[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 54 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12174-12175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6171]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Waterbury-Oxford Airport, Oxford, CT; 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 
Connecticut Department of Transportation under the provisions of Title 
I of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 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 November 6, 2008, the FAA determined that 
the noise exposure maps submitted by the Connecticut Department of 
Transportation under Part 150 were in compliance with applicable 
requirements. On January 14, 2009, the Manager, Airports Division, New 
England Region, approved the Waterbury-Oxford Airport noise 
compatibility program. All 12 of the proposed program elements were 
approved.

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of the FAA's approval of the 
Waterbury-Oxford Airport noise compatibility program is January 14, 
2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Mr. Bryon Rakoff, Federal Aviation 
Administration, New England Region, Airports Division, 12 New England 
Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803, Telephone (781) 238-
7610.
    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 Waterbury-Oxford Airport noise 
compatibility program, effective January 14, 2009.
    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 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 a 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 Connecticut Department of Transportation submitted to the FAA, 
on October 9, 2008, noise exposure maps, descriptions, and other 
documentation produced during the noise compatibility planning study 
conducted from September 2004 to October 2008. The Waterbury-Oxford 
Airport noise exposure maps were determined by FAA to be in compliance 
with applicable requirements on November 6, 2008. Notice of this 
determination was published in the Federal Register on December 1, 
2008.
    The Waterbury-Oxford Airport 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 2012. The Connecticut Department of 
Transportation 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 November 6, 2008, and 
was required by a provision of the Act to approve or disapprove the 
program within 180 days (other than the use of

[[Page 12175]]

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 12 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 Manager, Airports Division, New England Region 
effective January 14, 2009.
    All 12 of the proposed program elements were approved. The 12 
program elements include noise abatement departure flight tracks, noise 
abatement departure profile, preferential runway use, coordination of 
proposed zoning changes, fair disclosure of real estate transactions, 
noise related subdivision regulatory review, voluntary residential 
property acquisition, voluntary sound insulation, establishment of a 
Noise Abatement Committee, development of a Web site for public 
outreach, publication of operational noise abatement measures in pilot 
guides, and provision for updates to the noise compatibility program 
measures and noise contours.
    FAA's determinations are set forth in detail in a Record of 
Approval signed by the Manager, Airports Division, New England Region 
on January 14, 2009. 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 Waterbury-Oxford Airport, Oxford, CT.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on January 14, 2009.
LaVerne F. Reid,
Manager, Airports Division, New England Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-6171 Filed 3-20-09; 8:45 am]
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