Noise News for Week of October 11, 1998


Burbank Requests Glendale Take Active Role in Calif.'s Burbank Airport Curfew Issue

PUBLICATION: The Daily News of Los Angeles
DATE: October 17, 1998
SECTION: News, Pg. N3
BYLINE: Jesse Hiestand
DATELINE: Glendale, California

The Daily News of Los Angeles reports the Glendale City Council has scheduled an emergency, closed-door meeting today to discuss developments at California's Burbank Airport, where opposing factions have been discussing flight curfews.

According to the article, the Glendale Council meeting comes amid a number of developments aimed at resolving the longstanding feud between the airport and Burbank over the proposed expansion of the airport's passenger terminal. Burbank city officials want a curfew on nighttime flights before they will drop their objections to the construction of new, larger passenger terminal. Glendale officials have largely stayed out of this battle, but on Thursday, they were asked by Burbank's mayor to take a more active role in resolving this standoff. "The Burbank City Council believes this passive position serves to prolong the dispute," Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski wrote on Oct. 15 to his counterpart in Glendale, Eileen Givens. "Therefore, we request that you reconsider your position of noninvolvement and endorse an (airport noise study) by the Airport Authority and the city of Burbank in an effort to obtain a mandatory curfew and other limits on noise at the airport," Golonski wrote. Givens would not comment Friday.

The article states the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority is scheduled to meet Monday to consider starting a Part 161 noise study that could lead the Federal Aviation Administration to impose mandatory curfews on night flights. Glendale's three representatives on the nine-member authority, which also has members from Burbank and Pasadena, are also expected to be at the meeting, said council member Ginger Bremberg.

The article goes on to report, by appealing to Glendale leaders, Burbank officials may be trying to influence Glendale's airport commissioners, said airport spokesman Victor Gill. "Historically, in this rather long-running saga, the Burbank City Council has had a political tactic of trying to involve the Glendale City Council in the airport matter because they don't like the way the Glendale and Pasadena commissioners have opposed their desires about this terminal dispute," Gill said. However, momentum has been building toward ending the acrimony between the airport and Burbank. A promising development is that five of the six airlines that use the airport say they may accept a mandatory, enforceable 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, which would eliminate the need for a costly noise study and could pave the way for the airport to undertake its expansion.

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Burbank Airport's Airlines Reject Mandatory Curfews; Federal Noise Study May Lead to FAA Sanctioned Curfews

PUBLICATION: Los Angeles Times
DATE: October 17, 1998
SECTION: Metro; Part B; Page 1; Zones Desk
BYLINE: Andrew Blankstein
DATELINE: Burbank, California

The Los Angeles Times reports most airlines serving California's Burbank Airport have refused to accept a mandatory curfew, leaving the airport authority to consider a federal noise study.

According to the article, the rejection leaves airport officials to decide whether to begin the lengthy bureaucratic process with the federal government needed to impose a mandatory curfew, the goal of noise protesters led by the Burbank city government. The Air Transport Assn., which represents five of the airport's six airlines, refused Thursday to accept the airport management's suggestion that they agree to abide by the airport's voluntary 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, without exceptions. All but a handful of flights now observe the curfew, but those few early takeoffs are particularly troublesome to neighbors. Neil Bennett, the association's western regional director, said the group's members--which include Alaska, American, America West, United and Southwest airlines-said the curfew would affect their ability to respond to future customer demand. "There have been no conversations at this point with reference to a curfew agreement with Burbank Airport," Bennett said.

The article reports the airport's governing body, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, has been engaged in legal and political battles for years with the Burbank and Los Angeles city governments, as well as neighborhood residents groups, over aircraft noise. The noise battle has been extended into a struggle over the authority's attempts to build a new terminal, which the anti- noise forces have been fighting to block, contending it will make the problem worse. The airport contends it's demand for airline service, not the size of the terminal, that controls flight frequency, and that no curfew can be imposed without permission from the Federal Aviation Administration. Airport officials insist that they have never been opposed to a curfew or other noise cap and that they are exploring how such limits could be implemented, but will not violate federal law by acting unilaterally.

The article states the possibility that the airlines would agree to make the voluntary curfew mandatory--as suggested recently by airport officials and federal lawmakers--had raised hopes for an end to the battle. But Bennett's definitive 'no' opens the door to a process that could result in FAA approval of a mandatory curfew. The process, called a Part 161 study, could take as long as three years of hearings and paperwork. The nine-member Airport Authority is set to vote Monday on whether to request such a study. The city of Burbank offered Thursday to pay up to $250,000 of the cost. The Glendale City Council on Friday called a rare weekend meeting for today, a closed session at which the members will "discuss issues related to the airport," Mayor Eileen Givens said Friday. She would not elaborate.

The article goes on to say that while Burbank Airport spokesman Sean McCarthy declined comment on the airlines' stand, other officials said they were not surprised. "That's the position I would expect them to take," said Pasadena Mayor and Airport Authority President Chris Holden. "This is the issue that has long dogged our effort at moving forward toward relocating the terminal. Peter Kirsch, an attorney for Burbank, added, "You're not going to have the air carriers enthusiastically supporting any sort of constraint on operations," added. "The best you can hope for is that they will not vigorously oppose it."

According to the article, the Air Transport Assn. is not opposed to all limits on flight operations, and member airlines have a good record of compliance with the airport's voluntary restrictions, Bennett said. But the airlines object to mandatory restrictions because they would have trouble meeting them all the time due to factors beyond their control, such as weather, air-traffic delays or mechanical problems, he said. "What happens then?" Bennett asked. "That's the problem we have." The one airline operating at Burbank that does not belong to the association is Reno Air, which planned to begin 6:40 a.m. flights to San Jose, then backed down several weeks ago after neighbors protested. John Albrecht, Reno Air's director of airport affairs, had harsh words for the voluntary curfew, which he said Reno Air would observe only if other airlines do the same.

The article reports FAA Administrator Jane Garvey has been under increasing pressure from the area's congressional representatives to take action. When she met with residents, airport and Burbank officials in August, Garvey pledged to help resolve the issue. Last week Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) wrote her, urging the FAA to impose a mandatory curfew and other mitigation measures. Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) is waiting for a response from Garvey on whether the airport is covered by a grandfather clause in the law that grants some airports the power to impose tougher noise rules on their own authority. In a separate letter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California) also urged Garvey to address the curfew issue and review any legal precedent that might allow tighter noise restrictions without prior FAA approval. The FAA did not respond directly to the Air Transport Assn. statements. But during Garvey's trip to Burbank, the administrator left the door open for what in all likelihood will be the next step: a Part 161 study. "The 161 is a new experience both to the FAA and for airports and local communities as well," Garvey said. "I don't think you'll find the FAA suggesting one way or another . . . . If the local folks, after discussing it among themselves, say, 'Look, we think a 161 makes sense,' we will approach that."

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House Nixes Added Flights at Reagan National Airport

PUBLICATION: The Washington Times
DATE: October 17, 1998
SECTION: Part A; Business; Pg. A11
BYLINE: Peter Kaplan
DATELINE: Washington, DC

The Washington Times reports Congress won't be adding any new flights this year at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

According to the article, House negotiators nixed plans to increase the number of takeoffs and landings at Reagan National and the nation's three other restricted airports as part of the spending bill reached Thursday night. The added flights had been approved by the Senate as part of a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration. But a deal with negotiators from the House fell apart earlier this week after Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican, demanded that no new flights be added at O'Hare International Airport, the nation's busiest airport. "Instead of having a comprehensive bill that addressed all kinds of policy issues, including slot and perimeter rules, we have a six-month extension [of FAA authorization]," said one transportation lobbyist.

The article reports the Senate bill was designed to encourage competition in the airline industry by giving smaller airlines the opportunity to add flights at the nation's busiest airports. However, the added flights were vehemently opposed by local officials in Northern Virginia and Chicago, who say they will interfere with local airport planning and lead to more noise around Reagan National. At Reagan National, it would have added 12 round trips a day and eliminated the 1,250-mile limit on flights in and out of the airport. As part of the six-month extension, the budget negotiators also approved $1 billion in airport improvement funds for the next six months.

The article states lawmakers also agreed to another provision favored by major U.S. airlines, delaying enforcement of new federal airline competition guidelines until June 1999 at the earliest. The competition guidelines were imposed earlier this year by the Department of Transportation in an attempt to prevent major airlines like United and American Airlines from preying on smaller competitors. But the major airlines have lobbied heavily against the new guidelines, accusing the Department of Transportation of trying to "re-regulate" the industry. "There's an extensive amount of political lobbying going on by the large airlines trying to protect their markets," said Ed Faberman, a lobbyist who represents an alliance of smaller airlines that supports the new competition guidelines. Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican and chairman of the Commerce Committee, a major proponent of airline competition measures, said yesterday he was "deeply disturbed" that negotiators had dropped the new competition measures. McCain blamed the major airlines and the "parochial interests" of lawmakers from Northern Virginia and Chicago who, he said, "have taken down the entire FAA bill because of a few noise complaints from their districts."

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NH Couple Prosecuted after Neighbors Complain of Noisy Geese

PUBLICATION: The Associated Press State & Local Wire
DATE: October 16, 1998
SECTION: State And Regional
DATELINE: Meredith, NH.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire reports a New Hampshire couple is being prosecuted for noise violations after neighbors complained about noisy animals.

According to the article, Steven and Barbara Beaumont are accused of violating a town zoning ordinance by refusing to keep their geese quiet. The Beaumonts, who have raised animals for 17 years, contend they are protected by a law that prohibits neighbors of farms from complaining about the noise.

The article reports other residents of the Meredith Neck neighborhood, however, claim the geese, a raucous rooster and a couple of chickens amount to an "obnoxious" use of the land. They claim the couple doesn't have an established farm, but rather have acquired the birds over the years. Code Enforcement Officer Jack Dever said the Beaumonts once reduced the noise by moving the birds to the back of their property but have refused to keep them there. He said neighbors would stop complaining if the birds were moved permanently. "There is a cure for this - they can move the animals," Dever said. The Beaumonts pleaded innocent to the misdemeanor charge this week. A trial is scheduled for January.

The article states towns rarely prosecute residents for noise complaints, but state and enforcement officials say conflicts between farms and their neighbors are on the rise. "You're seeing the encroachment of suburbia on rural areas where agricultural activities have gone on for 200 or 300 years," said Steve Taylor, the state commissioner of agriculture. "There's a conflict there between a desire for suburban tranquillity and geese honking or cows blabbing or tractors on the road." A bill to strengthen a law that protects farmers from restrictive zoning ordinances died in the state Senate this year. Rep. Bob Brundige, R-Merrimack, who worked on the legislation, said the bill was meant to keep towns from taking farmers to court over something like the Beaumonts' geese.

