New F.A.R. Part 150 Noise Study for Buchanan (proposed 8/2001).
As specified in Part 150 of the Federal Air Regulations (FAR), the FAA will fund and/or allow certain noise control programs if a significant portion of the land surrounding the airport is within the very noisy 65 dB CNEL contour line.  The last Part 150 noise study was conducted in 1990, and resulted in a few modest programs.  Since then, the number of properties within the 65 dB CNEL contour line has decreased, and the noise study of the recently completed ALUC study indicates no significant increase in the number of such properties is expected over the next 20 years, even if the number of current jet operations increases by 4 times and if the total number of operations doubles.  Accordingly, there is no benefit to the community for conducting the proposed Part 150 study at this time.  In fact, our attorney advises us that the proposed noise study could endanger the County's successful airport noise ordinance, which has been effective at controlling jet noise by barring Stage II jets at the field.  If the noise study finds "no noise problem", as defined by the high noise threshold of Part 150, the FAA may believe that it has a basis to demand that the County abolish the airport noise ordinance if the County wants to receive further FAA funding for Buchanan. 
    In fact, during the years from 1986-1988, the County conducted a FAR PART 150 study at the same it was formulating and adopting the noise ordinance.  At that time, the FAA sent the county threatening letters which demanded that the airport get approval under PART 150 before adopting any noise ordinance.  The letters implied that future FAA money might be withheld if the ordinace was adopted.

The FAA's primary job is to promote and support the airline industry.  Its secondary job is safety.  Community concerns are dead last on the FAA's priority list unless a community can get its Senators and local Representatives to lean on the FAA to listen and resolve issues (particularly those congressional members who have oversight over the FAA's budget).

For a property 1.5 miles from the end of the runway to be within the 65 dB CNEL noise contour line, the property would have to be exposed to 22.5 accumulated minutes per day of noise from the most noisy stage 3 jets (roughly corresponding to 45 overflights per day), or exposed to 1.5 accumulated hours per day of noise from the moderately noisy stage 3 jets (roughly corresponding to 180 overflights per day).

Currently, the noise emmision of planes is categorized in threee groups, Stage-1, Stage-2, and Stage-3, with Stage-1 being the noisiest, and stage-3 being the quietest.  Stage-1 and Stage-2 planes that weight over 75,000 lbs cannot operate in this country, as of January 2000, unless their engines are hushkitted. An airport can seek a ban or operation restrictions on stage-1 and stage-2 planes that weight less than 75,000 lbs by seeking FAA approval under F.A.R. Part 161. To date, only four or five airports have submitted applications under part 161, but most have not completed the process. We only know of one airport which has completed the process to ban stage-1 and stage-2 jets that weight under 75,000 lbs (Naples Municipal Airport in Florida, effective January 2001). However, that ban is being challenged by the aviation industry and may be overturned by the FAA. Burbank ariport has recently applied under part 161 to enact a night time curfew on stage-3 jets weighting over 75,000 lbs. The unofficial word within the FAA is that the FAA will never approve any ban or curfew of any stage-3 jet operation. 
 

Because runways need constant on-going maintenance and because the FAA is always instituting new facility requirements on the airports, an airport usually has to apply for FAA money every 3-5 years.  It is an addictive relationship.  Once an airport takes FAA money, it usually cannot stop.  Most of the AIP money comes from the federal tax on airline tickets and fuel, and therefore comes from the air-traveling public, either directly or indirectly.