Aviation and the Environment: FAA's Role in Major Airport

108 Pages·2000·0.72 MB·English

United States General Accounting Office
GAO Report to Congressional Requesters
AVIATION AND THE
April 2000
ENVIRONMENT
FAA’s Role in Major
Airport Noise
Programs
GAO/RCED-00-98

Contents
Letter
5
Executive Summary 8
Chapter 1 20
The Federal Role in Addressing Airport-Related Noise 20
Introduction
Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 27
Chapter 2 30
Most Types of Projects Are Eligible for AIP, but They Generally Must
Project Eligibility for
Be Part of an FAA-Approved Airport Noise Compatibility Program 30
Federally Authorized
Selection Criteria Influence Which Eligible Projects Receive AIP
Funding Is Broad, but Funding 31
The PFC Program Can Fund Some Project Costs Ineligible for AIP
Other Factors Affect
Grants 33
Project Selection Land Acquisition and Soundproofing Projects Receive the Majority
of AIP and PFC Noise-Related Funding 34
Chapter 3 39
Measuring Sound and Its Effects 39
Noise Measurement
Measures of Noise Identify Noise Levels of Single Aircraft Operations
Methods Provide
and Community Exposure 41
Different Kinds of FAA Selected the Day-Night Sound Level Method for Measuring Noise
Exposure 52
Information
Chapter 4 54
Noise Standards Generally Permit Heavier Aircraft to Generate More
Aircraft Noise
Noise Than Lighter Aircraft 54
Standards Vary By
Existing Aircraft Weighing 75,000 Pounds or Less Have Been Exempt
Aircraft Design and Do From Operating Restrictions 55
Not Apply to Some
Lighter Aircraft
Page 1 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
Contents
Chapter 5 59
FAA Facilitates State and Local Land Use Planning Efforts 59
FAA’s Land Use
Short-Term Actions Aim at Improving the Communication of
Planning Initiative
Information 60
Focuses First on Observations 65
Agency Comments 66
Improving Access to
Information
Appendixes
Appendix I: Process for Participating in the Part 150 Noise
Compatibility Program 70
Appendix II: National Priority System for AIP-Eligible Projects 75
Appendix III: Funding for Noise-Related Projects Through the
Airport Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 1982
Through 1999 77
Appendix IV: Funding for Noise-Related Projects Through the
Passenger Facility Charge Program, Fiscal Years 1992
Through 1999 86
Appendix V: Airport Model for Noise Measurement Method
Comparisons 89
Appendix VI: Comparisons of the Maximum Sound Levels and
Sound Exposure Levels for Four Aircraft 91
Appendix VII: Stage 3 Aircraft Noise Standards 93
Appendix VIII:FAA’s Compatible Land Use Guidance 98
Appendix IX: Advisory Panel Members 101
Appendix X: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 102
Tables Table1: Portions of AIP Funds Set Aside for Noise Mitigation
Projects, Fiscal Years 1982 Through 1999 25
Table2: Typical Sound Levels of Common Occurrences 40
Table3: Effects of Scheduling Changes on Noise Exposure Levels
Using Three Measurement Methods 49
Table4: Time-Above Noise Measurements for 60 and 80 A-weighted
Decibels 51
Table5: Short-term Actions Under FAA’s Land Use Planning
Initiative 61
Page 2 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
Contents
Table6: Summary of Key Land Use Planning Issues Related to
Airport Noise 64
Table7: Point Values Assigned for Project Purpose in FAA’s National
Priority System 75
Table8: Point Values Assigned for Airport Size in FAA’s National
Priority System 75
Table9: Point Values Assigned for the Component Element in FAA’s
National Priority System 76
Table10:Point Values Assigned for Project Type in FAA’s National
Priority System 76
Table11:Noise-related Projects Funded Through the Airport
Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 1982 Through 1999,
by Project Type 77
Table12:Noise-related Projects Funded Through the Passenger
Facility Charge Program, Fiscal Years 1992 Through 1999,
by Project Type 86
Table13:Aircraft Selected for Airport Operations 90
Table14:Compatible Land Use Table Based on FAA’s Yearly
Day-Night Sound Level Measurements 99
Figures Figure1: Noise Contours at 65 and 60 Decibels for Three
Measurement Methods 14
Figure2: AIP Noise-Related Projects, Fiscal Years 1982 Through
1999 (Total: $2.7 billion) 35
Figure3: AIP Noise-Related Projects, Fiscal Years 1982 Through
1999 for Large Airports (Total: $2.1 billion) and for Small
Airports (Total: $582 million) 36
Figure4: PFC Noise-Related Projects, Fiscal Years 1992 Through
1999 (Total: $1.6 billion) 37
Figure5: PFC Noise-Related Projects, Fiscal Years 1992 Through
1999 for Large Airports (Total: $1.59 billion) and for Small
Airports (Total: $45.6 million) 38
Figure6: Single Event Noise Levels Using the Maximum Sound
Level Method and the Sound Exposure Level Method,
Approach and Takeoff—Boeing 747 and C140 Aircraft 44
Figure7: Noise Contours for Sound Equivalent Level, Day-Night
Sound Level, and Community Noise Equivalent Level
Measurement Methods, at 75, 70, 65, 60, and 55 A-weighted
Decibels 48
Figure8: Part 150 Noise Exposure Map Preparation and Acceptance
Process 71
Page 3 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
Contents
Figure9: Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program Preparation and
