Norton Urges Appropriators to Include Senate-Passed Provision, Expanded to Include D.C. and Other Areas, to Strengthen Protections Against Airplane Noise in Final Spending Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior Member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, today released a letter she wrote to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriation Subcommittees with jurisdiction over aviation in a renewed effort to address late night and early morning airplane noise in the Palisades, Foxhall, other District of Columbia neighborhoods, and communities across the country. Norton urged them to include in the upcoming Omnibus appropriations bill an amendment introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to the fiscal year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill and passed unanimously in the Senate last month. The McCain-Flake amendment would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review and address community concerns about recent flight path changes that were made by the FAA without any public involvement. Based on town meetings and other evidence from D.C.'s Wards 2 and 3, Norton requested that the McCain-Flake amendment be expanded to include reviews of Environmental Assessment Findings of No Significant Impacts, made by the FAA administrator over the last few years, because they too did not adequately evaluate human impacts like the airplane noise effects from the new flight paths at Reagan National Airport.

"In conversations with colleagues, I have learned that airplane noise is not a D.C.-only issue," Norton said. "Many communities across the country, like those here in the District, are suffering from new and outrageous airplane noise during sleeping hours as a result of the FAA's new NextGen flight paths. The amendment introduced by my Republican colleagues is only the latest of several different ways I am trying to close in on airplane noise. New NextGen flight paths have been touted for upgrading the speed and safety of air travel. FAA has been in the air while ignoring communities on the ground. With more attention about the effects on communities on the ground, FAA also can ensure that airplane noise for communities across the U.S. is not the tradeoff. Airplane noise has harmful environmental and human impacts. If the FAA starts giving the requisite attention to the increasing evidence of unacceptable airplane noise when developing new flight paths, FAA will be successful. The agency should review all NextGen flight paths that were developed without a full environmental review."

Norton also has requested a congressional hearing to explore airplane noise and its impacts on residential communities in the District and across the nation. In May, Norton held a community meeting on airplane noise with residents in the Palisades, Foxhall, Georgetown, Hillandale and other impacted neighborhoods in the District and summoned representatives of the FAA and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to explain action it had taken or planned to take as residents expressed great frustration at an increase in air traffic activity during late nighttime and early morning hours.

Norton's full letter is below.

Honorable Susan Collins
Chairman
Senate Appropriations Committee
Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Subcommittee
Room S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510

Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member
Senate Appropriations Committee
Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Subcommittee
Room S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510

Honorable Mario Diaz-Balart
Chairman
House Appropriations Committee
Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Subcommittee
2358-A Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Honorable David Price
Ranking Member
House Appropriations Committee
Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Subcommittee
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairmen Collins and Diaz-Balart and Ranking Members Reed and Price:

As you develop the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill, I write in support of the McCain/Flake amendment that was unanimously agreed to in the Senate to the fiscal year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, which was unanimously agreed to last month on the floor, requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review Categorical Exclusions, and I am requesting that the language be expanded to also include Environmental Assessment Findings of No Significant Impact.

Communities across the country have been suffering from unprecedented of concentrations of noise caused by flight paths that have been changed to accommodate NextGen. The consequences felt by residents in Phoenix, which the McCain/Flake amendment addresses, are mirrored throughout the country in cities like San Jose and the District of Columbia. However, for many new flight paths, the FAA claimed a Categorical Exclusion to avoid environmental review or pursued an Environmental Assessment and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact that did not adequately take into account the harmful environmental and human impacts of these flight paths.

It is my understanding that the FAA has used Categorical Exclusions for single airports and Environmental Assessments for Metroplexes. However, the McCain/Flake Amendment deals solely with Categorical Exclusions. Therefore, I am requesting that the McCain/Flake amendment be included in the omnibus and that it be expanded to include reviews of Environmental Assessment Findings of No Significant Impacts made by the FAA administrator. Draft language is enclosed.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to working with you on this critical issue.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton