[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30385-30386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12178]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Approval of Noise Compatibility Program for Tweed-New Haven
Regional Airport
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 Tweed-New
Haven Airport Authority 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 26, 2012, the FAA determined that the noise
exposure maps submitted by the City of Portland under Part 150 were in
compliance with applicable requirements. On May 9, 2013, the New
England Region Airports Division Regional Manager approved the noise
compatibility program. Seventeen of the proposed program elements were
approved, or approved in part. Four of the elements were disapproved.
DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of the FAA's approval of the
Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport noise compatibility program is May 9,
2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Doucette, Federal Aviation
Administration, New England Region, Airports Division, 12 New England
Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803, Telephone (781) 238-
7613. 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 Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport noise
compatibility program, effective May 9, 2013.
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
[[Page 30386]]
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 Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority submitted to the FAA, on
November 13, 2012, noise exposure maps, descriptions, and other
documentation produced during the noise compatibility planning study
conducted from 2010 to 2012. The Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport noise
exposure maps were determined by FAA to be in compliance with
applicable requirements on November 26, 2012. Notice of this
determination was published in the Federal Register on February 6,
2013.
The Tweed-New Haven Regional 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 2018. The Tweed-New
Haven Airport Authority 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
26, 2012, 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 21 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 New England Region Airports
Division Manager therefore approved the overall program effective May
9, 2013.
FAA's determinations are set forth in detail in a Record of
Approval endorsed by the Acting Associate Administrator on May 9, 2013.
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 Tweed-New
Haven Regional Airport.
Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts on May 9, 2013.
Mary Walsh,
Manager, Airports Division, FAA New England Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-12178 Filed 5-21-13; 8:45 am]
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