[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4866 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4866

To require the Federal Aviation Administration to address the aircraft 
               noise problems of Staten Island, New York.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 1998

 Mr. Fossella introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Federal Aviation Administration to address the aircraft 
               noise problems of Staten Island, New York.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Staten Island Aircraft Noise 
Correction Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATION, AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) over the past 30 years, and especially since the 
        implementation of the Expanded East Coast Plan, relentless 
        noise from aircraft departing from Newark International Airport 
        has adversely affected the residents of northwestern Staten 
        Island, New York; and
            (2) the efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
        mitigate aircraft noise levels on Staten Island have been 
        inadequate.
    (b) Declaration.--Congress declares that the Federal Aviation 
Administration should remedy the problem it has created, to the maximum 
extent practicable, by formulating and implementing plans to mitigate 
aircraft noise over certain areas of Staten Island.
    (c) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to compel the 
Administrator to mitigate aircraft noise over certain areas of Staten 
Island.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN AIRCRAFT NOISE OVER STATEN ISLAND.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Administrator'') shall develop and publish a plan 
to investigate and test southbound departure procedures from Runway 22 
of Newark International Airport that will fully utilize, without 
compromising safety, all of the allowable and available climbout 
airspace and that will result in at least a 25 percent decrease in 
aircraft noise on the ground in northwestern Staten Island.

SEC. 4. NONAPPLICABILITY OF EIS REQUIREMENT.

    In carrying out the activities under this Act, the Administrator 
shall not be required to prepare an environmental impact statement in 
accordance with the National Environment Policy Act of 1969 or any 
other law.

SEC. 5. PROCEDURE.

    (a) Standing.--In order to ensure compliance with this Act by the 
Administrator, any resident of Staten Island, New York, shall have 
standing in United States district court to compel the Administrator to 
comply with this Act.
    (b) Venue.--The venue for any such action shall be the United 
States district court in Brooklyn, New York.
    (c) Attorney's Fees.--
            (1) Award.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Administrator shall pay court costs and reasonable attorney 
        fees incurred with respect to an action to compel the 
        Administrator to comply with this Act. Punitive damages may not 
        be awarded.
            (2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the judge 
        imposes a sanction under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
        Procedure on an attorney, law firm, or party in the plaintiff's 
        case or if the suit is dismissed by a judge on a motion by the 
        defendants for summary judgment.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Deadlines.--The Administrator shall begin implementation of the 
plan described in section 3 on or before the 90th day following the 
earlier of--
            (1) the date of publication of the plan; and
            (2) the date of any judicial order or settlement agreement 
        which is issued or entered into in response to a civil action 
        brought in accordance with section 5(a) and which requires the 
        implementation of such plan.
    (b) Limitation.--The plan described in section 3 shall not have the 
effect of reducing aircraft arrivals to or departures from Newark 
International Airport.
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