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Road Noise Makes Life Unbearable in Upscale Maryland Planned Community

PUBLICATION: The Baltimore Sun
DATE: October 16, 1998
SECTION: Local (News), Pg. 1B
BYLINE: Erika Niedowski
DATELINE: Columbia, Maryland
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Rich and Karen Coyle, residents; Bill Bellamy, resident; Becky Terry, resident

The Baltimore Sun reports many residents in a Columbia, Maryland, planned community are subjected to unbearable noise from a four-lane highway that splits their community.

According to the article, the Coyle family who live in upscale River Hill is routinely bombarded by the sound of cars and trucks -- including 18-wheelers -- barreling past their back yard on Route 32. During the morning and afternoon rush hours, when the windows and back door are open, traffic makes it hard to hear the doorbell or the family room TV. In River Hill, Columbia's newest village, residents have complained for years about the constant noise of traffic from the four-lane highway that runs through their community. Homeowners have fought for sound barriers and noise -mitigating mounds of earth without success. The only relief in sight is a plan by the state to plant $50,000 worth of evergreen trees next spring between homes and the highway. Last month, in conjunction with Howard County and Rouse Co., which developed the village lots, the highway administration said it would plant more than 800 evergreens on both sides of the highway to address the problem. However, officials admitted this will do little, if anything, to lessen the noise; they said the benefit would be psychological.

The article reports some fed-up families are forced to investigate ways to help themselves. Rich and Karen Coyle, for instance, recently decided to have their 8-year-old son Andrew's bedroom soundproofed -- at a cost of about $4,000. "And that's just one room," said Rich Coyle, a 36-year-old actuary for the federal government, pointing to the two newly redone walls and $800 double-paned windows. The Coyle family moved to River Hill in 1994 -- two years before the highway replaced a two-lane road. As for Bill Bellamy, who lives on Morning Time Lane, he can't afford the $25,000 an engineer told him it would cost to soundproof the front part of his home. He says he's worried about the loss of property value. Not to mention his sleeping patterns. When the Bellamy family moved to Columbia a few years ago, the noise was so bad he and his wife spent the nights camped out in the back rooms with their children. Even now, says Bellamy, "The traffic and the trucks wake us up every morning."

The article states the noise is worse on the south side of Route 32. Becky Terry's home at the end of Morning Time Lane, for which she paid $200,000 three years ago, is widely recognized throughout River Hill as the worst affected by the noise. Terry's screened-in back porch, so close one can easily determine the make and model of cars speeding by, has been rendered virtually useless; she once tried to have a cookout there, but conversation became too difficult. Now she uses the patio just two or three times a year. No matter the season, Terry keeps the doors and windows closed. She uses the sound of the television to fall and stay asleep. Unless the set stays on all night, she regularly wakes up between 4 a.m. and 4: 30 a.m. when the truck traffic increases. Two tenants who rented Terry's finished basement have moved out, blaming the traffic. One left a note saying the noise affected not just her sleep, but her job performance, too. Terry admits she should have done more research before buying the house. If she had, she probably wouldn't have bought it at all. "I knew that there was a road," she explained. But, she added, "I had no idea that it would be this bad. Stupidly, I believed my builder" when he said sound mitigators would be put in place to shelter the property from the noise. " 'You'll never know there's a road out there,' " Terry recalls the builder telling her.

According to the article, state and local officials concede that sound levels in River Hill already have reached the levels the State Highway Administration projected for 2015. On Terry's property in the winter, when the trees are bare and the noise is loudest, one measurement read 70 decibels which is 5 decibels louder than is allowed in the county. A vacuum cleaner produces 80 decibels; a residential area at night, about 40 decibels.

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Burbank Airport Authority Criticizes City Officials for Refusing to Commit to Results of Noise Study

PUBLICATION: City News Service
DATE: October 16, 1998
DATELINE: Burbank, California

City News Service reports the Burbank City Council today proposed contributing up to $250,000 for a study on noise levels at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, but airport officials were skeptical about the offer.

According to the article, the proposal is a first step towards what Burbank hopes could be nighttime curfew at the airport, said City Manager Bud Ovrom. The city believes a study will show that noise levels at the airport are already above allowable levels. Burbank and the Airport Authority have been locked in a legal battle for years over whether a new terminal should be built at the field that has become increasingly popular with airline customers in the San Fernando Valley. Burbank officials have sided with Burbank homeowners, who are opposed to the noise and the effects it has on their lives and property values. To them, a new terminal means more noise. Currently, pilots are required to take off at relatively steep angles to avoid flying over nearby housing. However, the Airport Authority believes that the current terminal is too small and too close to the existing runways, based on Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The article reports Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski said, "We're trying to take a leadership role in resolving this dispute, and one way to do that is to become a full partner with the Airport Authority in conducting (the) study." The authority's lawyer, Richard Simon, says Ovrom already has indicated the city will reject the study if its authors conclude noise levels are acceptable. "Burbank has fought to avoid a ... study in our past mediations," Simon said. "Now they've jumped on the bandwagon. But they've left out the most crucial elements: they will not commit to live with the results of the study."

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Cleveland Says Airport Expansion Doesn't Mean Noise Increase; Mayor Announces Plans for Further Expansion while Airport Neighbors Continue to Wait for Home Soundproofing

PUBLICATION: The Plain Dealer
DATE: October 16, 1998
SECTION: Metro; Pg. 1B
BYLINE: Alison Grant and Alan Achkar
DATELINE: Cleveland, Ohio

The Plain Dealer reports the expansion of runways at Ohio's Cleveland Hopkins International Airport can happen while keeping any noise increase to a minimum, city officials said yesterday.

According to the article, Cleveland will use a variety of ways to lessen jet noise, such as altering the flight paths of planes, adjusting where they land on runways, and relocating taxiways. Another key factor is that Congress has ordered older, noisier aircraft phased out or retrofitted with quieter engines by the end of 1999. "Our goal here is no net impact beyond what is currently being experienced today," said Mark Perryman of Landrum & Brown, the city's airport consultant. Perryman spoke during a progress briefing by Mayor Michael R. White on Hopkins' $600 million expansion, which will include a new runway, taxiways and a regional jet terminal for Continental Airlines.

The article reports during yesterday's airport briefing, White also revealed that he met with Brook Park Mayor Thomas Coyne to discuss further Hopkins' expansion by razing the International Exposition Center. The I-X Center is in Brook Park, just south of Hopkins. White has said the current expansion, featuring one new runway, would accommodate air traffic in the region until 2015. He also wants to add a second new runway, through the site of the I-X Center. White would not reveal details of his talk with Coyne but described it as a "good meeting." White said, "I can't tell you whether or not we're going to be successful, but I can tell you we're ready to walk the extra mile." Coyne could not be reached for comment.

The article states White said that he had asked local business leaders and Continental, Cleveland's hub airline to consider helping the city buy the I-X Center. White said the key issue will be compensating Brook Park for any money it would lose with the I-X gone. The "real harm" of losing the building still needs to be defined, he added. White also said that he wanted Brook Park to participate in a task force he is forming with the Greater Cleveland Growth Association to study Hopkins expansion. The Growth Association has not taken a position on the I-X Center, and Coyne has stated repeatedly that a runway could be added without tearing it down. But A. Malachi Mixon III, who headed a Growth Association airport study, said yesterday that he also met with Coyne, and that the Brook Park mayor agreed to discuss how another runway could be added to Hopkins. He said Coyne wanted to study all options for expanding the airport but pointed out that if the I-X Center site emerged as the best option, "we would have to be prepared to look at the significant economic impact on the community."

According to the article, while city officials yesterday offered assurances that noise will not increase when the airport is expanded, residents who live near the airport are still waiting for the city to insulate their homes from jet noise. Ports Control Director Solomon Balraj yesterday would not say how many homes had been insulated since January. But in a briefing to the City Council several weeks ago, Balraj said the city had not started any homes in 1998, although crews were continuing work on some homes begun last year. Balraj told the council that the city was reorganizing the program to address homeowner complaints about workmanship. About 2,600 homes are on a waiting list for new doors, windows, heating units and other improvements to muffle jet noise. The White administration said in March that it would insulate 350 homes this year.

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Santa Fe Airport Neighbors Seek Noise Abatement Ordinance

PUBLICATION: Albuquerque Tribune
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: Pg. A2
BYLINE: Wire Reports
DATELINE: Sante Fe, New Mexico
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mary Ann Nothwang, resident

The Albuquerque Tribune reports a group of airport neighbors contend Santa Fe Airport officials are ignoring complaints about too many low-flying ear-piercing planes over homes in New Mexico at all hours.

The article reports Friends of Noise Abatement, a group of residents from communities within a four-mile radius of the airport, plans to ask for help from Santa Fe County commissioners representing the area, then go to the City Council requesting a noise abatement ordinance. "We want the pilots to fly and we want to live here and we want to come up with a solution that everyone can live with," said Mary Ann Nothwang of La Cieneguilla. "Planes will leave as late as 11 p.m. or 1 in the morning," she said.

The article states homeowners want the airport to limit takeoffs and landings to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., restrict runway use so planes do not go directly over homes, and require planes to use quieter approach techniques.

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Officials from Illinois' Palwaukee Airport Request Grant Money for Noise Study and Construction of Taxiway

PUBLICATION: Chicago Daily Herald
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Neighbor; Pg. 1
BYLINE: Shamus Toomey
DATELINE: Springfield, Illinois

The Chicago Daily Herald reports officials from Palwaukee Municipal Airport bid for millions of dollars in grants for airport improvements. Plans for the grant money include an update of a noise study and construction of part of a taxiway on the main runway's west side.

The article reports a group of top local elected, appointed and airport management officials attended the state's annual Transportation Improvement Projects meeting seeking money for projects that include a revised noise study for the airport, new taxiways and reconstructed runways. "We got some indications that they're willing to work with us down there," airport Manager Fred E. Stewart Jr. said Friday of the group's presentation before officials from the local branch of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation. Notification of which projects will be funded for the fiscal year that ends in September of 2000 is not expected until the middle of next year, Stewart said.

The article states a concern now is when the airport will receive money promised this summer by Gov. Jim Edgar as part of the current fiscal year's Airport Improvement Program. Before any money can be handed out, the expired federal program must first be re-authorized by Congress, he said. "Right now, there's no money available," Stewart said. In June, Edgar announced the allocation of $3.4 million for the removal of tree obstructions near the south side of the airfield and the partial funding of a long-sought taxiway along the east side of the airport's longest runway.

