Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today called on the Senate Commerce Committee to address increased airport noise levels caused by new flight paths. The senators support several provisions in the House FAA reauthorization bill that would address this issue and are urging they be included in the final legislation.

“Since the FAA began implementing changes to flight paths as part of the NextGen modernization program, Americans living near airports across the country have been forced to tolerate new and increased incidents of aircraft noise,” the senators wrote.

“Many believe that the FAA has not done enough to monitor and accurately measure true aviation noise levels.”

Full text of the letter follows:

September 19, 2018

The Honorable John Thune
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Bill Nelson
Ranking Member, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson:

Thank you for your leadership in advancing the Senate’s legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As you work to finalize the bill, we ask that you ensure important aircraft noise provisions are included in any version that reaches the Senate floor.

Since the FAA began implementing changes to flight paths as part of the NextGen modernization program, Americans living near airports across the country have been forced to tolerate new and increased incidents of aircraft noise. Our states are no different. Hundreds of constituents living near major airports have contacted our offices to report that increased noise, more frequent flyovers, and aircraft passing at lower altitudes are causing disruption in their lives.

Many believe that the FAA has not done enough to monitor and accurately measure true aviation noise levels. Several provisions included in H.R. 4 would improve data collection methods and encourage the consideration of alternative noise metrics to address the FAA’s outdated noise measurement standards and attempt to capture the cumulative impact of aircraft noise. Specifically, we recommend inclusion of the following provisions of the House-passed bill—many of which are also included in amendments that we were prepared to offer to the Senate Commerce Committee’s bill had it been considered by the full Senate— in any negotiated Senate FAA legislation in order to ensure a modern, accurate account of true aviation noise levels in communities near major airports:

• Sec. 155. Stage 3 aircraft study
• Sec. 156. Addressing community noise concerns
• Sec. 157. Study on potential health and economic impacts of overflight noise
• Sec. 158. Environmental mitigation pilot programs
• Sec. 159. Aircraft noise exposure
• Sec. 160. Community involvement in FAA NextGen projects located in metroplexes
• Sec. 164. Aircraft noise, emission, and fuel burn reduction program
• Sec. 166. Noise and health impact training
• Sec. 167. Airport noise mitigation and safety study
• Sec. 550. Report on air traffic control modernization
• Sec. 569. Study regarding day-night average sound levels

We look forward to working with you to address these issues in final FAA reauthorization legislation.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Benjamin L. Cardin
United States Senator

Kamala D. Harris
United States Senator

Chris Van Hollen
United States Senator

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