Arlington, Massachusetts: More residents may hear airplane noise

Arlington, Mass. —    An additional 4,079 residents could begin hearing airplanes departing from Logan Airport under a proposed route change.

The proposal was scheduled to take effect March 7, but a public comment period has been extended to March 15. A new start-up date for the proposal has not been set.

It changes the air route navigation for flights departing from Logan Airport’s Runway R33L. Air traffic will fly through a narrower corridor than in the past.

If the proposal is adopted, about 20,300 residents will be affected to some degree by Logan departures. More than 16,200 residents are already exposed to plane-related noise, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.

"The FAA’s environmental assessment is showing that the intensity, duration and frequency of the noise will not be changed. There will be no increase in operations or runway usage, just the path on that runway," said Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine.

Chapdelaine has investigated the matter along with Health Compliance Officer James Feeney, and will continue to keep an eye on the situation, he said.

"We have very limited, if any, authority to impact the decision, but our health and human services staff will monitor changes and anything the FAA is releasing, and also be open to citizen concerns being raised," Chapdelaine said. "When we hear from them, we’ll follow up with the FAA and appropriate authorities as best as we can."

Plane noise is not a new issue in Arlington, Chapdelaine said.

"From time to time I’m sure people in town do have concerns about the noise. Living myself in East Arlington, when there’s a plane taking off on the right runway, I can hear it quite loudly," Chapdelaine said. "I’m sure there are people in Arlington who are aware of planes flying overhead, but it’s not necessarily a large-scale issue on a regular basis."

Selectmen Chairman Kevin Greeley said he will look more closely into the plan, but believes he would oppose it.

"Anything that would bring more planes over Arlington and affect the neighborhoods, I would oppose," Greeley said. "This is a clear case of ‘not in my backyard,’ but that’s how I feel about Arlington. I try to do whatever I can to protect Arlington residents."

The FAA determines runway usage and sets paths for the airplanes, said Matthew Brelis, MassPort director of Media Relations.

 "It’s a program that the FAA has instituted around the country. It’s part of a new generation of air traffic control using satellites rather than World War II-era radar and it has been done for safety, efficiency and environmental reasons," Brelis said.

If the proposal is adopted, planes departing from Runway R33L will use a satellite-based RNAV system instead of the old ground-based system. The RNAV system is beneficial because it is more precise and efficient, according to the FAA proposal. It has already been adopted at 15 Logan Airport runways for both departures and arrivals.

The FAA concludes in its report that no significant noise impacts would result from the proposed changes. In fact, the proposal concludes that about 68,000 fewer Greater Boston residents will be impacted by departures if the proposal is adopted.

The FAA also said it will conduct a six-month review after the changes are implemented to ensure minimal impact on residents.

The FAA’s standards dictate that only noise levels greater than 65 Day Night Average Sound Level (DNL) are unacceptable to a community. The DNL number is derived from all aircraft operations during a 24-hour period that represents an airport’s average annual operational day, according to the FAA.

The new proposal would not raise noise levels higher than about 46.3 DNL in Arlington.

Residents, town officials, or other interested parties have until March 15 to submit public comments about the proposal. Comments may be emailed to Terry English, Project Manager, at Terry.English@faa.gov.

"All comments we receive by the end will be reviewed and will be incorporated into the final environmental assessment we will issue," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters.

Source:   http://www.wickedlocal.com