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Critics Say Flight Tests at El Toro Won't Give Accurate Noise Picture

PUBLICATION: The Orange County Register
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. A01
BYLINE: Mary Ann Milbourn
DATELINE: Los Angeles, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Bill Kogerman, head of the anti-El Toro airport Taxpayers for Responsible Planning

The Orange County Register reports critics say El Toro flight tests next year won't give accurate noise picture at California's proposed airport site.

According to the article, although a $2 million El Toro flight test next year will include a Boeing 747, airport critics say it still won't answer their questions about noise. The county El Toro Airport Citizens Advisory Commission on Tuesday recommended the Board of Supervisors go forward with a flight demonstration in four to five months. Under the plan, five different types of aircraft, ranging from the short-haul Boeing 737 to the jumbo 747, will take off and land at the base up to six times over two days. The jets will take off to the east or the north and land from the south on the same flight paths the county has proposed for the El Toro airport.

The article reports Bruce Wetsel, county El Toro reuse aviation manager, said there will not be enough landings and takeoffs to conduct a scientific noise assessment. The demonstration will give residents and workers around the base a sense of what the airport would be like, he said. Bill Kogerman, head of the anti-El Toro airport Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, said the proposed test is a waste of time because it won't demonstrate the real conditions of a big airport such as the inclusion of night flights in the test. "When would you be most annoyed by noise - during the day when there is a lot of ambient sound or at night when you are trying to read, watch television or sleep? " Kogerman asked.

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San Francisco Airport Asks FAA to Extend Nighttime Noise Ban on Stage 2 Jets

PUBLICATION: The Associated Press
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: Domestic News
DATELINE: San Francisco, California

The Associated Press reports the San Francisco International Airport has asked the FAA to extend a nighttime ban for some of the loudest jets in use.

According to the article, if approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport would prohibit the takeoffs and landings of certain aircraft for 12 hours each day, said airport spokesman Ron Wilson. "We feel we have an obligation to our neighbors to provide a quiet atmosphere in neighborhoods," Wilson said. "We not only have a moral obligation, but a legal one as well. The FAA has control over the airplanes, but the airport is responsible for the noise they create." An existing ban already prohibits Stage 2 jets from operating between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., he said. The new restriction would ban takeoffs and landings between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The article reports that three stages of aircraft now are in operation in the United States with Stage 1 planes the noisiest and Stage 3, the quietest, Wilson said. Stage 1 aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and nonretrofitted DC-8 planes are not allowed in San Francisco. About 8 percent of the aircraft operating at SFO are Stage 2, he said. Under the current regulations, Stage 2 planes are permitted with approval from the airport operator. Federal law requires that all Stage 2 airplanes be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2000.

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Bottling Plant in Georgia Works to Resolve its Noise Problem

PUBLICATION: The Atlanta Journal
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: Rockdale Extra; Pg. 11Jr
BYLINE: Peter Scott
DATELINE: Rockdale County, Georgia
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Lorrie and Roger Gladden, residents; Hoyt and LaTrell Oliver, residents

The Atlanta Journal reports residents in the Georgia towns of Covington and Oxford soon will get relief from the noise of a nearby bottling plant.

According to the article, Saint-Gobain Desjonqueres Glass, a French-owned company that makes cosmetic bottles for Coty, Estee Lauder and Chanel, has announced that it will spend $40,000 to resolve its noise problem, which residents have endured for more than a year. The company is trying to find a way to quiet the noise produced by an intake valve at the plant. Human resources manager Diane Feorino said SGD has hired Ron Moulder of Valley Forge, PA, an acoustical expert in noise abatement, to come up with a solution by the end of the year. "We are trying to be a good neighbor," said Feorino, who lives in Covington.

The article reports Oxford and Covington officials praised the company's efforts. "This is good news, and we appreciate their assistance," said Oxford Mayor Don Turner. Lorrie Gladden said she and her husband, Roger, spend many days sitting on the porch of their Clark Street home, and the noise from the plant is an unwelcome companion. Hoyt Oliver, a neighbor a few doors away, even recorded the sound on Easter morning so that others might hear what he and his wife, LaTrell, were experiencing at their home. His wife traced the noise to the company.

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Airlines Consider Formal Curfew at Burbank; Agreement Could Lead to New Terminal

PUBLICATION: The Daily News of Los Angeles
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: News, Pg. N3
BYLINE: Lee Condon
DATELINE: Burbank, California

The Daily News of Los Angeles reports more than half of the airlines that use Burbank Airport are considering accepting a formal curfew on night flights. Their acceptance of a mandatory nighttime curfew could pave the way for a new passenger terminal.

According to the article, executives at Southwest, American, United and Alaska airlines said in interviews Tuesday and Wednesday that they are evaluating a request from airport officials to formalize what has been a voluntary curfew. Officials at Reno Air could not be reached, and AmericaWest executives would not comment. A mandatory curfew on commercial flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. has been a key demand by Burbank officials fighting the relocation and expansion of the terminal. Five morning takeoffs and three evening landings now violate the voluntary curfew during those hours.

The article reports city officials say expansion would increase the noise burden on residents. Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom said Wednesday that a curfew would be a major step in resolving the battle - especially given the airlines' previous refusal to consider a curfew. "It wasn't even, 'We'll think about it.' It was, 'Hell, no' in the past," Ovrom said. "We see a lot of positive things happening right now," Ovrom said. "But I don't know if it's a charade or if it's sincere." The development comes after Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey met in August with city and airport officials to break the stalemate. The curfew is not the only obstacle to an agreement on expansion, but Ovrom said it is the city's top priority. Once a curfew is imposed, Ovrom said he expects the city and the airport will able to compromise on the issues of flight caps, noise budgets and the number of gates at the new terminal.

The article states the airlines' reactions come in response to a letter from airport Executive Director Thomas Greer asking them to uphold a curfew even though they have been wary of setting a national precedent by accepting such limits. "Are we putting the airlines on the hot seat? Hell, yes!" Greer said. Greer on Monday will recommend that the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Commission start a Part 161 study - the first step in asking the Federal Aviation Administration to impose a mandatory curfew on the airlines. But if the airlines agree on their own to restrict flights, he expects the study would be unnecessary. "Let's save the time and money and come to an agreement and get the FAA to bless it," Greer said. While he does not expect answers from the airlines by the meeting Monday, Greer said he wants direction from them soon.

According to the article, Carol Pearson, a spokeswoman for Southwest, said no decision has been made on Greer's request. While Southwest has no flights scheduled during the voluntary curfew, as the largest operator at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, it has much at stake in how the facility operates. Southwest has been a strong proponent of the airport's expansion. While the company has not decided whether it will cut a deal with Burbank Airport and the other airlines, Pearson said it would comply with any future FAA rules. "Southwest would follow anything FAA mandates regarding the curfew," Pearson said. United spokesman Andy Plews said officials "are aware of (Greer's) letter and we're studying it." United schedules one 6:30 a.m. flight outside the curfew's limits. Alaska Airlines has a 6:55 a.m. scheduled departure, but the plane typically takes off after 7 a.m. "We're always concerned about curfews at any airport because it limits our operational capability. Our guys are still digesting this," said Lou Cancelmi, a spokesman for Alaska Airlines. "We believe we have a record of being sensitive to community concerns." Officials at American Airlines, which does not break the curfew, are considering the mandatory version. "I doubt we would oppose something like this," said American Airlines spokesman Mark Slitt, who noted that with only four flights a day at Burbank, American is not a big player in the debate. "We would prefer not having operating restrictions. However, we understand communities have certain needs and want to protect themselves from noise. " Reno Air officials could not be reached for comment, but last month they agreed to move a scheduled 6:40 a.m. departure back to 6:50 a.m. to come closer to the voluntary curfew.

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Newport, Rhode Island, Waives Noise Ordinance for High School Football Games

PUBLICATION: Providence Journal-Bulletin
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: News, Pg. 1C
BYLINE: Vaughn Watson
DATELINE: Newport, Rhode Island

The Providence Journal-Bulletin reports officials in Newport, Rhode Island, waived the noise ordinance for the season's remaining high school football games after neighbors complained of noise at a local field.

According to the article, cheerleaders, dancers and the band can continue to make noise at Friday night football games at Toppa Field. The City Council last night waived a noise ordinance at the field for the varsity squads' remaining three games. Mayor David S. Gordon proposed the resolution after a handful of residents called police to complain about too much noise coming from the night games. The city is also repositioning speakers at the field so they broadcast only to crowds, not to neighbors, said Councilman Dennis F. McCoy. The measure to waive the ordinance passed unanimously.

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Extended Limits on Noisy Planes at San Francisco Airport Applauded by Airport Group

PUBLICATION: The San Francisco Chronicle
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. A19
BYLINE: Julie N. Lynem
DATELINE: San Francisco, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mary Griffin, vice chairman of the Airport Community Roundtable

The San Francisco Chronicle reports San Francisco International Airport has asked the FAA to extend a nighttime ban on Stage 2 aircraft.

According to the article, if approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport would prohibit the takeoffs and landings of Stage 2 aircraft -- the loudest and often oldest models of aircraft allowed at the airport -- for 12 hours each day, said airport spokesman Ron Wilson. An existing ban already prohibits Stage 2 jets from operating between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., he said. The new restriction would ban takeoffs and landings between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Three stages of aircraft now are in operation across the nation: Stage 1 planes are the noisiest, and Stage 3 are the quietest, Wilson said. The majority of planes landing at San Francisco airport are Stage 3, the most modern airplanes built. Federal law already states that all Stage 2 airplanes must be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2000.

The article reports Mary Griffin, vice chairman of the Airport Community Roundtable, an advisory group that negotiates with the airport on noise issues, said the short-lived restrictions would be better than none. "I think it's a very important step toward the negotiation and cooperation between the airport administration and the cities," said Griffin, who also is vice president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. "Stage 2 (planes) will be ruled out eventually anyway, but it would be nice to have an early reprieve." The roundtable stands behind the request 100 percent, Griffin said. "With that will come more efficient airplanes," she said. "And that will be good for the airlines and for the environment." If approved by the FAA, the restriction would go into effect in March.

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Town in Washington Adopts Noise Ordinance After Hearing Complaints about Car Stereos

PUBLICATION: The Seattle Times
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: East; Pg. B4; Briefly
DATELINE: Woodinville, Washington

The Seattle Times reports the Woodinville, Washington, City Council has adopted a noise ordinance after receiving numerous noise complaints from citizens about loud car stereos.

According to the article, under the new ordinance, vehicle audio systems cannot be audible from more than 50 feet. The city also has banned loud noises from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. In most cases, Police Chief Ken Wardstrom said violators will be asked to turn down the volume or keep quiet. If they ignore the initial warning, they will be cited, he said.

