Federal

Aviation-Impacted Communities Act

Source: Congress.gov · 3,737 words in original text

What This Bill Does

The Aviation-Impacted Communities Act requires the Federal Aviation Administration to provide funding for communities near airports experiencing significant aircraft noise. The bill establishes community boards to address airport noise concerns and requires the FAA to conduct studies and create action plans to reduce aviation impacts on nearby neighborhoods.

Who It Affects

Communities within one mile of commercial or cargo jet routes at 3,000 feet or less above ground level. State, regional, and local elected officials. Airport operators. Residents of homes, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, places of worship, and day care centers near airports. The Federal Aviation Administration.

Key Provisions

• Communities not currently within the 65 DNL standard (a noise measurement) become eligible for FAA airport improvement noise mitigation funding (Sec. 2) • The FAA must contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study aviation impacts on designated communities, examining noise levels, emissions, flight paths, and health effects (Sec. 3) • Communities can request official designation status and the FAA must recognize them and list them on its website (Sec. 4) • Designated communities must establish community boards within six months, made up equally of elected officials, airport operators, residents, and public health and environment representatives (Sec. 5) • The FAA must develop an action plan within six months after a community assessment is completed, which may include sound insulation, noise barriers, or changes to flight paths (Sec. 6) • The FAA must make grants available for noise mitigation in residences, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, places of worship, and other impacted facilities within 180 days of releasing an action plan (Sec. 7)

What Changes

Communities outside the traditional 65 DNL noise contour gain access to federal noise mitigation funding previously unavailable to them. Residents near airports gain the right to form official boards that work directly with the FAA on noise concerns. The FAA must conduct comprehensive studies on aviation impacts and create action plans addressing community concerns. The FAA may be required to change flight paths or procedures if studies show these changes would reduce impacts on communities. Communities can appeal FAA decisions not to implement recommended changes to an independent panel of experts.

