[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 140 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        AIRSPACE REDESIGN UNFAIRLY IMPACTS MINORITY COMMUNITIES

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                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2007

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my disappointment that I 
was not permitted to offer an amendment to this bill after testifying 
before the Rules Committee yesterday. My amendment would have addressed 
concerns about the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Airspace Redesign. 
While all of us recognize the pressing need to improve the current 
system in order to promote efficiency and reduce flight delays, the 
implementation of this particular plan will have a disproportionate 
negative impact on some minority communities, including the city of 
Elizabeth, New Jersey, which is partially located in my Congressional 
District. Unfortunately, our government has a history of causing 
minority communities to bear a disproportionate share of undesirable 
environmental effects, whether it is air noise, air pollution, or toxic 
waste dumps--these objectionable projects too often end up in poor and 
minority communities. In response to this injustice, Executive Order 
12898, which was signed by President Clinton on February 11, 1994 and 
reaffirmed by President Bush, aims to ensure that environmental justice 
is considered when federal agency decisions are made. The population of 
the city of Elizabeth is about 65 percent non-white, with most 
minorities being Hispanic or African American.
  The Elizabeth community is especially alarmed about the proposed plan 
because under a previous procedure in the 1950s where planes ``fanned 
out'' over Elizabeth, there were three tragic airplane crashes in a 
very short time period--from December 1951 to February 1952.
  Under the Airspace Redesign proposal, high aircraft noise exposure in 
the immediate vicinity of the airport increases from 53,276 residents 
to 100,893 residents in Union County, where the city of Elizabeth is 
located. It also increases from 94,407 residents to 131,916 residents 
in Essex County. In some neighborhoods, the decibel levels could rise 
to a degree that the noise will be 5 times greater than it is now. 
These actions have caused many of us to question whether or not the FAA 
properly and adequately met their responsibilities under the 
environmental justice Executive Order. Therefore, my amendment would 
have stipulated that before implementing the New York/New Jersey/
Philadelphia Redesign project, the FAA Administrator must submit a 
report to Congress explaining how the agency has met the requirements 
relating to environmental concerns in minority communities.
  Needless to say, I am disappointed that the Rules Committee did not 
accept my amendment, but I have received assurances that Congress will 
keep up the pressure to ensure that the FAA meets its responsibilities 
to all of those who are impacted by the airspace redesign plan.

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