"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):
- Continue to reduce aircraft noise at its source.
- Use new technologies to mitigate noise impacts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Provide special consideration to locations in national parks and
other Federally (sic) managed areas having unique noise sensitivities.
- Ensure strong financial support for noise compatibility planning and
for mitigation projects.
The Noise Abatement Policy goals should include:
- Increased local control of airport noise and
expansion.
- Decrease the instances of noise interference that communities
experience.
- Reduce aircraft noise at its source (including
helicopters and craft weighing less than
75,000 pounds), ban huskits, and eliminate
sonic booms over land.
- Use new technologies to mitigate noise impacts and enforce more
stringent regulations such as minimum height above
ground rules.
- 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.
- Design prospective air traffic routes to protect residential areas to
new aircraft noise.
- Protect national parks, wilderness areas,
national monuments, national seashores, wildlife refuges, and other
pristine, culturally, or historically sensitive lands from aviation
noise.
- 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.
Click here for instructions.
Other Aircraft Noise
Resources