[Federal Register: March 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 54)]
[Notices]
[Page 12174-12175]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23mr09-104]
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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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