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St. Charles, Missouri, Council May Join Suit Against Lambert Runway

PUBLICATION: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: St. Charles Post, Pg. 1
BYLINE: Ralph Dummit
DATELINE: St. Charles County, Missouri
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Dan Foust, councilman; Bob Schnur, council chairman

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the St. Charles County Council is getting closer to joining in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction of a runway at Lambert Field, an expansion that would bring the airport two miles closer to St. Charles.

According to the article, St. Charles edged closer Tuesday night to joining County Executive Joe Ortwerth and the city of Bridgeton in a suit aimed at blocking the construction of a runway at Lambert Field. But the council's threat of litigation could be offset if the city of St. Louis, which owns Lambert, moves toward an agreement with St. Charles County that the new runway would not result in more aircraft noise over St. Charles. The council's resolution gives St. Louis 30 days in which to take "substantive action" toward completing certain actions . . . such that the consummation of the noise agreement appears to be imminent and inevitable." The resolution does not say an agreement must be reached, just that an agreement is closer at hand.

The article reports council members have agreed that Lambert needs to expand. Whether W-1W (the name of the airport configuration favored by St. Louis and approved by the FAA) is the answer is questioned. The strongest opposition to W-1W has come from Councilman Dan Foust, R-6th District. Meanwhile, Councilman Carl Bearden, R-7th District, cautioned, "We should withhold judgment." Bearden said Tuesday night that he expects "to see something from St. Louis" within the next 30 days. Bearden, who has spearheaded the talks with St. Louis officials about a noise agreement, said late last month, "Yes, we believe a noise agreement can be worked out with St. Louis. We've been dealing with the city for over a year." But, Bearden said, mostly the problem is that "we've not been successful in getting (St. Louis) Mayor (Clarence) Harmon's attention." Council Chairman Bob Schnur, R-3rd District, said last week that "the time for talk is over, and it's time to get something done."

The article states this week's resolution is linked to another decree passed by the council at its last meeting in 1996. In that decree, the council stated the "necessary and prudent" actions required if W-1W is to receive the support of the council. One of those actions was for airport and St. Louis officials to acknowledge "that there is a noise issue" in St. Charles County now. The county's resolution sought action to "develop and implement a plan to assess actual noise levels" in the county. Next, the county's resolution sought to "identify a consensus noise level for St. Charles County with noise levels not to exceed current levels." None of these actions has been achieved. In addition, the 1996 resolution called for the development of "a noise agreement with significant penalties for failure to abide by the terms and conditions as has been accomplished at other airports around the country." Presumably, that agreement is what St. Louis is expected to propose within 30 days or face another opponent in court.

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City Planners in Chesapeake, Virginia, Reject Speedway Based on Projected Noise

PUBLICATION: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: Local, Pg. B1
BYLINE: Lewis Krauskopf
DATELINE: Chesapeake, Virginia
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Robert Affeldt, resident

The Virginian-Pilot reports noise was one of the environmental factors commissioners in Chesapeake, Virginia, cited in rejecting a proposed speedway.

According to the article, planning commissioners recommended against a proposed speedway Wednesday, agreeing with city planners who reversed their earlier ruling after clarifying some confusion over which measurements the sound study used. A re-examination of the analysis found that points in four neighborhoods would be pushed beyond the city's neighborhood limit for noise. The new noise findings led planners to recommend against granting the conditional-use permit. Commissioners cited noise in rejecting a project they felt would not fit near residential Western Branch neighborhoods. "I would love to see (the track) in Chesapeake," Commissioner Gladys A. Wilfore said. "But I'd really rather put it somewhere else." The vote to deny the project was 8-1.

The article reports regardless of the recommendations by staff or the Planning Commission, the City Council is scheduled to make its own decision Oct. 27. Before the commissioners voted, citizens on each side of the issue spoke at length in front of a packed audience. For proponents, the proposed track represented a chance to bring in tax dollars to the city and a stadium to see their favorite sport, what some saw as a basic right. "I'm a taxpayer in Chesapeake," said Sherry Garrison of Deep Creek. "I think I should be able to drive 15 minutes to watch a sport I enjoy." Opponents contended that a speedway next to their neighborhoods would bring noise, air pollution and traffic, risking their property values and damaging their quality of life. "Ask yourself this," said Robert Affeldt of Jolliff Woods. "Would you want a racetrack in your backyard?" Commissioners and residents also voiced concerns over adding an entrance to the track from Jolliff Road, what one resident called, "narrow, two-lane twisting Jolliff Road." The addition of the Jolliff Road access would be necessary because fans leaving the main access would be allowed only to turn right onto westbound Route 58.

The article states the track would be the first professional sports venue in Chesapeake. Races would be similar to those of Langley Speedway in Hampton and Southside Speedway outside Richmond, its promoters say, including limited stock, grand stock, pure stock and late-model cars. The owner of the site, John C. Holland Jr., has said the track will be the centerpiece of his family's property, around which he has plans for a large hotel and convention center, restaurants and an office complex. Those plans would require additional zoning changes and are based on the racetrack's approval, Holland has said. The entire project would bring the city about $1 million in annual tax revenues, $425,000 from the racetrack, according to a study commissioned by the racetrack's developers. The city has not conducted its own market study for the track.

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Illinois Judge Dismisses Part of Parish's Noise Case Against O'Hare

PUBLICATION: Chicago Tribune
DATE: October 15, 1998
SECTION: Metro Du Page; Pg. 3; Zone: D
BYLINE: Art Barnum
DATELINE: Elmhurst, Illinois

The Chicago Tribune reports an Illinois county judge dismissed some elements of a lawsuit filed by a school against Chicago over soundproofing against O'Hare International Airport noise.

According to the article, DuPage County Judge Rodney Equi on Wednesday dismissed the part of the lawsuit filed by Immaculate Conception Catholic School that alleges the airport noise is a legal nuisance, but he allowed the parts of the lawsuit that say the noise causes damage. Attorneys from the school asked that a trial be held at the earliest possible date because the church and the school want to begin a multimillion-dollar capital renovation campaign. They contend the work cannot start until a decision is made on the level of noise -proofing protection that would be undertaken.

The article reports it was more than two years that the city promised to soundproof the school and parish from roaring jets. In September of 1997 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet filed suit on the parish's behalf, charging that Chicago reneged on its promise to soundproof the buildings. When Immaculate Conception filed its suit, the parish was seeking $7.6 million in soundproofing from Chicago. City officials said they were willing to pay $4 million.

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Santa Fe, New Mexico, Airport Neighbors Seek Noise Abatement Ordinance after "Flying Friendly" Program Fails

PUBLICATION: The Associated Press
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: State And Regional
DATELINE: Santa Fe, New Mexico
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mary Ann Nothwang, resident

The Associated Press reports neighbors of New Mexico's Santa Fe Airport are dissatisfied with the level of cooperation they've received from airport officials about noise complaints.

According to the article, airport officials are ignoring complaints about numerous low-flying ear-piercing planes over homes at all hours, airport neighbors say. Friends of Noise Abatement, a group of residents of communities within a four-mile radius of the airport, plans to call for help from Santa Fe County commissioners representing the area, then go to the City Council requesting a noise abatement ordinance. "We want the pilots to fly and we want to live here and we want to come up with a solution that everyone can live with," said Mary Ann Nothwang of La Cieneguilla. "Planes will leave as late as 11 p.m. or 1 in the morning," she said. Homeowners want the airport to limit takeoffs and landings from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., restrict runway use so planes do not go directly over homes, and require planes to use lower-power approaches that are quieter.

The article reports a trial "Flying Friendly" program ran from June 15 to Aug. 22 to test whether residents, pilots and airport officials could abide by a verbal agreement to lessen noise by rerouting planes to avoid residential areas and placing time limits on runway operations. Residents said while some local pilots supported the program, others ignored it. They also said they didn't get cooperation from airport officials. Airport Manager Mike Halpin said his part in the program was to allow residents to post signs and make notifications. "We agreed to do everything they asked to us do. I don't know what more can be done," he said. "There was changes that had to be made on how the airport operated, but how the pilots flew, that was not up to me."

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Citizens' Group Says Study Shows Increased Flights at Dallas' Love Field Will Create Dangerous Noise and Traffic Levels in Texas Neighborhoods

PUBLICATION: The Dallas Morning News
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. 32A
BYLINE: Nora Lopez
DATELINE: Dallas, Texas
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Russ Jewert, co-chairman of the Love Field Citizens Action Committee

The Dallas Morning News reports increasing flights at Dallas Love Field would lead to more noise and longer traffic delays on nearby streets, according to a study paid for by a neighboring homeowners group.

According to the article, the Love Field Citizens Action Committee commissioned the study - which it has forwarded to the U.S. Department of Transportation - in response to a change in federal law that would allow expanded flights at the city-owned airport. If aircraft operations at Love Field are increased from the current 225,000 per year to 400,000 as projected by the Department of Transportation, the resulting noise and traffic levels would further threaten surrounding neighborhoods, said Russ Jewert, co-chairman of the Love Field citizens' group. Members of the neighborhood group contend residents traveling near Love Field would experience unacceptable delays at intersections and that other nearby streets would be clogged by motorists searching for alternative routes. Furthermore, the study found that the increased traffic will create hazardous situations exiting and entering the Dallas North Tollway during rush hour traffic. "Now we face a scenario in which the results of more than 18 years worth of successful community and municipal efforts to create an equilibrium between the needs of Dallas neighborhoods and its inner-city airport are being destroyed," Jewert said Tuesday at a City Hall news conference. The group urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct an environmental impact study before it decides whether to allow additional flights out of Love Field.

The article reports the neighborhood group also was critical of the city's response to their concerns. They urged the city to conduct its own environmental impact study. Last week, the City Council tentatively agreed to spend about $75,000 to do its own traffic and noise study. City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said the city has been getting "conflicting messages" on how it can or cannot limit the airport's growth. But she said the city is trying to assess what will be the impact to surrounding neighborhoods should the airport expand services. The city has installed noise monitors and a flight-tracking system that allows the city to identify movement in and out of Love Field, she said. "Obviously a noise study is something I've advocated for and we are going to do it," Lill said. "And we are asking for clarification as far as managing Love Field. In some ways, the feds are saying . . . [the city has] proprietary rights, but you can't use them in certain ways."

The article states the neighborhood issue surfaced last October when Congress changed the law that limited flights at Love Field to Texas and its four surrounding states. Fort Worth sued Dallas a day after the law was changed to prevent the city from allowing additional flights. That suit is pending. Fort Worth is seeking a declaration from the court that Dallas is obliged to limit flights at Love Field because of a 1968 contract it signed in setting up Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Dallas contends its authority to limit flights has been precluded by congressional action. State District Judge Bob McCoy said he would delay a decision in Fort Worth until he could get further input from attorneys.

