[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13816-13817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6222]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Noise Exposure Map Notice: Receipt of Noise Compatibility Program
and Request for Review; Corpus Christi International Airport, Corpus
Christi, Texas
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its
determination that the noise exposure maps submitted by City of Corpus
Christi for Corpus Christi International Airport under the provisions
of Title 49 U.S.C., Chapter 475 (hereinafter referred to as ``Title
49'') and 14 CFR Part 150 are in compliance with applicable
requirements. The FAA also announces that it is reviewing a proposed
noise compatibility program that was submitted for Corpus Christi
International Airport under Part 150 in conjunction with the noise
exposure maps and that this program will be approved or disapproved on
or before August 1, 2000.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the FAA's determination on the
noise exposure maps and the start of its review of the associated noise
compatibility program are March 1, 2000. The public comment period ends
May 1, 2000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nan L. Terry, Department of
transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Fort Worth, Texas,
76193-0650, (817) 222-5607. Comments on the proposed noise
compatibility program should also be submitted to the above office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces that the FAA finds
that the noise exposure maps submitted for Corpus Christi International
Airport are in compliance with applicable requirements of Part 150,
effective March 1, 2000. Further, the FAA is reviewing a proposed noise
compatibility program for that airport which will be approved or
disapproved on or before August 1, 2000. This notice also announces the
availability of this program for public review and comment.
Under Title 49, an airport operator may submit to the FAA noise
exposure maps which meet applicable regulations and which depict non-
compatible land uses as of the date of submission of such maps, a
description of projected aircraft operations, and the ways in which
such operations will affect such maps. Title 49 requires such maps 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 noise exposure maps that are
found by the FAA to be in compliance with the requirements of Federal
Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 150, promulgated pursuant to Title 49,
may submit a noise compatibility program for FAA approval which sets
forth the measures the operator has taken or proposes for the reduction
of existing non-compatible uses and for the prevention of the
introduction of additional non-compatible uses.
The City of Corpus Christi submitted to the FAA on January 10, 2000
noise exposure maps, descriptions and other documentation, which were
produced during the Master Plan Update and the Federal Aviation
Regulations (FAR) Part 150 Airport Noise Compatibility Planning Study
for Corpus Christi International Airport beginning on July 18, 1995.
It was requested that the FAA review this material as the noise
exposure maps, as described in Title 49, and that the noise mitigation
measures, to be implemented jointly by the airport and surrounding
communities, be approved as a noise compatibility program under Title
49.
The FAA has completed its review of the noise exposure maps and
related descriptions submitted by the City of Corpus Christi. The
specific maps under consideration are Noise Exposure Map 1999, Figure
5-1, Noise Exposure Map 2004, Figure 5-2, and Noise Exposure Map
Ultimate Airfield, Figure 5-3 in the submission.
The FAA has determined that these maps for Corpus Christi
International Airport are in compliance with applicable requirements.
This determination is effective on March 1, 2000. The 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,
plans, 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 maps to resolve questions concerning,
for example, which properties should be covered by the provisions of
Title 49.
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 noise exposure maps. 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 which submitted those maps, or with those public agencies and
planning agencies with which consultation is required under Title 49.
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
Corpus Christi International Airport, also effective on March 1, 2000.
Preliminary review of the submitted material indicates that it conforms
to the requirements for the submittal of noise compatibility programs,
but that further
[[Page 13817]]
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 August 1, 2000.
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 consisent
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. All comments, other than
those properly addressed to local land use authorities, will be
considered by the FAA to the extent practicable. Copies of the noise
exposure maps. the FAA's evaluation for the maps, and the proposed
noise compatibility program are available for examination at the
following locations:
Federal Aviation Administration, Airports Division, 2601 Meacham
Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas 76137
Department of Aviation, City of Corpus Christi, 1000 International
Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas 78406-1801
Questions may be directed to the individual named above under the
heading, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Issued in Forth Worth, Texas, March 1, 2000.
Joseph G. Washington,
Acting Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 00-6222 Filed 3-13-00; 8:45 am]
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