General Aviation Noise and Lead Pollution in Larimer County, PLEASE ACT!

[Carolyn Schulte]

Council Members Shadduck-McNally, Kefalas, and Stephens:

I’m sure you are aware of the issues Larimer County residents are facing with noise and lead pollution from the general aviation (GA) planes that abuse Larimer County with their training flights. When I moved to my home in West Berthoud in 2020 until summer of 2021 it was a peaceful place where I could go outside and enjoy my acreage. I could be in the upstairs of my home without the stereo on loud or with noise-canceling ear plugs in. I was able to work in my first-floor office and teach online classes to my students. The summer of 2021 things began to change and by the summer of 2023 my neighborhood has become a hellscape. I can no longer be outside without hearing a plane at least once per minute. I have developed a neurological response to the particular noise frequency of the GA plane engines and I cannot enjoy my yard, I cannot be on the first floor hardly at all, I have moved my office, first to a basement bedroom, and now to the unfinished area of the basement. Even with a fan or heater on, I can still hear these planes overhead!

The flight schools out of Rocky Mountain Municipal Airport (RMMA), Erie, Centennial, Longmont, and Loveland/Fort Collins airports have designated the area over my home as a “practice area”. No one on the ground was notified or consulted about this egregious theft of the enjoyment of my home and property. First, we can talk about the fact that these planes still run on leaded fuel, which because of the way the engine runs, does not burn all the fuel and it sprays onto the ground below it. There is no safe level of lead in the human body, and these planes are flying over fields where crops are grown. Worse yet, they fly over schools and parks where our children play. Second, the effects of constant noise pollution has detrimental effects on physical and mental health. Since this constant noise began, I have developed an anxiety disorder. My nervous system is under attack from the constant parade of these airplanes over my home.

Last night, the town of Superior, and today, the entirety of Boulder County have sued Jefferson County and the (acting) direction of RMMA. The lawsuit seeks to reduce the affects of GA on the people on the ground. It is unjust a small group of people (pilots and flight schools) to endanger the health of millions of people on the front range. However, this has been happening and getting significantly worse in the past few years. I have complained to the flight schools and to the airports’ complaint departments. For that, I have also become a victim of harassment and targeting by these people.

I have reached out to the city of Berthoud, whose only interest seems to be building more homes and not the health of its residents. I implore you to read through the lawsuit and see if you feel it would be in the Larimer County residents' best interest to either join this lawsuit or to file one independently.

Below I have included a screenshot of the flight-school-designated areas. (In all honesty, they fly wherever they want. I have numerous planes flying over Carter Lake, Devil’s Backbone, Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, and Horsetooth Open Space. Of course, you remember the GA aircraft crash near Horsetooth Reservoir on September 11, 2022.) I have also included flight paths of 2 separate planes over my home, so you can understand what I am dealing with all throughout the day and evening on every beautiful Colorado day. I have also included a copy of the lawsuit for you to read.

Please help the people you were elected to serve! We are suffering with all these airplanes training over our heads spewing lead and noise pollution. I for one would rather hear the birds in my yard than these noise plane engines.

With kind regards,
Carolyn Schulte, PT, DPT, EdD

[John Kefalas]

Hello Carolyn,

I want to bring this state legislation to your attention, that may help address your concerns, https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1235. You may want to reach out to your state legislators to request their support. The bill passed out of the committee of reference 11-0 (bipartisan support) and HB-1235 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Finance Committee on MOnday upon adjournment. Thoughts?

	John Kefalas County Commissioner, District 1
	Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 W: (970) 498-7001 Cell:  (720) 254-7598 jkef...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org

V This one is a good example because he was flying < 500’ over my home at 5200 ft of elevation. Note his altitude is 5625. Planes are to fly at least 500’ over the tallest object in a “rural area” and at least 1000’ in a “crowded area”. Crowded is defined as 20 homes in an area .5 miles x .66 miles. My subdivision qualifies as “crowded” so they should NOT be flying < 1000’ over my home. Every single day I see planes flying under this altitude over me.

[Carolyn Schulte]

John:

Yes, I am very aware of this bill. In fact, I testified at the hearing on March 6th in front of the Transportation committee. I have been in contact with my state legislators as well. 

I feel that finally the ball is rolling forward on this issue. For over two years I saw the frequency of these planes significantly increase. I made complaint after complaint about the planes to RMMA and the Longmont and Boulder airports per their complaint procedures. If these planes flew over my home going somewhere that would be one thing, but they stay in a small area and go around and around for extended periods creating constant noise pollution and of course lead spray. Well, sadly I found out that my address from the complaints was being shared with the flight schools and then the targeting and harassing behavior started. 

The main problem with the HB 24-1235 is that it got watered down with the amendments and noise reduction relies on the pilots adhering to voluntary noise abatement, which has already been in place - and we can all surely see where that has gotten us. The largest issue is the flight schools. Their main objective is to make money - at the expense of the million+ people they are affecting with their content noise. The schools have been allowed to grow too big and too fast. The Front Range has gone beyond a saturation point with the number of planes flying up here each day. There is also a very large “old boys club” network amongst the pilots and many of them do not care at all about those of us on the ground. Many of them at the hearing kept spouting the tired question about moving close to an airport - I do NOT live close to a public airport - I’m 12 miles away from Longmont and 31 miles away from RMMA, the two biggest offenders. Yet their planes are up over my home every single day they can fly. Their other big thing is calling people who are complaining a bunch of NIMBYs. However, look at RMMA. Jefferson County BUILT that airport right next to Boulder County and ran the runways so that the air traffic from there would NOT go over Jefferson County! It has been brought up multiple times about sending planes south or west from the airport and they have a million excuses why they can’t. Jefferson County also did not buy enough land around the airport when they had the chance. Now we are all suffering for their mistake.

There are also things brewing on the horizon with the Northern Colorado Regional (Loveland/Fort Collins) airport. They have built a new control tower and are also building a new terminal (you were at the ground-breaking). They will also be widening one of the runways. No doubt all this is to increase capacity and enable the airport to accommodate larger planes. How will this increased air traffic affect an already overburdened airspace on the Front Range? There are 10 airports within a 50 mile radius of DIA. When is enough enough?

All of this to say that constant noise pollution is detrimental to human health. There are many peer-reviewed articles which have looked at this. The noise in Larimer County is becoming a growing problem from factors both inside and outside the county. What can we do to reclaim our quality of life? Per Larimer County’s noise policy, I am ENTITLED to quiet enjoyment of my home and property and this is being completely obliterated by the noise from the GA training flights. How is it even possible that the flight schools can have the power to designate an area over people’s homes, and in Berthoud’s case over the entire town as a practice area?

I am frustrated, angry, and disgusted by the constant noise I am exposed to on a daily basis. I cannot even stand to be on the first floor of my home many days and have to stay in the dark, back part of the basement with a white noise machine on to get any work done! Even then, I can still hear the planes when they are low or are some of the noisier planes.

I was talking to a woman the other day and she was upset because she had moved from Superior to the Carter Lake area to get away from the airplane noise. Guess what? It’s up here all the time now. This is so sad that people are moving to get away from the noise and it follows them. Despite having defined “practice areas”, there is no control of these pilots and more and more are flying over Carter Lake and other natural areas. Ask Boulder County about what has happened at Boulder Reservoir. The planes fly incessantly over there and all the birds and animals have left! You can’t go there for recreation without constant noise from the GA planes!

Please do something to help the Larimer County residents before it is too late! We are suffering and need those we have elected to act and help us!

With kind regards,

Carolyn