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Texas Town to Meet about Leaf-Blower Noise and Pollution

PUBLICATION: The Dallas Morning News
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Park Cities; Pg. 4N; News Briefs
DATELINE: Highland Park, Texas

The Dallas Morning News reports Highland Park, Texas, will address leaf-blower noise and pollution at a public meeting.

According to the article, a Town Hall meeting is planned to address public complaints in Highland Park about leaf-blower noise and pollution. The hearing will be at 5 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers of Town Hall. The Town Council's Public Safety Committee has been researching the issue for three months and is seeking comment from residents. For more information, call (214) 526-0880.

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Hearing Experts in England Call for Restrictions on Noise Levels in Cinemas

PUBLICATION: Evening Herald (Plymouth)
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Pg.19
BYLINE: Louise Yearling
DATELINE: Plymouth, England
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Maggie Paine, co-ordinator of the Hearing and Sight Center at Pounds House

The Evening Herald reports hearing experts in Plymouth, England, say film-makers are turning up the volume to dangerous levels which could lead to hearing loss.

According to the article, hearing experts are calling for tighter controls on the level of noise allowed in cinemas as volume is increased by film-makers to enhance special effects. Experts have recorded a volume of 110 decibels for the climax of the film Armageddon - a level at which damage to the ears may start after less than two minutes. This compares to the action scenes of Bonnie and Clyde, a blockbuster in the 1960s, which produced 80 decibels.

The article reports this threat to hearing has urged charities for the deaf in Plymouth to call for restrictions on the volume of films. Maggie Paine, co-ordinator of the Hearing and Sight Center at Pounds House, said: "Prolonged and short bouts of loud noise is dangerous. Film producers seem to be using sound to produce an effect." She hopes the message will hit home as Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated in Britain. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People has pledged to look into cinema sound levels.

The article states Dave Huxham, a technician at the Drake Odeon Cinema, said the cinema does not have digital sound - which enhances noise levels. He said every film is checked for sound levels before it is screened.

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Airport Foes Say Tests at California's El Toro Won't Show Long-Term Effects

PUBLICATION: Los Angeles Times
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Metro; Part B; Page 1; Metro Desk
BYLINE: Lorenza Munoz
DATELINE: Orange County, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Paul Eckles, executive director of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority; Bill Kogerman, director of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning

The Los Angeles Times reports opponents of turning El Toro Marine Base into a commercial airport say planned testing will yield inaccurate results while airport boosters say test results will reduce residents' noise concerns.

According to the article, the Board of Supervisors will decide next week whether to conduct two days of commercial flight tests at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station aimed at demonstrating the noise that residents would endure if the base is converted into a commercial airport. County planners proposed testing a variety of jets including Boeing 747s and 757s over a two-day period: a weekday and a weekend. The tests are similar to those conducted at John Wayne Airport in 1979 before that airport's expansion. El Toro boosters believe the new proposal could also reduce noise concerns of South County residents who live around the base. "This will just let people stand out there and listen to it," said Newport Beach Mayor Thomas C. Edwards, an airport supporter.

The article reports airport foes charge that two days' worth of flight testing would not accurately depict the long-term impacts of a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation at El Toro. The flight demonstrations would begin at sunrise and end at sunset. "Obviously, it's not designed to be an accurate simulation of an airport," said Paul Eckles, executive director of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a coalition of South County cities that oppose the airport. "It appears the only reason to do this is for its propaganda value, and spending $3 million on a propaganda piece is a very expensive way to spend the taxpayers' money," Eckles added. Critics said the proposed demonstrations are flawed because they don't include the types of late-night and early-morning heavy cargo flights proposed for the El Toro international airport. "If we can't draw up scientific conclusions, then why are we having it?" said Bill Kogerman, head of anti-airport group Taxpayers for Responsible Planning. "An airplane coming in at 2 in the afternoon compared to 2 in the morning is a different story."

The article states county officials said they considered more extensive flight tests but decided they would be too costly. Therefore, the county decided on about 40 arrivals and departures a day during the testing--far less than the hundreds of flights projected for El Toro by 2020. "The cost of running a full-scale simulation would be prohibitive," said El Toro airport spokeswoman Ellen Cox Call. Under the proposal, the test flights would land from the south, and take off both to the east and to the north, following those flight paths proposed in the county's El Toro airport plan. But the paths have yet to win final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, and the nation's top pilots union has raised questions about their safety.

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Group Outlines Requests in Effort to Live with Noise from New Mexico's Santa Fe Airport

PUBLICATION: The Santa Fe New Mexican
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Local; Pg. B-1
BYLINE: Kim Baca
DATELINE: Santa Fe, New Mexico
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mary Ann Nothwang, resident; Rebecca Smith, resident

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports residents who live near New Mexico's Santa Fe Municipal Airport will bring their requests to county commissioners in an effort to get support in lowering airplane noise.

According to the article, Friends of Noise Abatement, a group of residents of communities within a four-mile radius of the airport, recently conducted a 60-day study. The study was part of a trial "Flying Friendly" program that ran from June 15 to Aug. 22 to determine whether residents, pilots and airport officials could abide by a verbal agreement to lower noise levels by re-routing planes to avoid residential areas and placing a time limit on runway operations. Residents said they received support from some local pilots but felt others ignored the program. Residents also said they didn't receive cooperation from airport officials. As a result, the group plans to seek support from county commissioners representing their area and then ask the City Council to create a noise abatement ordinance. "Planes will leave as late as 11 p.m. or 1 in the morning," said La Cieneguilla resident Mary Ann Nothwang. "We are out in the country, so most of our noise is dogs barking or horses. When a big plane takes off and rattles our windows, it is pretty frightening, not to mention pretty frustrating. "This is a difficult thing," Nothwang added. "We want the pilots to fly and we want to live here and we want to come up with a solution that everyone can live with."

The article reports Andy Wells, a pilot and chairman of the Aviation Association of Santa Fe who helped in the study, feels an ordinance may be unnecessary. He said that during the trial period, local pilots seemed to adhere to the program, but it may have been pilots from outside the area who may have been unaware it was under way. "You can't stop all the noise from an airport," he said. "It's a part of the infrastructure and a valuable one. There is a tremendous amount of money that the airport brings into the city."

But residents said they don't want to stop airport operations. They want to find ways to live with their neighbor. "Airports from across the country have noise -abatement programs," said Rebecca Smith, whose windows rattle sometimes even though she lives three miles from the airport. "We have been battling this since 1994. The problem is not going to go away." The homeowners are asking for:

Limiting takeoffs and arrivals to between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

A restriction on runway use so planes do not go directly over homes

A policy requiring planes to use lower-power approaches that are quieter.

The group also would form a noise -abatement board comprised of community residents, one city councilor, county commissioner, airport manager and local pilot to make changes and find way to keep the program effective.

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Residents Say Generator a Noise Nuisance in England Town

PUBLICATION: The Sentinel (Stoke)
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Environment: Pollution, Pg.12
BYLINE: Justine Hollins
DATELINE: Stoke, England
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Kevin Sanders, resident; Alfred Sandland. resident

The Sentinel reports residents of Stoke, England, contend noise from a generator powering temporary traffic lights is making their life hell.

According to the article, the borough council initially told residents on Albion and Stewart Streets that repairs to a collapsed drain would take five days. But after discovering the problem involved a private sewer, the town has been locked in a dispute with the homeowner over who should do the work. Two weeks later the work still isn't done, and the loud generator is still running.

The article reports residents who have had to put up with a loud generator outside their homes from approximately 7.30am to 8pm seven days a week, are outraged. Resident Kevin Sanders said: "It is disgusting. We know the work needs to be carried out and that's fine but all we want is a quieter generator. This one is far too noisy and is even on over the weekend, it's unbearable." And neighbor Alfred Sandland said: "I can hear the motor running all day long. I cannot have the windows or doors open because the noise is far too loud."

The article states Chris Hindle, senior engineer for the borough council, said the generator was the quietest available to them, and the noise was "acceptable." Hindle said: "The generator is silent at night and charges itself for around 12 hours during the day. I am sure the noise is an inconvenience to residents, but we are doing our best to minimize it for them. We are working with the householder and her insurers to ensure the matter is resolved as soon as possible."

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Florida's Martin County Enacts Noise Ordinance

PUBLICATION: The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Local; Pg. B1
BYLINE: Kevin Osborne
DATELINE: Stuart, Florida
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Donna Mainini, resident; Janet Gettig, county commissioner

The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News reports many residents of Stuart, Florida, are pleased with new noise restrictions adopted by the commissioners of Martin County.

According to the article, the ordinance imposes maximum decibel levels for commercial and residential areas, and says violators could be fined $500. County commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt the rules, which had been discussed and fine-tuned since spring. About a half-dozen residents who supported the proposal applauded the commission's decision. Most said they had struggled with persistent noise problems near their homes for years. "If you don't live with a noise problem, you don't appreciate the physical and mental stress," said resident Donna Mainini. Mainini's home is near the Stuart Skateway, and she said loud music from the skateway has vibrated her walls for years. Mainini and her husband recently spent $12,000 on sound muffling features for their house, which did little to solve the nuisance. "The skateway illustrates a good example of why we need a noise ordinance, because they wouldn't do anything about it," Mainini said.

The article reports under the new noise rules, residential areas would be prohibited from producing noises above 60 decibels during the day, and 55 decibels at night. Commercial areas would be restricted to 65 decibels during the day, and 60 decibels at night. Also, radios, cassette players and similar devices are prohibited from emitting noise heard more than 100 feet away when operated publicly. "What we're proposing here is not out of line," said Commissioner Janet Gettig, who supported the ordinance. "These are standard in many, many jurisdictions."

The article states that before a concession to local home builders, it seemed the ordinance was headed for a delay. Don Santos, of the Treasure Coast Builders Association, said a provision limiting all activity at residential construction sites between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. was too restrictive. Hot midday temperatures limit the work hours at construction sites, and less noisy activities such as landscaping and painting should be allowed earlier in the day, when the weather is cooler, Santos said. Commissioners then changed the provision to allow the use of construction tools and equipment with sound-reducing features. "I'm happy with the exemption we got," Santos said after the vote. "Generally, residential construction is a loud business. It would have been difficult to build homes otherwise."

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Outdoor Entertainer in Bath, England, Banned after Residents Complain of Noise

PUBLICATION: Western Daily Press
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: News, Pg.16
DATELINE: Bath, England

The Western Daily Press reports a popular outdoor entertainer in Bath, England, recently received a citation for disturbing the peace.