Important Definitions

Aviation-impacted community: A neighborhood, town, or city located within one mile of where commercial or cargo jet routes fly at 3,000 feet or less above ground level. Commercial or cargo jet route: A flight path that departs from or arrives at a large hub or metroplex airport. Aircraft operation: A landing or takeoff of an aircraft. Impact: Noise, air pollution emissions, or other aviation-related effects from aircraft affecting a community or its residents. DNL: Day-Night Average Sound Level, a noise measurement method. Noise mitigation: Sound insulation of buildings, noise barriers, acoustic shielding, or other methods to reduce noise burden.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1047 To require the Federal Aviation Administration to provide funding for noise mitigation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require the Federal Aviation Administration to provide funding for noise mitigation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation-Impacted 4 Communities Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NOISE MITIGATION FOR VERTICAL FENCELINE 6 COMMUNITIES. 7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, aviation- 8 impacted communities that are not currently within the 9 65 DNL standard as measured by the Federal Aviation 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1047 IH Administration shall be eligible for the Airport Improve- 1 ment Program noise mitigation program funds and for 2 grants under section 7, and shall also be granted status 3 under section 5 to establish community boards to address 4 airport noise in their communities. 5 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY, FRAME- 6 WORK, AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOL. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall enter 8 into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to 9 conduct a study that— 10 (1) summarizes the relevant literature and 11 studies done on aviation impacts worldwide; 12 (2) focuses on large hub commercial airports 13 and surrounding communities, including commu- 14 nities currently outside of the 65 DNL contour in— 15 (A) King County, WA; 16 (B) Boston; 17 (C) Chicago; 18 (D) New York City; 19 (E) the Northern California Metroplex; 20 (F) Phoenix; 21 (G) the Southern California Metroplex; 22 (H) the District of Columbia; 23 (I) Atlanta; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1047 IH (J) any other metropolitan large hub air- 1 port identified by the Administrator. 2 (b) CONTENTS.—The study described in subsection 3 (a) shall examine— 4 (1) the collection and consolidation of quantifi- 5 able, observational, experiential, anecdotal, or other 6 data from— 7 (A) the Federal Aviation Administration; 8 (B) airport operators; 9 (C) valid acoustic instrumentation on the 10 ground; 11 (D) testimonials and other evidence from 12 community members; and 13 (E) organizations in the community; 14 (2) the Day-Night Average Sound Level, using 15 measured data or modeled data (or other noise 16 metrics, as applicable); 17 (3) any other existing or supplemental noise 18 metrics from data collected by noise monitor sta- 19 tions; 20 (4) emissions generated by individual and cu- 21 mulative takeoffs and landings, including emissions 22 that impact the ground level; 23 (5) lateral trajectory and altitude of flight 24 paths as demonstrated by actual and comprehensive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1047 IH radar flight track data in addition to published 1 routes; 2 (6) how aviation impacts communities sur- 3 rounded by multiple airports; 4 (7) how aviation impacts communities with 5 unique geography, including communities situated at 6 higher elevation or near large bodies of water; 7 (8) any other data requested by the impacted 8 community in order to give a comprehensive under- 9 standing of the impacts on such community, includ- 10 ing comparative data for equity analysis; 11 (9) recommendations on actions or mitigation 12 that can be taken to alleviate— 13 (A) concerns raised during community out- 14 reach; and 15 (B) effects that are determined in the 16 study; and 17 (10) any other data or information determined 18 to be relevant by the National Academies in ana- 19 lyzing aviation impacts. 20 (c) FRAMEWORK AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOL.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using findings from the 22 study, the National Academy of Sciences shall pro- 23 vide the FAA with a framework and diagnostic tool 24 for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1047 IH (A) conducting appropriate community as- 1 sessments upon request of community boards 2 (including as described in section 5(f)); 3 (B) measuring the impact on communities 4 of— 5 (i) high frequency of overhead flights; 6 (ii) an increase or change in flight op- 7 erations due to adoption of new flight pro- 8 cedures; 9 (iii) high frequency or an increase in 10 night time aircraft noise; and 11 (iv) decreased dispersion of flight path 12 utilization; and 13 (C) developing a scientifically based strat- 14 egy for evaluating structures subject to in- 15 creases described in subparagraph (A)(ii) that 16 should be eligible for noise mitigation. 17 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In developing the frame- 18 work and diagnostic tool under paragraph (1), the 19 National Academy of Sciences shall— 20 (A) seek appropriate community input and 21 feedback from community boards as well as 22 open community meetings; and 23 (B) ensure, to the extent practicable, that 24 such framework and diagnostic tool is under- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1047 IH standable to, and useable by, the community 1 boards and the general public. 2 SEC. 4. DESIGNATING OF COMMUNITIES. 3 (a) OUTREACH.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 6 shall conduct outreach to State, regional, and local 7 elected officials of aviation-impacted communities to 8 inform them of the opportunity to be a designated 9 community. 10 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The outreach described 11 in paragraph (1) shall— 12 (A) be conducted in local print and elec- 13 tronic media (including social media, local for- 14 eign language media, ethnic radio, newspapers, 15 and television); and 16 (B) reflect languages regularly encountered 17 in the aviation-impacted community in any 18 signs, materials, and multimedia resources. 19 (b) REQUEST.—The State, regional, or local elected 20 officials (or designee thereof) of an aviation-impacted com- 21 munity may request to be a designated community, and 22 the Administrator shall— 23 (1) recognize such community as a designated 24 community upon request; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1047 IH (2) acknowledge each community requesting 1 designation on the website of the Federal Aviation 2 Administration. 3 (c) PORTIONS OF COMMUNITY.—The State or local 4 elected officials (or designee thereof) of a designated com- 5 munity, representatives, or a group of representatives cho- 6 sen by a community, shall select the portions or the en- 7 tirety of such community considered aviation-impacted, in- 8 cluding designating the community as a whole should such 9 community so choose. 