AAAE and Industry Partners Request Extension of Comment Period for FAA's Aviation Noise Policy Review
AAAE joined several of its industry partners, including ACI-NA and Airlines for America, in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requesting a 90-day extension of the deadline for airports and other stakeholders to respond to the agency's request for comments on its ongoing 'Noise Policy Review' (NPR). AAAE and the coalition argued that FAA's request is extremely broad and potential changes under consideration would have significant implications for the entire aviation industry, including airports. The scope of the request necessitates additional time for the industry to work with its members to provide meaningful feedback. The current deadline to respond is Monday, July 31. You can read the letter here.
In April, FAA initiated an NPR to evaluate, among many other things, its current use of DNL as the primary noise metric for assessing cumulative aircraft noise exposure and reviewing whether to continue to use the DNL 65 dB level as (a) the metric and threshold for determining significant noise impacts as part of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews and (b) the definition of the limit of residential land use compatibility. FAA's review was largely triggered as a result of 2021 survey results showing that substantially more individuals are highly annoyed by aircraft noise levels since the last survey was conducted over 30 years ago. FAA plans to use its ongoing review of recent research and public comments to determine whether and how to update its noise policy. Additional information and an overview of FAA's NPR can be found in our April 28 Regulatory Alert.
What's Next? AAAE is in the process of developing a survey to collect feedback from its members on the key areas of inquiry in the NPR and will be hosting a separate webinar discussion to solicit input as we develop a response ahead of the deadline. Airports are highly encouraged to carefully review the request and notify AAAE of concerns or any other issues that we should consider including in our comments. In addition, we are working closely with our industry partners to ensure a coordinated response to FAA's request, which may have notable implications for the future of the agency's aircraft noise policy.
Resources on FAA's Noise Policy Review:
• Industry Coalition's June 14 Letter Requesting Extension of Comment Period for Noise Policy Review
• AAAE's April 28 Regulatory Alert on Noise Policy Review
• FAA's April 28 Press Release on Noise Policy Review
• FAA's April 28 Notice and Request for Comments on Noise Policy Review
• FAA's Noise Policy Review Website
• AAAE's April 14, 2021 Comments in Response to FAA's Neighborhood Environmental Survey Results
• 2021 Results from FAA's Neighborhood Environmental Survey
