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"Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves."

Goals That Should Have Been in the Policy

The FAA's goals for the Noise Abatement Policy were weak and insufficient to abate noise and protect citizens.

The proposed goals are (Draft Noise Abatement Policy, Goals):

  1. Continue to reduce aircraft noise at its source.
  2. Use new technologies to mitigate noise impacts.
  3. Bring existing land uses into compatibility with levels of significant noise exposure around airports, and prevent the development of new noncompatible uses in these areas.
  4. Design prospective air traffic routes and procedures to minimize aviation noise impacts in areas beyond legal jurisdiction of airport proprietors, consistent with local consensus and safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace.
  5. Provide special consideration to locations in national parks and other Federally (sic) managed areas having unique noise sensitivities.
  6. Ensure strong financial support for noise compatibility planning and for mitigation projects.

The Noise Abatement Policy goals should include:

  1. Increased local control of airport noise and expansion.
  2. Decrease the instances of noise interference that communities experience.
  3. Reduce aircraft noise at its source (including helicopters and craft weighing less than 75,000 pounds), ban huskits, and eliminate sonic booms over land.
  4. Use new technologies to mitigate noise impacts and enforce more stringent regulations such as minimum height above ground rules.
  5. Bring existing land uses into compatibility with levels of significant noise exposure around airports by purchasing nearby land, and prevent the development of new noncompatible uses in these areas by purchasing land and development rights and donating them to a noise trust.
  6. Design prospective air traffic routes to protect residential areas to new aircraft noise.
  7. Protect national parks, wilderness areas, national monuments, national seashores, wildlife refuges, and other pristine, culturally, or historically sensitive lands from aviation noise.
  8. Ensure financial support for noise insulation of homes, churches, workplaces, and schools to a 45 dBA single event maximum.

Please tell the FAA how their goals are deficient.


Send comments in triplicate to:
Federal Aviation Administration
Office of the Chief Counsel
Attention: Rules Docket (AGC-200)
Docket No. [30109]
800 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20591

You may also submit your comments via email.
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