[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]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M