FAA to Review Aircraft Noise Standard
ONCC Continues Community Outreach Programs
Des Plaines, Ill., March 31, 2009— The Federal Aviation Administration has notified the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission the agency is pursuing research to establish new or updated relationships between aircraft noise exposure metrics and the health and welfare impact on residents living near airports.
Recent shifts in O’Hare International Airport air traffic following the opening of a new runway last November has renewed concerns about frequency of flights and annoyance to residents, according to ONCC Chairperson and Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene J. Mulder who initiated the noise review request by the FAA.
“The FAA is keenly aware that aircraft noise continues to affect airport communities despite large reductions in noise exposure,” said Acting Assistant Administrator for Aviation Policy, Planning and Environment Nancy D. LoBue in a letter to Mulder. View the letter here.
“While decades of research throughout the world continue to show that community annoyance from cumulative noise energy exposure correlates well with the day/night average sound level (DNL) we agree that it is timely to undertake a new systematic review,” LoBue said.
Even though moving forward depends on funding, the FAA’s Center of Excellence—Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER)—is currently pursuing comprehensive research on noise reduction issues, according to LoBue.
“As members of the PARTNER Advisory Board, ONCC plans to reach out to other airport communities this summer to promote further research and to ask residents for their support by contacting aviation stakeholders and government agencies to ensure aircraft noise reduction is a priority for federal funding and research,” Mulder explained.
Park Ridge Mayor Howard P. Frimark, whose city is feeling the impact of O’Hare’s new Runway 9L-27R, explained he is willing to work with any FAA department to bring relief to Park Ridge residents. “We have been relentless in our efforts to reduce the number of flights on the new runway, said Frimark. “We want to collect more noise data along the flight tracks to show the FAA that the standards are skewed.”
ONCC also formally requested a review of nighttime flights to confirm that O’Hare’s new runway usage and North Air Traffic Control Tower adhere to normal hours of operation between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Local FAA officials have promised that any deviation in the nighttime flight schedule will be forwarded to ONCC in a monthly report.
ONCC, composed of 27 Cook and DuPage communities, Cook County and 15 school districts, strives to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on surrounding neighborhoods of O’Hare International Airport through home and school insulation, and to reduce, wherever possible, aircraft noise at its source. For more information, contact Brian Gilligan, 773- 686-3198, or visit www.oharenoise.org.
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ONCC member communities: Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Bellwood, Chicago, Des Plaines, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Harwood Heights, Hoffman Estates, Itasca, Maywood, Melrose Park, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norridge, Northlake, Oak Park, Palatine, Park Ridge, River Forest, River Grove, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Stone Park, Wood Dale and Cook County. ONCC member school districts: 59; 63; 80; 81; 84; 84.5; 85.5; 86; 87; 88; 89; 214; 234; 299; and 401.
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