[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61369-61370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23818]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Noise Exposure Map Notice; Westover Metropolitan Airport, 
Chicopee, Massachusetts

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its 
determination that the noise exposure map for Westover Metropolitan 
Airport, as submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Development 
Corporation under the provisions of Title I of the Aviation Safety and 
Noise Abatement Act of 1979, is in compliance with applicable 
requirements. The FAA also announces that it is reviewing a proposed 
noise compatibility program that was submitted for Westover 
Metropolitan Airport in conjunction with the noise exposure map, and 
that this program will be approved or disapproved on or before April 8, 
2015.

DATES: The effective date of the FAA's determination on the noise 
exposure map and of the start of its review of the associated noise 
compatibility program is September 25, 2014. The public comment period 
ends on November 25, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to comment on the proposed 
program. All comments, other than those properly addressed to local 
land use authorities will be considered by the FAA to the extent 
practicable. Comments on the proposed noise compatibility program 
should also be submitted to the FAA office under the heading: FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Copies of the noise exposure map, the FAA's evaluation of the map, 
and the proposed noise compatibility program are available for 
examination at the following locations:

Westover Metropolitan Airport, Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Federal Aviation Administration, New England Region, Airports Division, 
ANE-600, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts 
01803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Doucette, Federal Aviation 
Administration, New England Region, Airports Division, ANE-600, 12 New 
England Executive Park, Burlington MA 01803.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 47501-47510; 14 CFR part 150.

    This notice announces that the FAA finds that the noise exposure 
map submitted for Westover Metropolitan Airport is in compliance with 
applicable requirements of Part 150, effective October 8, 2014. 
Further, FAA is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program for 
that airport which will be approved or disapproved on or before April 
8, 2015. This notice also announces the availability of this program 
for public review and comment.
    Under Section 103 of Title I of the Aviation Safety and Noise 
Abatement Act of 1979 (hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''), 
codified at 49 U.S.C. 47503, an airport operator may submit to the FAA 
a noise exposure map which meets applicable regulations and which 
depicts non-compatible land uses as of the date of submission of such 
map, a description of projected aircraft operations, and the ways in 
which such operations will affect such map. The Act requires such map 
to be developed in consultation with interested and affected parties in 
the local community, government agencies, and persons using the 
airport. An airport operator who has submitted a noise exposure map 
that is found by FAA to be in compliance with the requirements of 
Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 150, promulgated pursuant to 
Title I of the Act, may submit a noise compatibility program for FAA 
approval which sets forth the measures the operator has taken, or 
proposes, for the introduction of additional non-compatible uses.
    The Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation submitted to the 
FAA, on October 8, 2014, a noise exposure map, descriptions, and other 
documentation that were produced during the Airport Noise Compatibility 
Planning (Part 150) study Westover Metropolitan Airport from August 
2013 to September 2014. It was requested that the FAA review this 
material as the noise exposure map, as described in Section 103(a)(1) 
of the Act, and that the noise mitigation measures, to be implemented 
jointly by the airport and surrounding communities, be approved as a 
noise compatibility program under Section 104 (b) of the Act.
    The FAA has completed its review of the noise exposure maps and 
related descriptions submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Development 
Corporation. The specific maps under consideration were:

--Existing (2014) Conditions Noise Exposure Map NEM-1
--Future (2019) Conditions Noise Exposure Map NEM-2

    The FAA has determined that the maps for Westover Metropolitan 
Airport are in compliance with applicable requirements. This 
determination is effective on October 8, 2014.
    FAA's determination on an airport operator's noise exposure maps is 
limited to a finding that the maps were developed in accordance with 
the procedures contained in Appendix A of FAR Part 150. Such 
determination does not constitute approval of the applicant's data, 
information or plans, or a commitment to approve a noise compatibility 
program or to fund the implementation of that program. If questions 
arise concerning the precise relationship of specific properties to 
noise exposure contours depicted on a noise exposure map submitted 
under Section 103 of the Act, it should be noted that the FAA is not 
involved in any way in determining the relative locations of specific 
properties with regard to the depicted noise contours, or in 
interpreting the noise exposure map to resolve questions concerning, 
for example, which properties should be covered by the provisions of 
Section 107 of the Act. These functions are inseparable from the 
ultimate land use control and planning responsibilities of local 
government. These local responsibilities are not changed in any way 
under Part 150 or through FAA's review of a noise exposure map. 
Therefore, the responsibility for the detailed overlaying of noise 
exposure contours onto the map depicting properties on the surface 
rests exclusively with the airport operator that submitted the map, or 
with those public agencies and planning agencies with which 
consultation is required under Section 103 of the Act. The FAA has 
relied on the certification by the airport operator, under Section 
150.21 of FAR Part 150, that the statutorily required consultation has 
been accomplished.
    The FAA has formally received the noise compatibility program for 
Westover Metropolitan Airport, also effective on October 8, 2014. 
Preliminary review of the submitted material indicates that it conforms 
to the

[[Page 61370]]

requirements for the submittal of noise compatibility programs, but 
that further review will be necessary prior to approval or disapproval 
of the program. The formal review period, limited by law to a maximum 
of 180 days, will be completed on or before April 8, 2015. The FAA's 
detailed evaluation will be conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR 
part 150, Section 150.33. The primary considerations in the evaluation 
process are whether the proposed measures may reduce the level of 
aviation safety, create an undue burden on interstate or foreign 
commerce, or be reasonably consistent with obtaining the goal of 
reducing existing non compatible land uses and preventing the 
introduction of additional non-compatible land uses.
    Interested persons are invited to comment on the proposed program 
with specific reference to these factors. Questions may be directed to 
the individual named above under the heading: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on September 25, 2014.
Mary T. Walsh,
Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-23818 Filed 10-9-14; 8:45 am]
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