According to the article, Graham Walker's amplifier was too loud for Bath's Abbey churchyard, and now he has been banned from playing in the city's main squares indefinitely. The entertainer was served with a noise abatement notice after complaints that his singing was disturbing the peace. Although he says he turned the volume down and did not play through Sunday services at the Abbey, it seems his efforts were not enough. Walker says he has to use an amplifier to be heard above the other performers. He said he'll appeal if he gets support from local businesses and the Bath public. It appeared the public is behind him.

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County Council Approves Noise-Reduction Plan for Washington's Boeing Field; Activists Not Satisfied

PUBLICATION: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
DATE: October 13, 1998
SECTION: News, Pg. B2
BYLINE: Neil Modie
DATELINE: King County, Washington
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Tim O'Brian, resident

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports an ambitious program that will reduce aircraft noise at Boeing Field won the unanimous approval of Washington's King County Council yesterday. Some activists and airport neighbors disapprove of the plan.

According to the article, the plan includes several noise -reduction efforts at the county-owned facility, officially known as King County International Airport. They include plans to insulate nearby homes and construct a $5.5 million "hush house," or insulated hangar, to reduce noise from engine testing. Critics, including residents of nearby Georgetown, say the result will be an increase in air-cargo and other traffic. Georgetown residents also have attacked the airport management's proposal to move the airport runway 800 feet to the north, toward their neighborhood. The Georgetown Community Council has filed a lawsuit to block any expansion, and the Magnolia Community Club is considering suing if the county signs any new leases with air carriers. "The deceptive thing is, (the council) actually passed this (ordinance) under the guise of an airport noise reduction plan," Tim O'Brian, a Georgetown activist, complained after the 12-0 vote.

The article reports County Councilman Dwight Pelz, whose district includes Georgetown and other areas near the airport, said the noise-reduction plan "keeps the airport in operation and protects the neighborhoods surrounding Boeing Field." He has pushed for additional noise abatement efforts. At Pelz's insistence, the county will increase efforts to monitor the impact of airport noise on eight schools near Boeing Field. Other efforts will include construction of a noise barrier in Georgetown, development of a residential noise -insulation program, preparation of an air-quality study, and a requirement that new long-term airport leases provide for periodic review of compliance with noise -reduction regulations.

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Officials at Wisconsin's Waukesha County Airport Invite Residents to Discuss Noise and Expansion Concerns

PUBLICATION: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
DATE: October 13, 1998
SECTION: Aukesha Pg. 2
BYLINE: Lori Holly
DATELINE: Waukesha, Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Wisconsin residents will have an opportunity to meet with Waukesha County Airport officials later this month to discuss airport noise and expansion.

According to the article, airport officials announced the meeting Monday. "Our goal is to provide Waukesha County residents and airport users with a forum to obtain information on what is happening at the airport, and to answer their questions on how our expansion may affect them," Airport Manager Glenn said. Januska promised last March to hold periodic meetings to give neighbors an opportunity to express their concern s. Air traffic at the airport increased steadily over the past several years, including an unprecedented 27% jump from 1996 to 1997. Through May of this year, the airport recorded 32,910 operations-- a 6.11% increase over the first five months of last year. Airport officials have attributed much of the growth to an increase in corporate jets flying into and out of the airport. More than $15 million in improvements to the airport in recent years, including a new terminal, has made the airport more popular with businesses.

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NC Resident Says No to FedEx Hub in Greensboro; Noise Tops Reasons

PUBLICATION: News & Record
DATE: October 13, 1998
SECTION: Editorial, Pg. A8
DATELINE: Greensboro, North Carolina
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: William J. Powers, resident

The News & Record published a letter from Greensboro, North Carolina resident, William J. Powers, who opposes a Federal Express hub at the local airport. Powers' primary objection is noise. He writes:

"Having just moved to Greensboro, I see where Federal Express wants to establish a hub at the airport. Having spent time in other cities with air freight hubs, I think that Greensboro would be better off without one. The first factor against a hub is the noise. When the jets start departing after 4 a.m., a wall of sound is created. Both my wife and I, who have slept through burglaries, were wakened by this din each morning.

"Another factor is how many more trucks will be on our roads every day. Not all FedEx freight flies, and there could be hundreds of trucks clogging the roads as they move in and out of the hub every day. The trucks add to the noise and air pollution.

"Finally, there is the people-rush at the end of the "sort." At some companies, once the freight has been re-sorted, people are free to go home. And many of them go home in a hurry since they have other jobs and school. They pass trucks departing the hub, and anything else that gets in their way, with little regard to road markings.

"It would be better to say 'no, thank you' to FedEx, and spend development dollars on business that maintains or enhances the quality of living in Greensboro."

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Noise from New Jersey Firing Range Pits Neighboring Towns

PUBLICATION: The Record
DATE: October 13, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. L01
BYLINE: Charles Yoo
DATELINE: Allendale, New Jersey
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mark Webber, resident; Les Shenkler, resident

The Record reports the neighboring New Jersey towns of Allendale and Waldwick are engaged in a dispute over noise from a Waldwick firing range.

According to the article, Waldwick promised a year ago to enclose the range so it would no longer disrupt the peace. Now, Allendale officials are accusing Waldwick of dragging its feet. They're demanding that the pistol range be shut down immediately and remain that way until the enclosure is completed. The Capt. George H. Bunning Police Training Facility is used for state-mandated police qualifications by municipalities and for recreation by private pistol clubs. Mark Webber of Allendale lives 100 feet from the range, where the annual "turkey shoot" is taking place this month. On a recent Sunday morning, his peace was ruined by gunfire. "Pop, pop, pop," said Webber. "Boom. Boom. Boom. It's Sunday; Sunday is when you are supposed to rest." Waldwick says it's working as fast as it can to enclose the range. Borough officials argue that searching for an architect, obtaining state grants, and seeking bids take time. "We're moving forward," said Waldwick Mayor Rick Van Wende.

The article reports the pistol range has been an issue in Allendale's municipal election as well. A fourth-term councilman who is challenging Mayor Albert Klomburg in the Nov. 3 election accuses the current administration of being too passive. "We haven't been pro-active enough," Councilman David Duffy said. He urged the council to seek a court injunction to shut down the range temporarily. Instead, a divided council on Thursday approved an agreement that calls for Allendale to pay $25,000 to help build the enclosure. Waldwick is charging the same amount to other towns whose police use the facility. Allendale police have not used the Waldwick range for a few years, fulfilling their training in Mahwah. The $650,000 project is being funded with $435,000 in state grants and $370,000 from the towns.

The article states Allendale officials say Waldwick has misled them often about the range. For one thing, they say, Waldwick recently told the state Community Affairs Department that it will "abate" the noise, rather than promising to eliminate it. "We want the noise eliminated," Klomburg said. "We don't want it reduced." Van Wende said Allendale is arguing over semantics and said his borough will do everything it can to alleviate the noise. Many Allendale residents are still skeptical. For one thing, they say, Waldwick officials promised earlier this year that no shooting would take place on Sundays. But the turkey shoot began on Sunday and will be completed this weekend. "It sounded like Bosnia," said Les Shenkler, whose home sits 300 feet from the range.

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Virginia Speedway Gets OK from City Planners Despite Noise Concerns

PUBLICATION: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
DATE: October 13, 1998
SECTION: Local, Pg. B1
BYLINE: Lewis Krauskopf
DATELINE: Chesapeake, Virginia

The Virginian-Pilot reports city planners in Chesapeake, Virginia have approved a controversial motorsports speedway, saying noise can be satisfactorily mitigated.

According to the article, traffic and noise concerns aside, the city's planners have signed off on the proposal for Chesapeake's first motorsports speedway. There will be louder nights and more congested roads in surrounding Western Branch neighborhoods, according to the Planning Department's report on the controversial project. But planners felt noise and traffic effects could be mitigated. They attached a list of contingencies should the track win approval. Those include the construction of noise walls along the track and changes to Route 58 and Jolliff Road - both of which would have entrances to the speedway. The department's recommendation means simply that the racetrack plans meet the requirements for a conditional use permit. The City Council, which is scheduled to decide the issue Oct. 27, often goes against its staff. But "you've got to walk before you can run," said the owner of the proposed site, John C. Holland of Driver. "I'm tickled to death with their report." Holland said Monday that he would meet the city's stipulations. He said the noise walls would be a "win-win situation" because the inside could be used for advertisements.

The article reports residents of nearby communities have worried that their Friday and Saturday nights would be ruined by the noise of weekend races. The city's report was delayed for two months to obtain an independent sound study. Monday's report indicated that the area would get louder, but the noise would remain within acceptable levels, according to city ordinances. Audio, Light and Musical, which conducted the analysis for the city, measured potential noise by studying the Orange County Speedway in North Carolina and neighborhoods within a two-mile radius of that track. AL&M engineers superimposed the data gathered there onto neighborhoods within the same distance of the proposed track in Western Branch. The largest decibel level increases were at two points in the neighborhood of David's Mill, and on Old Soldier Road. But nowhere on property adjacent to the track did sound levels exceed 75 decibels, the maximum allowable for land zoned for agriculture use. But the consultants included qualifiers in its report. "Sound travel is difficult to predict," the report reads. "Staff remains concerned about the impact the race track operation may have on those homes closest to the track."

According to the article, the speedway, which would be four-tenths of a mile plus a hundred feet, would be the first professional sports venue in Chesapeake. Races would be similar to those of Langley Speedway in Hampton and Southside Speedway outside Richmond, its promoters say, including limited stock, grand stock, pure stock and late-model cars. Holland said the track will be the centerpiece of the property, around which he plans a hotel and convention center, restaurants and perhaps an office complex. Those plans would require additional zoning changes, and are predicated on the racetrack winning approval, Holland has said. The entire project will bring the city about $1 million in annual tax revenues, $425,000 from the racetrack, according to a study commissioned by the racetrack's developers. The city has not conducted its own market study for the track.

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1946 Landmark Ruling Could Help NC Residents Fight FedEx at Piedmont Airport

PUBLICATION: The Associated Press
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: State And Regional
DATELINE: Greensboro, North Carolina
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Thomas Lee Causby, resident

The Associated Press reports a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a chicken farmer could affect the outcome of the proposed FedEx hub at Greensboro, North Carolina's, Piedmont Triad International Airport.

According to the article, in 1946 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the government had wrongly taken property to build an airport near a chicken farmer, whose livelihood was ruined by airplane noise. Federal Express is now looking to build a hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport, the same airport involved in the case 52 years ago. Although, no lawsuits have been filed to challenged the hub, the former court case could be the legal card for nearby landowners who fear the hub with decrease their property values and quality of life.

