[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6600-6601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3406]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Approval of Noise Compatibility Program; Riverside Municipal 
Airport, Riverside, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its 
findings on the Notice Compatibility Program submitted by the city of 
Riverside, California, 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 nonfederal responsibilities in Senate Report No. 96-52 
(1980). On September 12, 1995 the FAA determined that the noise 
exposure maps submitted by the city of Riverside, California, under 
Part 150 were in compliance with applicable requirements. On January 3, 
1997, the Associate Administrator for Airports approved the Riverside 
Municipal Airport Noise Compatibility Program. All fourteen (14) of the 
program elements were approved. Six (6) elements were approved as a 
voluntary measure, seven (7) elements were approved outright, and one 
(1) element was approved subject to confirmation of a detailed 
acoustical/design study to confirm the benefits of a noise barrier and 
refinement of the barrier's location.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the FAA's approval of the 
Riverside Municipal Airport Noise compatibility program is January 3, 
1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Lieber, Airport Planner, 
Airports Division, AWP-611.1, Federal Aviation Administration, Western-
Pacific Region. Mailing address: P.O. Box 92007, Wordway Postal Center, 
Los Angeles, California 90009-2007. Telephone: (310) 725-3614. Street 
address: 15000 Aviation Boulevard, Hawthorne, California 90261. 
Documents reflecting this FAA action may be reviewed at this location.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces that the FAA has given 
its overall approval to the Noise Compatibility Program for the 
Riverside Municipal Airport, effective January 3, 1997.
    Under Section 104(a) of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act 
of 1979 (hereinafter referred to as ``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 
noncompatible land uses and prevention of additional noncompatible 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 Regulations (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 of 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 noncompatible land uses around the airport 
and preventing the introduction of additional noncompatible 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 airspace and air traffic control systems, or adversely 
affecting other powers and responsibilities of the Administrator 
prescribed by law.

[[Page 6601]]

    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. Where Federal funding is sought, requests for project grants must 
be submitted to the FAA Airports Division office in Hawthorne, 
California.
    The city of Riverside, California, submitted to the FAA on July 6, 
1995, the Noise Exposure Maps, descriptions, and other documentation 
produced during the noise compatibility planning study conducted from 
May 1994 through July 1995. The Riverside Municipal Airport noise 
exposure maps were determined by FAA to be in compliance with 
applicable requirements on September 12, 1995. Notice of this 
determination was published in the Federal Register on September 22, 
1995.
    The Riverside Municipal Airport study contains a proposed Noise 
Compatibility Program comprised of actions designed for phased 
implementation by airport management and adjacent jurisdictions from 
the date of study completion to the year 1999. 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 8, 1996 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 program within the 180-day period shall be 
deemed to be an approval of such program.
    The submitted program contained fourteen (14) 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 Associate Administrator for Airports 
effective January 3, 1997.
    All fourteen (14) of the program elements were approved. The 
following six (6) elements were approved as voluntary measures: 
Continue designation of Runway 09/27 as the preferential runway; 
continue IFR departure turns over the Santa Ana River for Runway 27 IFR 
departures; continue the use of helicopter training pattern procedures 
north of the airport; encourage the use of AOPA Noise Awareness Steps 
and NBAA noise abatement departure and arrival procedures; encourage 
the use of the Sears store as a visual fix for Runway 27 VFR 
approaches; require that propeller aircraft conduct pre-flight run-ups 
on Taxiway C, at the end of Runway 27, be oriented to a 315 degree 
heading whenever possible. The following seven (7) elements were 
approved outright: Amend the General Plan to establish airport noise 
compatibility standards; designate land on the east side of Hillside 
Avenue (on runway centerline) for open space on the General Plan; 
promote informal means of providing fair disclosure of potential noise 
impacts in airport area; maintain system for receiving and responding 
to noise complaints; publish a pilot guide; review Noise Compatibility 
Plan implementation; and, update the Noise Exposure Maps and Noise 
Compatibility Program as necessary on an ongoing basis. One (1) element 
was approved upon confirmation of a detailed acoustical/design study to 
confirm the benefits of a noise barrier and refinement of the barrier's 
location.
    These determinations are set forth in detail in a Record of 
Approval endorsed by the Associate Administrator for Airports on 
January 3, 1997. 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 administrative offices 
of the city of Riverside, California.

    Issued in Hawthorne, California, on January 27, 1997.
Herman C. Bliss,
Manager, Airports Division, AWP-600, Western-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 97-3406 Filed 2-11-97; 8:45 am]
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