Vancouver, WA - On Thursday, October 23, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird will get a bird’s eye view of several of the routes proposed for aircraft noise abatement in Vancouver and communities surrounding PDX.  Rep. Baird will be joined by members of Vancouver’s citizen Noise Advisory Committee (CNAC) and Port of Portland officials for the fly over, viewing some of the proposed routes and discuss the groups’ viewpoints. 

A noise abatement route is a recommended flight path aircraft follow to minimize noise over a populated area. One example of this is the recommendation that commercial jets follow the Columbia River on PDX departures and arrivals.

The Port began a Noise Compatibility Study (FAR Part 150) in January 2002 in response to citizens’ concerns and looks to complete the process in 2004.  The end result of the Part 150 study will be a new noise compatibility program to reduce, as much as possible, the amount of noise disturbance caused by jets in the PDX area.  Port officials have worked with citizen groups such as CNAC to develop maps outlining possible routes that reduce noise impact on communities, however, a formal plan has yet to be determined. 

Thursday’s flight is important because airplane noise reduction has long been an issue in the Vancouver community.  Rep. Baird will use this opportunity to urge the Port to fully consider routes that adequately address the concerns raised by his constituents and examine the impact of routes that have been proposed. 

“This is a quality of life issue,” said Rep. Baird. “While I’m encouraged by the Port’s willingness to listen to the public, it is crucial that communities from the Washington side of the river play a role in developing a noise reduction plan that best fits the needs of the region.”

In addition to the traditional components of a Part 150 Noise study, the Port of Portland has also chosen to incorporate non-traditional elements in their study to expand the scope of community involvement.  These include: an extensive community outreach program, military and non-military flight tracking, long-term airport use evaluation (beyond the required 5 years) and a review of the final recommendations by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.   

###