EA or ­Adoption EIS of the DoD Proponent's airspace ­portion of the proposed action, and sends it to ­AJV-P21 for policy compliance review and to ­AGC for LSR.

5.The Service Center Airspace Specialist, in ac­cordance with this order, determines the type of ­airspace action(s) necessary, either Non-Rule­making or Rulemaking. FAA service center de­termines if Informal Airspace Meetings are re­quired.

7.The DoD proponent reviews the FAA's com­ments on their Draft EA/FONSI or Draft EIS ­and prepares responses to comments, in consul­tation with FAA and other cooperating agencies ­as necessary, and in accordance with chapter 32 ­of this order. Proponent then incorporates ­FAA's comments into their NEPA document ­and prepares a Draft EA or EIS with a 30 to ­45-day public comment period.

8.Proponent prepares and submits their Final EA/­FONSI or EIS/ROD to the Service Center Envi­ronmental Specialist.

9.The Service Center Environmental Specialist ­amends, as necessary the Draft FAA Adoption ­EA-FONSI/ROD or Draft FAA Adoption EIS ­and ROD and submits the FAA's Adoption doc­ument to AJV-P21 for airspace review and to ­AGC for a final LSR.

10.AGC's comments are incorporated into the fi­nal FAA Adoption EA/FONSI or Adoption EIS/­ROD by the Service Center Environmental ­Specialist in coordination with the AJV-P21 ­Environmental Specialist.

11.The AJV-P21 Environmental Specialist pre­pares a signature copy of the final FAA Adop­tion EA/FONSI or Adoption EIS/ROD and sub­mits it for signature by the Headquarters Rules ­and Regulations Group Manager (AJV-P2). ­The AJV-P21 Environmental Specialist sub­mits signed copies of the document(s) to the ­DoD Proponent's POC, to AJV-P21 for final ­rulemaking action, and to the Service Center ­Environmental Specialist for their records.

12.The Service Center Environmental Specialist ­submits the signed Final FAA Adoption EA and ­FONSI or Adoption EIS and FONSI/ROD with ­the Proponent's Final EA/FONSI or EIS/ROD ­to the Service Center Airspace Specialist for in­clusion with the airspace proposal package, and ­provides a courtesy copy of the FAA's final ­Adoption document to the Service Center Mil ­Rep.

AERONAUTICAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

6.The Service Center Airspace Specialist:
a. Tasks the ATC facility to conduct an aeronau­tical study of the proposal;
b. Sends a circularization with a 45-day public ­comment period.
The Service Center Airspace Specialist reviews ­and prepares, in consultation with the DoD Pro­ponent, responses to the aeronautical comments ­from the aeronautical study and circularization ­in accordance with chapter 21 of this order.
c. Coordinates with the Service Center Envi­ronmental Specialist regarding environmental ­documentation.

See process above. The environmental docu­mentation review and development process is ­the same for non-rulemaking as for rulemak­ing.

7.The Service Center Airspace Specialist sends ­the completed package containing the aeronau­tical proposal, Aeronautical study, copies of ­comments, response to comments, DoD Propo­nent's Final EA/FONSI, and the Draft FAA ­FONSI/ROD, and a recommendation for final ­action to the Headquarters Rules and Regula­tions Group.

FOR RULEMAKING

AERONAUTICAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

8.The Service Center Airspace Specialist:
a. Tasks the ATC facility to conduct an aeronau­tical study of the proposal;
b. Sends the proposal to the Rules and Regula­tions Group who then prepares a Notice of Pro­posed Rulemaking (NPRM).
The Headquarters Rules and Regulations Group ­submits the NPRM for publication in the Feder­al Register with a 45-day comment period in ­accordance with chapter 2 of this order.

The Airspace Specialist receives the environ­mental document from the Service Center En­vironmental Specialist.

See process above. The environmental docu­mentation review and development process is ­the same for non-rulemaking as for rulemak­ing.

9.The Service Center Airspace Specialist reviews ­the comments on www.regulations.gov and co­ordinates with the proponent, as required, to re­solve aeronautical impacts.

10.The Service Center Airspace Specialist then ­sends the completed package containing the ­aeronautical study, response to comments, final ­Service Center recommendation, the proposal, ­Proponent's Final EA/FONSI or EIS/ROD, and ­the Draft FAA FONSI/ROD or Draft FAA ­Adoption Document/ROD to the Headquarters ­Rules and Regulations Group (AJV-P21) for ­preparation of the Final Rule.

11.The Service Center Airspace Specialist, in ac­cordance with this order, determines the type of ­airspace action(s) necessary, either Non-Rule­making or Rulemaking. FAA service center de­termines if Informal Airspace Meetings are re­quired.

9.The Headquarters Environmental Specialist ­(AJV-P21) reviews the draft final rulemaking ­and draft Federal Register Notice for compli­ance with FAA Order 1050.1; chapter 32 of this ­order and this appendix; drafts the environmen­tal compliance paragraph for the Federal Regis­ter Notice; then, as necessary, submits the ­changes to the environmental documentation to ­AGC-600 for legal sufficiency review.

10.AGC's comments are incorporated into the ­rulemaking document, returned to the AJV-­P21 Environmental Team for a final review, and ­forwarded back to the AJV-P21 Airspace and ­Rules Team.

10.For Non-rulemaking:

The Airspace Specialist submits the non-rule­making action to the Aeronautical Information ­Services (AIS) for publication in the National ­Flight Data Digest (NFDD).11.For Rulemaking:

The Airspace Specialist submits the Final Rule ­for publication in the Federal Register. The Fi­nal Rule will contain a reference to the decision ­rendered and location of documentation for the ­associated environmental process.