FW: Please read - Re: NYS Aircraft Noise Bills

[Goodwin, Bill]

Thought this might be of interest to our community

Sent: 8/23/2013 3:32:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Please read - Re: NYS Aircraft Noise Bills

 

Please read the entire email below and contact the governor as soon as possible.

 

The State Assembly and Senate have passed bills that requires the Port Authority to do an Aircraft Noise and Land Comparability study. The bill numbers are A.7697/S.3841.

We need this study to get a fair evaluation of the combined noise impacts on our health of the Airspace Redesign and NextGen programs. We know the noise has increased dramatically but the study is needed
to quantify the increases so that they can be compared with acknowledged standards and prove the need for noise mitigation.

Some of our state representatives have advised us that this is the time in the legislative process to urge Governor Cuomo to sign the bills into law.

Please write, email or call the Governor’s office as soon as possible and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. We may not get another shot at this!

For maximum impact, communications with the governors office should be respectful, informative and non threatening. Sincere statements regarding how the increased noise is hurting your quality of life and concerns for your family's health would be most effective.

The link below contains the contact information for Gov. Cuomo by mail and also includes a form to send something through e-mail. Letters are usually considered to have the greatest impact, however, if you do not have the time to write a letter, please send and email and call.

http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php

When using the email form provided, please select "Legislation" as the drop down menu selection for "Topic" and enter A.7697/S.3841 as the subject.  If you are sending a letter please include include
"Requesting Governor's support for A.7697/S.3841" as the subject.

The Governor's office address is:

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

And his phone number is (518) 474-8390

 

So you understand some of the background, the info below is provided:

 

On May 20, the NYS Senate unanimously passed bill S3841 which requires the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to conduct a noise and land use compatibility study. On June 18, the NYS Assembly passed the bill  A7697.

 

The Department of Environmental Protection, as required by Local Law 113 of 2005, sec. 3, codified at NYC Administrative Code Section 24-205, prepared a report published in 2010 in which it proposed strategies to control and mitigate noise from airports. “The most important recommendation is that the Port Authority complete a Part 150 noise study, which is a comprehensive strategic noise plan that is integral to obtaining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for noise mitigation projects.”

NYC DEP Airport Noise Study 2010
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/noise/airport-noise-study.pdf

 

Since 1982, FAA has provided $5.8 billion in Airport Improvement Program noise grants to 481 airports. The majority of grants went to airports that voluntarily undertook Noise Compatibility Programs (NCP). Airports are not required to complete Part 150 studies, but there are financial incentives for doing so.  Federal funds are available for completing Part 150 studies and for measures adopted in the Noise Compatibity Program.

http://gao.gov/products/GAO-12-890  

 

The Port Authority has refused to volunteer to conduct a Part 150 study.

 

“With the FAA’s Airspace Redesign and NextGen satellite technology programs.  “Air traffic controllers are using advanced procedures to space aircraft closer together on takeoff and landing at major U.S. airports, making early progress toward a major goal of the NextGen ATC modernization effort—increasing airspace capacity.”

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-air-transport-perspective/2013-06-17/new-faa-procedures-reduce-separations-major-airports

 

Implications of Administration Environmental Requirements for NextGen

http://www.trbav030.org/pdf2010/Maurice_Implications_Enviro_NextGen.pdf

• Concentration of flight tracks could also increase noise exposure in some areas
• Could also effect surface air quality concentrations"

 

The World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency use a 55 dB public health protection noise standard. The FAA uses a 65dB standard. The Port Authority has estimated over 40,500 people are living within the “65DNL” noise contour areas of LGA & JFK airport.  Many more thousands live within the 55DNL noise contours of the NYC area airports.

 

Health Impacts of Aviation Noise

http://www.aviation-noise.org/PDFs/Quantifying%20and%20Mitigating%20Noise%20on%20Human%20Health.pdf

 

In 2012, JFK Airport had a total of 408,077 arrivals and departures, 72,761 occurring during the overnight period from 10pm-7am. For that same period, LaGuardia Airport had 373,196 flights, including 33,027 in the overnight hours. In 2013, through the end of July, JFK had a total of 237,742 arrivals and departures, 44,924 occurring during the overnight period. For that same period, LaGuardia had 218,738 and 19,389 in the overnight period. Currently JFK has a cap of 81 operations per hour between 6am and 11pm and La Guardia Airport has a cap of 75 operations per hour.

 

Most other major airports in the U.S. have conducted noise compatibility studies, installed numerous noise monitors, changed flight patterns, provided noise mitigation measures for schools and homes. (The DEP report mentioned above has a comparison chart of other airports in the appendix.)

 

M Chapoteau

Member of QBP's Aviation Advisory Council

Member of Queens Quiet Skies