[Federal Register: March 5, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 44)]
[Notices]
[Page 10501-10502]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05mr04-144]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Noise Exposure Map Notice: Receipt of Noise Compatibility Program
and Request for Review
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its
determination that the noise exposure maps submitted by the Gulfport-
Biloxi Regional Airport Authority for the Gulfport-Biloxi International
Airport under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 47501 et seq. (Aviation
Safety and Noise Abatement Act) and 14 CFR part 150 are in compliance
with applicable requirements. The FAA also announces that it is
reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program that was submitted for
the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport under part 150 in conjunction
with the noise exposure map, and that this program will be approved or
disapproved on or before August 24, 2004.
DATES: The effective date of the FAA's determination on the noise
exposure maps and of the start of its review of the associated noise
compatibility program is February 26, 2004. The public comment period
ends April 26, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Schuller, Jackson Airports
District Office, 100 West Cross Street, Suite B, Jackson, MS 39208-
2307, telephone (601) 664-9883. 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 maps submitted for the Gulfport-Biloxi
International Airport are in compliance with applicable requirements of
part 150, effective February 26, 2004. Further, FAA is reviewing a
proposed noise compatibility program for that airport which will be
approved or disapproved on or before August 24, 2004. This notice also
announces the availability of this program for public review and
comment.
Under 49 U.S.C., section 47503 (the Aviation Safety and Noise
Abatement Act, hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''), an airport
operator may submit to the FAA noise exposure maps which meet
applicable regulations and which depict non-compatible land uses as of
the date of submission of such maps, a description of projected
aircraft operations, and the ways in which such operations will affect
such maps. The Act requires such maps 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 noise exposure maps that are
found by FAA to be in compliance with the requirements of Federal
Aviation Regulations (FAR) part 150, promulgated pursuant to the Act,
may submit a noise compatibility program for FAA approval which sets
forth the measures the operator has taken or proposes to take to reduce
existing non-compatible uses and prevent the introduction of additional
non-compatible uses.
Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority submitted to the FAA
originally on January 24, 2002, and in current form on September 25,
2003, noise exposure maps, descriptions and other documentation that
were produced during the Airport Noise Compatibility Study Update of
2001 through 2003. It was requested that the FAA review this material
as the noise exposure maps, as described in section 47503 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 47504 of the Act.
The FAA has completed its review of the noise exposure maps and
related descriptions submitted by the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport
Authority. The specific documentation determined to constitute the
noise exposure maps includes: current and forecast NEM graphics, plus
all other narrative, graphic, or tabular representations of the data
required by section A150.101 of part 150, and sections 47503 and 47506
of the Act, more specifically considered by FAA to be Chapters 1
through 8 of the Airport Noise Compatibility Study Update submitted to
FAA on September 25, 2003. The FAA has determined that these maps for
the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport are in compliance with
applicable requirements. This determination is effective on February
26, 2004. 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 constitute 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 47503 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 maps to resolve questions concerning,
for example, which properties should be covered by the provisions of
section 47506 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 noise exposure maps.
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 those maps,
or with those public agencies and planning agencies with which
consultation is required under 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
the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, also effective on February
26, 2004. 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
[[Page 10502]]
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
August 24, 2004.
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 maps, the FAA's evaluation of the maps, and the proposed noise
compatibility program are available for examination at the following
locations:
Federal Aviation Administration, Jackson Airports District Office,
100 West Cross Street, Suite B, Jackson, MS 39208-2307;
Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Gulfport-Biloxi Regional
Airport Authority Office, 14035-L Airport Road, Gulfport, MS 39503.
Questions may be directed to the individual named above under the
heading, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Issued in Jackson, Mississippi, on February 26, 2004.
Rans D. Black,
Manager, Jackson Airports District Office, Southern Region.
[FR Doc. 04-5039 Filed 3-4-04; 8:45 am]
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