The article reports Thomas Lee Causby, who lived within a half-mile of the runway at what was then Lindley Field, sued the U.S. government in 1942 after low-flying military planes destroyed his peace and quiet. Aircraft noise scared his chickens, literally, to death. The Greensboro chicken farmer's case rose to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1946 that the government had wrongly "taken" Causby's land and not compensated him fairly for ruining his life. "The irony here is amazing," said Jeff Peraldo, a lawyer who lives near Piedmont Triad airport. The $300 million hub, which ultimately will employ 1,500, is scheduled to have at least 22 planes fly in and out of Piedmont Triad airport between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night. Some attorneys have told homeowners they don't yet have a reason to sue. No runway has been built. No noisy planes fly over their houses now and likely won't until the hub opens in 2003. The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority has said it would try to route FedEx planes so they come in from the less-populated south end and take off in the same direction.

The article states the Constitution's Fifth Amendment requires that property owners be compensated fairly when their land is taken for a public use, such as a road or school. Writing for the majority, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas said in the 1946 decision: "Flights over private land are not a taking, unless they are so low and so frequent as to be a direct and immediate interference with the enjoyment and use of the land." A landmark ruling at the time, it since has been upheld and frequently used to support other lawsuits.

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New York Rally Protests Airport Noise and Its Health Effects on Children

PUBLICATION: Newsday
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: News; Page A21
BYLINE: Sara Neufeld
DATELINE: New York City (Queens), New York
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Joseph Fabio, rally spokesman; John Procida, member of the Bowne Park Civic Association; Ann Margaret Carrozza, Assemb., (D-Bayside); Brad Arter, Queens Libertarian Party Chairman

Newsday reports children and adults gathered in Queens, New York, yesterday to protest noise, pollution, and ill health effects from nearby airports.

According to the article, twenty young children wore earplugs and blue masks over their noses and mouths yesterday when they gathered at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The joined their parents in protesting airport noise and pollution in a rally sponsored by the Queens Civic Congress, Safe Aviation For Everyone and Bowne Park Civic Association. The groups are demanding that LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Airports impose a flight curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., ban 727s, and stop expanding flight schedules. "We are the most noise -affected people of the world and probably the least listened to," rally spokesman Joseph Fabio said before the two-hour event, which at some points attracted as many as 200 people.

The article reports speakers at the rally had many strong words for politicians from every level of government who support airport expansion. LaGuardia and Kennedy each handle about 350,000 flights annually, an average of 959 a day. "What brought us to this situation is decades of political neglect," said John Procida, a member of the Bowne Park Civic Association, in a statement read by Queens Libertarian Party Chairman Brad Arter. Speakers charged that business and government have become too intertwined in running the airports operations. "Our quality of life is being sacrificed for the profits of the FAA," Assemb. Ann Margaret Carrozza (D-Bayside) said as the crowd cheered. "That's not right." However, some politicians are listening to the call for no flight expansion: Last week Congress defeated a bill proposing an additional 36 flights at LaGuardia and six at Kennedy. In addition, the federal government, which regulates airport operators, has mandated a phase-out of older, noisier planes, said Bill Cahill, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cumulative noise levels have gone down, he said.

The article states that Fabio, a Flushing resident, said the constant noise and poor air quality are causing the value of homes near LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports to decline. He also highlighted that asthma rates are abnormally high in those neighborhoods, especially among children. Public health advocates in the past have urged the government to study whether the airports are partly behind high asthma rates. In February, the Pediatric Asthma Center at New York Hospital of Queens reported that almost 130,000 children citywide have asthma, and 35,000 of them are from Queens. Statewide, 3.5 children per 1,000 have asthma, but in southeast Queens the rate is 9 per 1,000. During the speeches yesterday, the children used markers to make signs with messages such as "Airport improvement is death to Queens." Next to them, a papier-mâché airplane on a metal pole was painted in red with the words "brain tumors," "asthma," "lung disease," "cancer" and "leukemia." Some people chanted, "More trains, less planes. We want clean air."

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Missouri Town Seeks Enforceable Resolution Over Noise from Lambert Field Airport

PUBLICATION: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: St. Charles Post, Pg. 1
BYLINE: Ralph Dummit
DATELINE: St. Charles, Missouri

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the St. Charles County Council in Missouri is seeking a noise-reduction agreement with St. Louis regarding Lambert Field Airport. If no agreement appears to be forthcoming, St. Charles is threatening to sue the city of St. Louis.

According to the article, the St. Charles County Council is expected this week to pass a resolution giving the city of St. Louis 30 days to take "substantive action" that would lead the council to believe that "a noise agreement appears to be imminent and inevitable." Concerned about the extra noise expected from a new Lambert Field runway that would be two miles closer to St. Charles, the County Council passed a resolution late last year to seek "a noise agreement with significant penalties for failure to abide by the terms and conditions as has been accomplished at other airports around the country." This week's council resolution says that if action by St. Louis is not forthcoming, the council will "deliberate and participate in litigation action."

The article states an invitation to the council was issued late last week by County Executive Joe Ortwerth, for the council to join him in a suit challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's approval of W-1W as the new runway site for Lambert Field. Council Chairman Bob Schnur said Friday, "Generally, I agree with Joe's intentions." But Schnur said that he and Councilman Carl Bearden had met with Ortwerth and said that "we are of the mutual understanding that the legal action won't take place until after the 30 days called for in our resolution." Schnur added, "If nothing comes of our effort, we'll go." Bearden said, "We don't necessarily agree with Joe's position," but he said that, since 1996, the council had been inclined to be a part of litigation if a noise agreement were not reached. Now that the FAA has approved W-1W, Bearden said, St. Louis will "have a little more freedom to respond" to the council's request for a noise agreement. He reasoned that any commitment by St. Louis to a noise agreement before the approval of W-1W might have put the FAA's final decision in jeopardy. "But now that it's been approved," he said, "that obstacle is removed." Bearden said, "I really do expect a response. It may not meet all of our needs, but at this point, we'll see."

The article reports Bearden and some other council members have focused on the noise problem but have avoided objecting to the W-1W runway itself. However, Councilman Dan Foust made his feelings clear. He is in favor of joining Ortwerth in a suit to block W-1W. Foust said, "I'm absolutely opposed to W-1W." Yet another councilman questions the effectiveness of a noise resolution altogether. Councilman Doug Funderburk dismissed the council's efforts to get a noise agreement from St. Louis. "Once a plane leaves the runway at Lambert, it's under FAA regulations, not St. Louis," he said. At takeoff, "pilots are under the control of controllers. I don't want to set up requirements that might result in unsafe conditions." He added, "There's no vehicle existing in any county of any class that can levy fines on the FAA or airline pilots" for violating aircraft noise or flight-path agreements.

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County Exec. Urges St. Charles to Join Lawsuit Against FAA Over New Runway Plan for Missouri's Lambert Field

PUBLICATION: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: St. Charles Post, Pg. 1
BYLINE: Ralph Dummit
DATELINE: St. Charles County, Missouri

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a St. Charles County leader is advising the county to join a lawsuit to overturn the approved expansion at Missouri's Lambert Field Airport.

According to the article, St. Charles County Executive Joe Ortwerth is advocating for legal action to overturn the Federal Aviation Administration approval of the W-1W expansion plan for Lambert Field. In a letter to County Council members, Ortwerth requests that the county attorney be authorized to enter the county as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by the city of Bridgeton against the FAA. Before joining Ortwerth, the council is expected to give the city of St. Louis 30 days to take "substantive action" on an "enforceable noise abatement agreement" with St. Charles County, said Council Chairman Bob Schnur. The 30-day period would expire in mid-November. Ortwerth said Friday that such a delay would be no problem. "If the county is able to take action by that time, it would be very timely," he said.

The article reports Ortwerth has emphasized that "whether or not noise agreements can be implemented to protect the St. Charles community is irrelevant to the real issue." That issue, he said, is that W-1W is a weak solution to upgrading Lambert "to any semblance of a world-class facility." Bridgeton's lawsuit, he said, "will challenge the integrity of the final environmental impact statement" on which the FAA based its approval of W-1W. He said the environmental statement "was developed in contradiction to federal law." Ortwerth declared, "The time has arrived for clear-thinking people in the region to head off what will otherwise be one of the biggest public works debacles in the nation's history. Action must be taken through litigation to prevent this foolhardy political enterprise from becoming reality." According to Ortwerth, St. Charles County's legal costs in fighting W-1W would be modest because Bridgeton "has already amassed a substantial amount of funds to carry this litigation forward." He described Bridgeton's attorney, Washington-based Eliot Cutler, as "one of the most knowledgeable in the country on aviation law and regulations."

The article goes on to state Ortwerth's reasons to justify a lawsuit:

"W-1W does very little to improve the functional capability of Lambert Field."

"W-1W guarantees that St. Louis will continue to be served by an airfield with severely constrained capacity and unacceptable delays."

St. Charles County, Ortwerth said, will suffer from much higher noise levels from aircraft and sustain a "deterioration of the quality of life."

The estimated cost of $2.6 billion "is outrageously excessive, considering the dubious benefits." Within 10 years of completion, "Lambert Field will be no better off than it was before." Ortwerth alleges that airline pilots and air traffic controllers agree that W-1W "will only solidify the noncompetitive status of Lambert Field and increase the likelihood that MidAmerica Airport (near Scott Field in Illinois) will someday be the region's primary aviation facility."

Ortwerth estimates that each passenger boarding a plane at Lambert will pay a fee "50 percent higher than the national average, and arguably the highest in the country."

The "purpose and need" established for the W-1W project "was contrived in an effort to exclude other viable (runway location) alternatives from consideration," Ortwerth said. "The FAA failed to conduct an independent evaluation of all reasonable alternatives, basing its conclusions on erroneous data supplied by the project sponsor," he said.

Ortwerth claims that "the FAA concedes (in its environmental impact statement) that it made its decision on the purpose of the project during the master-plan process (conducted by the St. Louis Airport Authority), rather than through an independent scoping process and environmental assessment mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act."

Finally, Ortwerth said, "The contractor chosen by the FAA is guilty of a grave conflict of interest." In explanation, Ortwerth had written early this year to the FAA about its claim that an independent examination of alternate locations for a new runway had been conducted by its own consultant, Greiner Inc. Ortwerth wrote, "Greiner worked hand in hand with the St. Louis Airport Authority in the preparation of the master plan supplement. Thus, it is not possible for the consultant to carry out an independent examination of the alternatives, when it is evaluating work it did itself."

In his request for the County Council to join the suit against the FAA, Ortwerth said, "Having St. Charles County's name included as a co-plaintiff will demonstrate to a federal judge that this is not a parochial community dispute."

