EMB ERJ 135 ER/LR
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors; Aircraft
Flight was operating with an FMS inoperative.  Per MEL procedure; Dispatch diligently planned an appropriate route considering the MEL.  This route was filed with the corresponding aircraft equipment codes through ATC.  When the Flight Crew went to activate the flight plan with ATC they received an 'amended clearance'.  The crew cleared this route with Dispatch before accepting the 'amended clearance'.  The route that ATC offered met the criteria of the MEL by designated name.  However when Dispatch ran the final check of the MEL procedure that calls for checking the status of all navaids an issue was found.  Two of the navaids that defined the route offered by ATC were out of service permanently.  One of the two out of service is also described to be 'decommissioned'.    ATC offered a route of LVL.RIC.OTT.OTT6.  Navaids LVL and OTT have corresponding Notam's declaring the VORs as 'out of service' permanently. The star OTT6 for arrival to BWI should be removed from service if the navaid that it is named for has been 'decommissioned' permanently.  Leaving this available as a non RNAV star is a possible trap for crews that do not get the information that the navaid has been decommissioned.
After Dispatch plans a route to use VOR Nav only; due to an inoperative FMC; ATC revises the route to use the OTT6 arrival to BWI. The OTT VOR is out of service and scheduled to be decommissioned. LVL is also part of the clearance and out of service.