The FAA Reauthorization Bill, S.1405, is scheduled to pass the Senate this month. Among its worst provisions is Section 5017, which addresses supersonic aircraft. This section:
- Exempts supersonic aircraft from existing Stage 4 and Stage 5 noise standards, instead requiring that they be as noisy as the largest airliners today (§ 5017 (a) (3), “specifies a noise standard for landing and take-off of civil supersonic aircraft that is no more stringent than large subsonic aircraft in use for transporting passengers in the United States on January 1, 2017”)
- Repeals the prohibition on sonic booms over land. This would be replaced with a threshold based on “noise levels that are tolerated in the United States for non-aviation purposes.” (§ 5017 (a) (2) (B)) Essentially, the law proposes the wholly inadequate regulation of high intensity transient noise from sonic booms using a continuous average noise metric. The law makes no mention of community noise impact, instead requiring only that the standard be “economically reasonable and technologically practicable.” (§ 5017 (a) (2) (A))
Westchester County Airport is a prime target. Two of the three civil supersonic aircraft currently being developed are private jets and Westchester cannot enact the mandatory noise restrictions in place at Teterboro.
Please call our Senators Gillibrand (845-875-4585) and Schumer (914-734-1532) to demand that Section 5017 be removed from the bill.
Why can’t we hold a rally to protest. Maybe if we get some interest from the media, something will change. I call the airport constantly, they note the complaint and say good bye. I don’t think there are enough people rallying to make a difference. I have called our senators and expressed my anger. I really don’t think anyone cares. The people who supposedly represent us don’t care about our communities. They have other interest. Let’s get together and get some media exposure. In ending, I all say that Senator Shumer’s office always has a human answering the phones and noting the complaint. Thank you for that. Let’s keep fighting for our rights!!!