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Making Noise Laws Clear in Moorpark, California

PUBLICATION: Ventura County Star
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. B02
BYLINE: Kory Martinelli, Senior Deputy, Moorpark Police
DATELINE: Moorpark, California

The Ventura County Star published an article about noise written by the Senior Deputy of the Moorpark, California. The law enforcement officer, Kory Martinelli, seeks to clear up some misconceptions about noise nuisances and the law.

According to the article, noise disturbances do not receive the media attention that other crimes do in newspapers and on television. However, quality of life is enhanced by a neighborhood free from noise disturbances. Yet laws regarding noise and public peace are some of the most misunderstood laws by members of the Moorpark community. Some common misconceptions are as follows:

Noise misconception #1. After 10 p.m., it is illegal to disturb others with noise. - Martinelli says the truth is that the reasonable peace of an individual can be disturbed at any hour of the day. There is no time limit. Furthermore, the noise does not have to be specific to loud music. Loud power tools, cars, voices, televisions, or anything else that might disturb the reasonable peace of another can apply.

Noise misconception #2. A deputy can make an arrest for disturbing the peace if he or she witnesses it firsthand. - Not true, says Martinelli. Law enforcement officers are acting on behalf of the public and need a victim to come forward and request prosecution against the offender for having disturbed their peace. Deputies will provide the public service of advising disturbing offenders, but without a victim to step forward, deputies cannot take action.

Noise misconception #3. I can play my car stereo as loud as I want. -Car stereos, writes Officer Martinelli, are specifically addressed by Vehicle Code Section 27007, which states, "No driver shall operate, or permit the operation of, any sound amplification system which can be heard outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet when the vehicle is being operated upon a highway." Because this law is public highway-related, law enforcement officers can issue a traffic citation if they witness this violation. For more information or strategies to reduce the noise problems, Officer Martinelli can be reached at 532-2700.

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Citizens' Panel Suggests Limits on New York's County Airport; Noise and Water Pollution Top Concerns

PUBLICATION: The New York Times
DATE: October 11, 1998
SECTION: Section 14Wc; Page 23; Column 1; Westchester Weekly Desk
BYLINE: Merri Rosenberg
DATELINE: White Plains, New York
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Julius Shultz, member of citizens' advisory subcommittee; Ellen Kaidanow, member of the citizens' advisory subcommittee

The New York Times reports a citizens' advisory board recommended limited expansion of New York's County Airport, citing a number of quality of life and environmental issues including noise pollution and water quality.

According to the article, further expansion of the County Airport should be severely curtailed or halted altogether. Those conclusions were presented to the Environment Committee of the Board of Legislators last Tuesday by representatives of several task forces established by the Citizens' Advisory Subcommittee of the Environment Committee. The Citizens' Advisory Subcommittee had been appointed by the Environment Committee to study the airport. "We were given carte blanche by the legislature's Committee on the Environment," said Julius Shultz, who is a member of the citizens' advisory subcommittee. "We were talking about the greater issues that affect the airport, like noise pollution, air pollution, ground water and runoff. We feel that quality-of-life issues affect the economy." While neighboring residents -- including members of the Purchase Friends Meeting whose silent Sunday morning worship has frequently been disrupted by airplane noise -- as well as county residents from as far away as Somers and Hawthorne have complained about airport noise, noise is not the only environmental problem.

The article reports of particular concern to members of the subcommittee was the impact on Kensico Reservoir. It supplies the county with 85 percent of its drinking water and also supplies a majority of New York City's water. Its proximity to the airport, however, means that the reservoir is subject to storm water runoff, which includes chemicals like petroleum products and de-icing fluids. Recently, some airport drainage was diverted to Rye Lake, which flows into Long Island Sound. "At first, I thought of the airport as purely a noise issue," said Ellen Kaidanow, a member of the citizens' advisory committee and chairwoman of the town of Harrison's airport advisory committee. "I realized after working on the committee that water is as important. The airport is sitting right on top of the water supply for 10 million people. The runoff has been going to Kensico. Recently, it has been re-directed to Blind Brook, which means it ultimately ends up in Long Island Sound. We want the legislature to look at where the runoff is going. We want to protect the water now so we don't have to build a water-filtration plant. Any revenue gained from airport expansion will be wiped out if we have to build a filtration plant." Possible threats to the adjacent watershed are serious, said Peter Dermody, a senior hydrogeologist with the Long Island-based concern of Fanning, Phillips & Molnar Engineers, who consulted for the subcommittee. "De-icing fluid has gone into Rye Lake," Dermody said. "This is causing a degrading of the water quality in Rye Lake. Because they de-ice at the airport, the proposed expansion would lead to an expansion in the rate of pollutant loading. Our position is that there have been impacts to the environment from airport activities. The expansion of the airport would lead to an increased rate of degradation in water quality." The citizens' advisory committee recommended that the county accept zero tolerance for environmental damage at the airport. It also recommended that the county conduct detailed studies to identify and determine the types of damage, enact legislation to protect the Kensico Reservoir and Blind Brook, extend the Terminal Capacity Agreement and require a mandatory curfew for all aircraft.

The article goes on to say not every committee member endorsed all the recommendations. Vic Weinstein, a Tarrytown businessman, submitted his own report to highlight the airport's benefits. "I think you need to look at what the airport has done in terms of being a major factor in the economic viability in this region," he said. "As a result of airport activities, over $600 million is annually contributed to the local economy. Westchester competes with Long Island, New Jersey and the entire metropolitan area for corporate occupants. Many corporations, when looking to relocate, consider proximity to an airport a major factor. Without the airport, many companies would not have considered Westchester for their facility."

According to the article, the airport, which has often been a source of political tension and conflict, between its neighbors and management as well as between the executive and legislative branches of county government, is now operating in a different environment. "When Andy Spano ran, he made a commitment that the airport would be a good neighbor and that he would oppose any future expansion of the airport," said Larry Schwartz, chief adviser to the County Executive, who was unable to attend the conference. "This administration's commitment is to make sure this airport is a good neighbor. We want to protect and preserve the quality of life. We want to know what the issues are. I give you our word that we will not do anything without consulting you." Although the citizens' advisory subcommittee was limited to making recommendations, legislators emphasized that its role was not merely a good show. "We gave the committee a specific charge to give us specific recommendations that we can institute or change," said Michael Kaplowitz, chairman of the Board's Committee on the Environment. "If we can make this a better airport, tell us how."

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Resident Objects to Expanded Flights at Washington, DC's Reagan National Airport

PUBLICATION: The Washington Post
DATE: October 11, 1998
SECTION: Op-Ed; Pg. C08; Close To Home
DATELINE: Washington, DC

The Washington Post published a letter from a McLean resident who objects to expanded flights at Washington, DC's Reagan National Airport. Mary Wakefield writes:

"As someone who is both a frequent user of Reagan National Airport and who also is a resident of McLean, not far from the airport's flight path, I want to add my objections to the Senate's plan to add 24 flights a day at the airport.

"First, according to a Sept. 26 Metro story, the Senate has included authorization of millions of dollars to soundproof homes and other buildings to assist with noise abatement for those most affected. Perhaps generous taxpayers living across the country don't mind having their tax dollars used this way, though I doubt it. The idea also may sound terrific to residents who plan to live hermetically sealed in their homes. However, for those of us who occasionally venture outside or leave our windows open, unless the Senate can soundproof entire neighborhoods, this use of taxpayer dollars hardly addresses the problem.

"Furthermore, how does one draw the boundaries around a soundproof area using some concocted federal noise standard? I'm sure I don't reside in one of the 50 homes most likely to be affected, but from my yard, I can still identify the airline affiliation of every jet that flies down the Potomac, and you can bet that if I can see them that well, I can hear them too. While some planes are clearly less noisy than others, suggesting that quieter engines make airplane noise tolerable is like saying that the dog living next door that barks all night isn't a problem because it's a beagle and not a German shepherd.

"Second, both local government and airport authorities object to added flights based in part on safety concerns. Nevertheless, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) pushed hard for the additional slots to enable an airline with ties to his home state to fly in and out of National. The change also would allow long flights -- such as the kind that would take him to and from Arizona without changing planes -- to originate at National.

"I hope that the House will give the opinions of local government authorities, as well as those of Northern Virginia business people and residents, more appropriate consideration than the Senate did before voting on whether to expand the number of daily flights at Reagan National."

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Public Hearing in Austin, Texas, will Address Noise Study Projections for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman
DATE: October 14, 1998
SECTION: Metro/State; Pg. B7
DATELINE: Austin, Texas

The Austin American-Statesman reports officials in Austin, Texas, will hold a public meeting tonight to discuss a noise study in preparation for the May 1999 opening of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for passenger traffic.

According to the article, the study will help determine what sorts of noise -abatement measures, including soundproofing of homes, will be necessary in the areas around the new airport. Tonight's meeting is the first of four such meetings. The city completed a noise study in 1994 using passenger traffic at the current airport for its projections. Air traffic has increased faster than expected, possibly affecting the reliability of the projections.

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Tourists in Canada Find Banff Too Noisy; Business Owners Seek Solutions

PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: October 12, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. A1
BYLINE: Johnnie Bachusky
DATELINE: Banff, Alberta, Canada
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Andre Lanz, president of the Banff Lake Louise Hotel Motel Association; Keith MacDonald, hotel manager; Dave McKenna, Peter Vera, hotel manager

The article reports Bonar Hunter, Banff's senior bylaw officer, said the town's general noise bylaw does not specifically regulate or enforce bar noise and that his team of four full-time officers only works until 10 p.m. during the summer, and 6 p.m. in the off- season. Most bars close at about 2 a.m. and that's where the trouble starts, hotel and motel officials said. Hunter is investigating and will report to town council. "We want higher profile by RCMP . . ." said Lanz, adding the noise is also becoming a problem for Banff's permanent residents. Banff RCMP agree the problem of early-morning party animals is getting worse and they expect final statistics on jailed drunks this year to be up 20 per cent. "There wasn't a lot of bad weather to drive people indoors so the kids stayed out longer and seemed to party harder than they normally do," said RCMP Sgt. Bob Peterson.

The article states Peter Vera, general manager of the Mount Royal Hotel, said his guests are not only being disturbed from noise coming from nearby bars but from the town's main street, Banff Avenue. "We are right on Banff Avenue. There are thousands of people walking up and down, and it gets very noisy," said Vera, adding his hotel has also had to issue free meals to guests because of noise complaints. "I've had a couple of guests write on the guest comment card that it was a beautiful hotel, the Rockies are beautiful but Banff is so noisy." He said meetings were held this month between the hotel association, Banff RCMP, town bylaw officials and Dave McKenna, president of the 22-member Banff Lake Louise Bar and Restaurant Association. McKenna said his association started an education program recently with bar and restaurant employees in an effort to convince them to keep their wilder customers under control.

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