10 SEC. 5. COMMUNITY BOARDS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 12 date on which an aviation-impacted community becomes 13 a designated community pursuant to section 4, such des- 14 ignated community shall— 15 (1) select a community board comprised of indi- 16 viduals that equally represent— 17 (A) State, regional, or local elected officials 18 or city managers (or designees thereof); 19 (B) local airport operators; 20 (C) impacted community residents; and 21 (D) the public health and environment; 22 and 23 (2) in the case where such designated commu- 24 nity decides to maintain an existing group of pri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1047 IH marily elected local officials that has previously been 1 constituted for purposes of working on aviation-re- 2 lated issues, designate such existing group as a com- 3 munity board pursuant to this section, so long as— 4 (A) affected community members who are 5 not airport employees or elected officials have 6 representation on the board; and 7 (B) health and environmental representa- 8 tives are added as needed. 9 (b) MEETINGS.—A community board shall meet at 10 times and places chosen by the members of such board. 11 (c) PURPOSES.—The purpose of a community board 12 is to provide information to airport operators and the Fed- 13 eral Aviation Administration concerning aviation impacts. 14 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall— 15 (1) designate an FAA designee; and 16 (2) ensure that representatives of and, when 17 appropriate and upon request of a community board, 18 relevant experts from the Federal Aviation Adminis- 19 tration participate in meetings of a community 20 board. 21 (e) COMMUNITY REPORTS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A community board may 23 draft a community report detailing the community’s 24 concerns and issues related to aviation impacts. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1047 IH (2) CONTENTS.—A community report may be 1 comprised of, or include, community information, 2 documents, or locally conducted assessments. 3 (f) COMMUNITY ASSESSMENTS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A community board may pe- 5 tition the Administrator to conduct a community as- 6 sessment, which shall be conducted based on the 7 framework and diagnostic tool established by the 8 National Academy of Sciences under section 3 and 9 the community reports described in subsection (e). 10 (2) LIMITATION.—A community board may pe- 11 tition the Administrator to conduct not more than 1 12 community assessment under paragraph (1) every 3 13 years. 14 (3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 15 (2), a community board may petition the Adminis- 16 trator to conduct an additional community assess- 17 ment during the 3-year period described in para- 18 graph (2) if— 19 (A) a study described in part 150 of title 20 14, Code of Federal Regulations, is commis- 21 sioned by an airport with flight paths that af- 22 fect the community represented by the commu- 23 nity board; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1047 IH (B) if airport operations increase substan- 1 tially above of projected increases. 2 (g) INSTRUMENTATION.—Upon request of a commu- 3 nity board, the Administrator shall provide additional 4 noise measurement instrumentation to measure aircraft 5 noise. 6 (h) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator and each 7 community board that petitions for a community assess- 8 ment shall collaborate on the scope of such community as- 9 sessment. 10 (i) REGIONAL ASSESSMENT.—Upon the request and 11 approval of not less than 2 community boards located in 12 the same region, the FAA may conduct a regional assess- 13 ment based on the framework and diagnostic tool estab- 14 lished by the National Academy of Sciences under section 15 3. 16 (j) ACCESSIBLE FORMAT.—The Administrator shall 17 ensure the community assessment is culturally and lin- 18 guistically accessible given the needs or requests of the 19 community. 20 SEC. 6. ACTION PLANS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 22 date of completion of a community assessment described 23 in section 5(f), the Administrator shall, in collaboration 24 with community boards, devise an action plan that seeks 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1047 IH to alleviate or address the concerns raised in such commu- 1 nity reports or such community assessments. 2 (b) CONTENT.—An action plan shall— 3 (1) include a long-term regional plan that fo- 4 cuses on reducing and minimizing aviation impacts 5 for the designated community or communities, in- 6 cluding sound insulation or other noise mitigation 7 infrastructure, air filtration systems, and changes in 8 flight paths or procedures; and 9 (2) require the appropriate district office of the 10 Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic con- 11 trol facility to consider the implementation of 12 changes to flight operations, flight paths, and 13 vertical guidance if the community assessment de- 14 scribed in section 5(f) indicates that such changes 15 would decrease the impacts on the designated com- 16 munity, including examining the population density 17 in the communities described in such report and as- 18 sessment in considering such implementation. 19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the action 20 plan, the Administrator will consider the implementation 21 of changes to flight operations, flight paths, and vertical 22 guidance if the community assessment described in section 23 5(f) indicates that such changes would decrease the im- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1047.IH H1047 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1047 IH pacts of flights on a designated community (or commu- 1 nities). 2 (d) STATEMENT CONCERNING CERTAIN CHANGES.— 3 If the Administrator determines that changes to oper- 4 ations, flight paths, and vertical guidance that a commu- 5 nity study indicated would decrease the effects on the des- 6 ignated community would not be effective in decreasing 7 community impacts, the Administrator shall explain the 8 rationale for this determination in the action plan. 9 (e) APPEALS PROCESS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 11 tablish an appeals process, through which a commu- 12 nity board may appeal the determination by the 13 Federal Aviation Administration not to implement a 14 change under subsection (c) to an independent panel 15 comprised equally of independent public health ex- 16 perts, environmental experts, and aviation experts. 17 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In carrying out para- 18 graph (1), the Administrator shall seek rec- 19 ommendations from the National Academy of 20 Sciences for panel experts described in such para- 21 graph. 22 (3) REQUIREMENT TO CONVENE.—An inde- 23 pendent panel convened pursuant to paragraph (1) 24 shall convene not later than 6 months after the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 1 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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