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Noise Headlines and Top Story- Updated March 12, 2010
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* Seattle Embarks Upon Part 150 NCP Update
* Cameras Used to Enforce Highway Noise Regulations
* Special Report: Update on Select Transportation Noise Research in Progress
* Airport Noise Study Leads to Mitigation Recommendations
* New NEPA Guidance Targets Mitigation, Categorical Exclusions
* ACRP to Update Guidelines for Sound Insulation of Residences
* Protection Urged Against Combined Effects of Noise and Chemicals
* Radio Station Sues Over Agreement to Mitigate Rail Noise and Vibration
* Supreme Court Declines to Consider Appeal in East Coast Airspace Case
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Los Angeles Moves to Impose
Stage 2 Phase-Out at Van Nuys
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The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved an ordinance designed to eliminate Stage 2 jets at Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, Calif. The planned phase-out will start with an immediate ban on operations by aircraft with take-off noise levels above 85 dBA, followed by bans on aircraft with 83 dBA sound levels in 2011, 80 dBA in 2014, and 77 dBA in 2016.
Ordinance 181106 is scheduled to take effect on April 15, with exemptions for Stage 3 and Stage 4-certified aircraft, as well as emergency and certain other aircraft operations. Since it was first proposed before the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA) went into effect, city officials say it is not subject to the Part 161 process.
In 2009, FAA agreed that the ordinance predates ANCA and could be grandfathered, as long as it includes the exemption for Stage 3 and Stage 4 aircraft and meets other federal requirements (see May 2009 NRR, p. 45). The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has gone on record against the ordinance, calling it “unreasonable,” while alleging factual and legal flaws.
‘Economic Interest’
“NBAA’s position is that ANCA is not applicable to the 19-year break between the proposal and adoption of restrictions and that [the] factual justifications for the proposal are flawed,” according to a 2009 statement. “The phase-out would eliminate an average of only five operations per day, and the evicted aircraft would relocate to other airports in the Los Angeles area, resulting in an overall increase in noise and emissions for the region.” NBAA also maintains that the ordinance violates federal grant assurances and fails to meet the feasibility requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act.
“The Stage 2 jet aircraft that are primarily affected by this phase-out will be well over 40 year-old technology by the time the ban is in full effect,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “Much as with auto emissions standards, the transition to quieter, cleaner jet engines is being driven by regulation. The phase-out not only benefits the communities surrounding the airport who will hear less noise, modernizing the fleet is in the economic interest of the jet owners in the long run.”
Meanwhile Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Van Nuys, is pursuing additional measures designed to reduce noise through the Part 161 process. These could include imposing incentives and disincentives in its rental rates and landing fees, implementing a mandatory Fly Friendly Program with fines, setting a daytime noise limit of 77 dBA, limiting the number of Stage 3 jets based there, setting a curfew on non-emergency jet and helicopter operations, capping or phasing out the helicopter fleet, phasing out Stage 2 aircraft in the shortest possible time, and extending the existing curfew.
Copyright 2010 Great Circle Communications LLC. No unauthorized posting, forwarding, or any other form of transmission of this material, by any means, in whole or in part, is allowed.
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