[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6057-6058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3495]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base, Chicopee Falls,
Massachusetts; FAA Approval of Noise Compatibility Program
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its
findings on the noise compatibility program submitted by the Westover
Metropolitan Development Corporation under the provisions of Title I of
the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 (Public Law 96-193)
and 14 CFR Part 150. These findings are made in recognition of the
description of Federal and non-federal responsibilities in Senate
Report No. 96-52 (1980). On August 11, 1995, the FAA determined that
the noise exposure maps submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Airport
Corporation under Part 150 were in compliance with applicable
requirements. On January 26, 1996, the Associate Administrator approved
the Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base noise compatibility
program. Out of the 13 proposed program elements, 12 were approved and
one was partially approved and partially disapproved.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the FAA's approval of the
Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base noise compatibility
program is January 26, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John C. Silva, Federal Aviation
Administration, New England Region, Airports Division, 12 New England
Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803, Telephone (617) 238-
7602.
Documents reflecting this FAA action may be obtained from the same
individual.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces that the FAA has given
its overall approval to the Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve
Base noise compatibility program, effective January 26, 1996.
Under Section 104(a) of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act
of 1979 (hereinafter the Act), an airport operator who has previously
submitted a noise exposure map may submit to the FAA a noise
compatibility program which sets forth the measures taken or proposed
by the airport operator for the reduction of existing non-compatible
land uses and prevention of additional non-compatible land uses within
the area covered by the noise exposure maps.
The Act requires such programs to be developed in consultation with
interested and affected parties including local communities, government
agencies, airport users, and FAA personnel.
Each airport noise compatibility program developed in accordance
with Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR), Part 150 is a local program,
not a federal program. The FAA does not substitute its judgment for
that of the airport proprietor with respect to which measures should be
recommended for action. The FAA's approval or disapproval of FAR Part
150 program recommendations is measured according to the standards
expressed in Part 150 and the Act, and is limited to the following
determinations:
(a) the noise compatibility program was developed in accordance
with the provisions and procedures of FAR Part 150;
(b) program measures are reasonably consistent with achieving the
goals of reducing existing non-compatible land uses around the airport
and preventing the introduction of additional non-compatible land uses;
(c) program measures would not create an undue burden on interstate
or foreign commerce, unjustly discriminate against types or classes of
aeronautical uses, violate the terms of airport grant agreements, or
intrude into areas preempted by the federal government; and
(d) program measures relating to the use of flight procedures can
be implemented within the period covered by the program without
derogating safety, adversely affecting the efficient use and management
of the navigable
[[Page 6058]]
airspace and air traffic control systems, or adversely affecting other
powers and responsibilities of the Administrator as prescribed by law.
Specific limitations with respect to FAA's approval of an airport
noise compatibility program are delineated in FAR Part 150, Section
150.5. Approval is not a determination concerning the acceptability of
land uses under Federal, state, or local law. Approval does not by
itself constitute an FAA implementing action. A request for Federal
action or approval to implement specific noise compatibility measures
may be required, and an FAA decision on the request may require an
environmental assessment of the proposed action.
Approval does not constitute a commitment by the FAA to financially
assist in the implementation of the program nor a determination that
all measures covered by the program are eligible for grant-in-aid
funding from the FAA under the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of
1982. Where Federal funding is sought, requests for project grants must
be submitted to the FAA Regional Office in Burlington, Massachusetts.
The Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation submitted to the
FAA, on January 26, 1994, noise exposure maps, descriptions, and other
documentation produced during the noise compatibility planning study
conducted from October 1990 to June 1995. The Westover Metropolitan
Airport/Air Reserve Base noise exposure maps were determined by FAA to
be in compliance with applicable requirements on July 31, 1995. Notice
of this determination was published in the Federal Register on August
11, 1995.
The Westover study contains a proposed noise compatibility program
comprised of actions designed for implementation by airport management
and adjacent jurisdictions from the date of study completion to beyond
the year 1998. It was requested that the FAA evaluate and approve this
material as a noise compatibility program as described in Section
104(b) of the Act. The FAA began its review of the program on July 31,
1995, and was required by a provision of the Act to approve or
disapprove the program within 180 days (other than the use of new
flight procedures for noise control). Failure to approve or disapprove
such a program within the 180-day period shall be deemed to be an
approval of such a program.
The submitted program contained 13 proposed actions for noise
mitigation on and off the airport. The FAA completed its review and
determined that the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act
and FAR Part 150 have been satisfied. The overall program, therefore,
was approved by the Assistant Administrator effective January 26, 1996.
Approval was granted for 12 specific program elements: preferential
runway use, flight track changes, land acquisition, sound insulation,
compatible land use zoning, land use airport overlay district,
subdivision regulations, a pilot awareness program, a public awareness
program, and a computer spread sheet program to monitor noise abatement
performance.
One program element was partially approved and partially
disapproved: monitoring nightime operations and runway use.
FAA's determinations are set forth in detail in a Record of
Approval endorsed by the Associate Administrator on January 26, 1996.
The Record of Approval, as well as other evaluation materials and the
documents comprising the submittal, are available for review at the FAA
office listed above and at the office of the Westover Metropolitan
Development Corporation, 3911 Pendleton Avenue, Chicopee,
Massachusetts.
Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1996.
Bradley A. Davis,
Acting Manager, Airports Division, New England Region.
[FR Doc. 96-3495 Filed 2-14-96; 8:45 am]
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