[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 155 (Friday, August 11, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41145-41146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19908]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Noise Exposure Map Notice; Receipt of Noise Compatibility Program
and Request for Review Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base
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/Air Reserve Base, as submitted by the Westover Metropolitan
Development Corporation 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, 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/Air Reserve Base
under Part 150 in conjunction with the noise exposure map, and that
this program will be approved or disapproved on or before January 27,
1996.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 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 July 31, 1995. The public comment period
ends on September 29, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John C. Silva, Federal Aviation Administration, New England Region,
Airports Division, ANE-600, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington,
Massachusetts 01803.
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 map submitted for Westover Metropolitan
Airport/Air Reserve Base is in compliance with applicable requirements
of part 150, effective July 31, 1995. Further, FAA is reviewing a
proposed noise compatibility program for that airport which will be
approved or disapproved on or before January 27, 1996. 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''), an
airport operator may submit to the FAA a noise exposure map which meets
applicable regulations and which depicts noncompatible 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
noncompatible uses.
The Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation submitted to the
FAA on January 26, 1994, a noise exposure map, descriptions, and other
documentation which were produced during the Airport Noise
Compatibility Planning (part 150) study at Westover Metropolitan
Airport/Air Reserve Base from October 1990 to June 1995. 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 map and
related descriptions submitted by Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air
Reserve Base. The specific maps under consideration were Figures 10.1,
`` Westover Metropolitan Airport/ARB Existing Case Ldn Contours'' and
10.3, `` Westover Metropolitan Airport/ARB Forecast Case Ldn
Contours'', along with the supporting documentation in `` Westover
Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base; FAR part 150 Documentation;
Noise Exposure Map''. The FAA has determined that the maps for Westover
Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Basevelopment Corporation are in
compliance with applicable requirements. This determination is
effective on July 31, 1995.
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
[[Page 41146]]
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 which 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 Sec. 150.21 or FAR part 150, that the statutorily
required consultation has been accomplished.
The FAA has formally received the noise compatibility program for
Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Reserve Base, also effective on July
31, 1995. Preliminary review of the submitted material indicates that
it conforms to the 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
January 27, 1996. The FAA's detailed evaluation will be conducted under
the provisions of 14 CFR part 150, Sec. 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 noncompatible land uses
and preventing the introduction of additional noncompatible 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 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, 3911 Pendleton Avenue, Chicopee,
Massachusetts 01022
Federal Aviation Administration, New England Region, Airports Division,
ANE-600, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts
01803.
Questions may be directed to the individual named above under the
heading: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts on July 31, 1995.
Vincent A. Scarano,
Manager, Airports Division, New England Region.
[FR Doc. 95-19908 Filed 8-10-95; 8:45 am]
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