[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 234 (Thursday, December 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62948-62949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26478]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Noise Exposure Map Notice; Receipt of Noise Compatibility Program 
and Request for Review; Westover Airport; Chicopee and Ludlow, 
Massachusetts

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its 
determination that the noise exposure map for Westover Airport is in 
compliance with applicable requirements. The FAA also announces that it 
is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program that was submitted 
for Westover Airport in conjunction with the noise exposure map, and 
that this program will be approved or disapproved on or before May 6, 
2019.

DATES: The effective date of the FAA's determination on the noise 
exposure map and of the start of its review of the associated noise 
compatibility program is November 7, 2018. The public comment period 
ends on January 7, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Doucette, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Airports Division, 1200 District Ave., Burlington MA 
01803. Comments on the proposed noise compatibility program should also 
be submitted to the above office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces that the FAA finds 
that the noise exposure map submitted for Westover Airport, as 
submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation under 
the provisions of Title I of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement 
Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-193) and 14 CFR part 150, is in compliance with 
applicable requirements of Part 150, effective November 7, 2018. 
Further, FAA is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program for 
that airport, under Part 150, which will be approved or disapproved on 
or before May 6, 2019. This notice also announces the availability of 
this program for public review and comment.
    Under Section 103 of Title I of the Aviation Safety and Noise 
Abatement Act of 1979 (hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''), an 
airport operator may submit to the FAA a noise exposure map which meets 
applicable regulations and which depicts non compatible land uses as of 
the date of submission of such map, a description of projected aircraft 
operations, and the ways in which such operations will affect such map. 
The Act requires such map to be developed in consultation with 
interested and affected parties in the local community, government 
agencies, and persons using the airport. An airport operator who has 
submitted a noise exposure map that is found by FAA to be in compliance 
with the requirements of Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 150, 
promulgated pursuant to Title I of the Act, may submit a noise 
compatibility program for FAA approval which sets forth the measures 
the operator has taken, or proposes, for the introduction of additional 
non-compatible uses.
    The Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation submitted to the 
FAA, on November 7, 2018, a noise exposure map, descriptions, and other 
documentation that were produced during the Airport Noise Compatibility 
Planning (Part 150) study at Westover Airport from September 2017 to 
October 2018. It was requested that the FAA review this material as the 
noise exposure map, as described in Section 103(a)(1) of the Act, and 
that the noise mitigation measures, to be implemented jointly by the 
airport and surrounding communities, be approved as a noise 
compatibility program under Section 104(b) of the Act.
    The FAA has completed its review of the noise exposure maps and 
related descriptions submitted by Westover Metropolitan Development 
Corporation. The specific maps under consideration were:

    ``Existing (2018) Conditions Noise Exposure Map, NEM-1''
    ``Future (2023) Conditions Noise Exposure Map, NEM-2''

    The FAA has determined that the maps for Westover Airport are in 
compliance with applicable requirements. This determination is 
effective on November 7, 2018. FAA's determination on an airport 
operator's noise exposure maps is limited to a finding that the maps 
were developed in accordance with the procedures contained in Appendix 
A of FAR Part 150. Such determination does not constitute approval of 
the applicant's data, information or plans, or a commitment to approve 
a noise compatibility program or to fund the implementation of that 
program. If questions arise concerning the precise relationship of 
specific properties to noise exposure contours depicted on a noise 
exposure map submitted under Section 103 of the Act, it should be noted 
that the FAA is not involved in any way in determining the relative 
locations of specific properties with regard to the depicted noise 
contours, or in interpreting the noise exposure map

[[Page 62949]]

to resolve questions concerning, for example, which properties should 
be covered by the provisions of Section 107 of the Act. These functions 
are inseparable from the ultimate land use control and planning 
responsibilities of local government. These local responsibilities are 
not changed in any way under Part 150 or through FAA's review of a 
noise exposure map. Therefore, the responsibility for the detailed 
overlaying of noise exposure contours onto the map depicting properties 
on the surface rests exclusively with the airport operator that 
submitted the map, or with those public agencies and planning agencies 
with which consultation is required under Section 103 of the Act. The 
FAA has relied on the certification by the airport operator, under 
Section 150.21 of FAR Part 150, that the statutorily required 
consultation has been accomplished.
    The FAA has formally received the noise compatibility program for 
Westover Airport, also effective on November 7, 2018. Preliminary 
review of the submitted material indicates that it conforms to the 
requirements for the submittal of noise compatibility programs, but 
that further review will be necessary prior to approval or disapproval 
of the program. The formal review period, limited by law to a maximum 
of 180 days, will be completed on or before May 6, 2019. The FAA's 
detailed evaluation will be conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR 
part 150, Section 150.33. The primary considerations in the evaluation 
process are whether the proposed measures may reduce the level of 
aviation safety, create an undue burden on interstate or foreign 
commerce, or be reasonably consistent with obtaining the goal of 
reducing existing non compatible land uses and preventing the 
introduction of additional non-compatible land uses.
    Interested persons are invited to comment on the proposed program 
with specific reference to these factors. All comments, other than 
those properly addressed to local land use authorities, will be 
considered by the FAA to the extent practicable. Copies of the noise 
exposure map, the FAA's evaluation of the map, and the proposed noise 
compatibility program are available for examination at the following 
locations:
    Westover Airport, 255 Padgette Street, Chicopee, Massachusetts 
01022.

    Federal Aviation Administration, Airports Division, 1200 District 
Avenue, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803.
    Questions may be directed to the individual named above under the 
heading: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts on November 7, 2018.
Richard P. Doucette,
FAA, New England Region, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-26478 Filed 12-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