Approval Process 73
Figure10: Maximum Sound Level and Sound Exposure Level for the
CL 600 and FAL 20 Aircraft 91
Figure11: Maximum Sound Level and Sound Exposure Level for the
Gulfstream IV and MD 83 Aircraft 92
Figure12: Noise Standards for Stage 3 Aircraft With Four or More
Engines—Takeoff 94
Figure13: Noise Standards for Stage 3 Aircraft With Three or Fewer
Engines—Takeoff 95
Figure14: Noise Standards for Stage 3 Aircraft Regardless of the
Number of Engines—Sideline 96
Figure15: Noise Standards for Stage 3 Aircraft Regardless of the
Number of Engines—Approach 97
Abbreviations
AIP Airport Improvement Program
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
GAO General Accounting Office
PFC Passenger Facility Charge
Page 4 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
United States General Accounting Office Resources, Community, and
Washington, D.C. 20548 Economic Development Division
B-283801
Letter
April 28, 2000
Congressional Requesters
In response to your request, this report discusses issues related to airport noise, describing, in
particular, (1) the eligibility of noise reduction and mitigation projects for federally authorized
funding, (2) methods for measuring airport noise, (3) aircraft noise standards for civil subsonic
turbojets, and (4) the Federal Aviation Administration’s Land Use Planing Initiative, which was
designed to facilitate state and local land use planning for areas near airports.
As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further
distribution of this report until 14 days after the date of this letter. At that time, we will send copies to
the appropriate congressional committees; the Honorable Rodney E. Slater, Secretary of
Transportation; and the Honorable Jane F. Garvey, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration. We
will also make copies available to other interested parties upon request.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me or Belva Martin, Assistant
Director, at [phone]. Major contributors to this report are listed in appendix X.
Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D
Associate Director, Transportation Issues
Page 5 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
B-283801
List of Requesters
The Honorable John J. Duncan, Jr.
Chairman
The Honorable William O. Lipinski
Ranking Democratic Member
Subcommittee on Aviation
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
House of Representatives
The Honorable Bob Franks
The Honorable Frank A. LoBiondo
The Honorable Robert Menendez
The Honorable William Pascrell, Jr.
The Honorable Steven R. Rothman
House of Representatives
Page 6 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
Page 7 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs
Executive Summary
Purpose Since the late 1950s, noise from aircraft and other airport operations has
generated controversy with many surrounding communities and has
emerged as a constraint on airport development. New technology is making
aircraft quieter, but expected growth in air traffic may limit the net
reduction in overall noise levels generated by individual airports. The
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for several federal
programs and policies concerning airport-related noise and must consult
with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding some of its
responsibilities. FAA administers two programs that fund airports’ capital
development projects, including noise-related projects: the Airport
Improvement Program (AIP), which is a federal grant program funded by
appropriations from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and the Passenger
Facility Charge (PFC) program, which allows airports to charge passengers
a fee and retain these fees for their use, subject to FAA approval. Together,
these programs have recently provided airports with about $3 billion a
year; of that total, about $284 million was targeted in fiscal year 1999 for
projects to reduce airport-related noise or mitigate its effects. FAA is also
responsible for choosing the method used to measure the noise from
airports and for establishing standards that limit the noise that aircraft may
generate. Furthermore, FAA has recently embarked on a Land Use Planning
Initiative to help mitigate the effects of airport-related noise by facilitating
state and local land use planning for communities near airports.
Because of concerns about airport-related noise, the Subcommittee on
Aviation, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and
several Members of the House of Representatives asked GAO to determine
(1) the types of projects that are eligible for federally authorized funding to
reduce airport-related noise or mitigate its effects, (2) the differences in the
major methods for measuring the impact of airport-related noise, (3) FAA’s
current noise standards for civil subsonic turbojets and the reasons some
of those aircraft are not required to comply with these or earlier standards,
and (4) the status of FAA’s Land Use Planning Initiative and the major
issues the initiative has raised about how best to address airport-related
noise.
Page 8 GAO/RCED-00-98 Airport Noise Programs