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Noise working group recommends using offshore departures, pauses Part 150 study pending targeted approach work
Summary
Staff reported that a noise working group has met four times and recommended steps to shift more departures offshore (including using existing FAA departures during low-traffic hours), to postpone a full FAA Part 150 study while procuring a consultant to design proprietary approaches, and to continue outreach to airlines, FBOs and pilots.
Staff updated the commission on the noise working groups work to address community noise concerns. The group has held four meetings with community representatives, airline and general aviation stakeholders, and commission liaisons. Work to date includes education on current instrument procedures, review of noise-monitoring data and outreach to carriers and tower staff.
The groups unanimous recommendation was to pause or postpone a costly FAA Part 150 noise study and instead procure a consultant to design targeted instrument approaches and departure procedures that can be handed to the FAA for publication. Staff said the Part 150 process is expensive (roughly $1,000,000) and would rely on contours and metrics that may not capture the local communities currently affected; by contrast, a consultant-led technical effort focused on tailored approaches could produce FAA‑publishable procedures and give the airport better tools to ask pilots to fly quieter routings.
As an immediate step staff intends to work with the tower and airlines to promote departures that turn aircraft out over water earlier in the climb (utilizing certain FAA standard instrument departures when traffic allows). Staff said that work could begin within weeks with targeted outreach and coordination with the tower manager and airlines. Commissioners asked staff to accelerate implementation where feasible.
The noise working group also recommended additional outreach to business-jet and charter operators and to consider monitoring aircraft emissions as a related long-term concern. The commission did not vote on the recommendations at this meeting; staff will return with a procurement plan for consultant services and an implementation schedule for departure‑routing changes.
