OAR 340-035-0045: Noise Control Regulations for Airports

(1) Statement of Purpose: (a) The Commission finds that noise pollution caused by Oregon airports threatens the public health and welfare of citizens residing in the vicinity of airports. To mitigate airport noise impacts a coordinated statewide program is desirable to ensure that effective Airport Noise Abatement Programs are developed and implemented where needed. An abatement program includes measures to prevent the creation of new noise impacts or the expansion of existing noise impacts to the extent necessary and practicable. Each abatement program will primarily focus on airport operational measures to prevent increased, and to lessen existing, noise levels. The program will also analyze the effects of aircraft noise emission regulations and land use controls; (b) The principal goal of an airport proprietor who may be required to develop an Airport Noise Abatement program under this rule should be to reduce noise impacts caused by aircraft operations, and to address in an appropriate manner the conflicts which occur within the higher noise contours; (c) The Airport Noise Criterion is established to define a perimeter for study and for noise sensitive use planning purposes. It is recognized that some or many means of addressing aircraft/airport noise at the Airport Noise Criterion Level may be beyond the control of the airport proprietor. It is therefore necessary that abatement programs be developed, whenever possible, with the cooperation of federal, state and local governments to ensure that all potential noise abatement measures are fully evaluated; (d) This rule is designed to encourage the airport proprietor, aircraft operator, and government at all levels to cooperate to prevent and diminish noise and its impacts. These ends may be accomplished by encouraging compatible land uses and controlling and reducing the airport/aircraft noise impacts on communities in the vicinity of airports to acceptable levels. (2) Airport Noise Criterion. The criterion for airport noise is an Annual Average Day-Night Airport Noise Level of 55 dBA. The Airport Noise Criterion is not designed to be a standard for imposing liability or any other legal obligation except as specifically designated within this section. (3) Airport Noise Impact Boundary: (a) Air Carrier Airports. Within 12 months of designation, the proprietor of any Air Carrier Airport shall submit for Department approval, the existing airport Noise Impact Boundary. The data and analysis used to determine the boundary shall also be submitted to the Department for evaluation; (b) Existing Non-Air Carrier Airports. After an unsuccessful effort to resolve a noise problem pursuant to section (5) of this rule, the Director may require the proprietor of any existing non-air carrier airport to submit for Department approval, all information reasonably necessary for the calculation of the existing airport Noise Impact Boundary. This information is specified in the Department’s Airport Noise Control Procedure Manual (NPCS-37), as approved by the Commission. The proprietor shall submit the required information within twelve months of receipt of the Director’s written notification; (c) New Airports. Prior to the construction or operation and any required local government land-use approval of any New Airport, the proprietor shall submit for Department approval the projected airport Noise Impact Boundary for the first full calendar year of operation. The data and analysis used to determine the boundary shall also be submitted to the Department for evaluation. The Department shall notify the appropriate local planning unit of the results of their evaluation; (d) Airport Master Planning. Any airport proprietor who obtains funding to develop an airport Master Plan shall submit for Department approval an existing noise impact boundary and projected noise impact boundaries at five, ten, and twenty years into the future. The data and analysis used to determine the boundaries shall also be submitted to the Department for evaluation; (e) Impact Boundary Approval. Within 60 days of the receipt of a completed airport noise impact boundary, the Department shall either consider the boundary approved or provide written notification to the airport proprietor of deficiencies in the analysis. (4) Airport Noise Abatement Program and Methodology: (a) Abatement Program. The proprietor of an existing or new airport whose airport Noise Impact Boundary includes Noise Sensitive Property, or may include Noise Sensitive Property, shall submit a proposed Airport Noise Abatement Program for Commission approval within 12 months of notification, in writing, by the Director. The Director shall give such notification when the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that an abatement program is necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of the public following a public informational hearing on the question of such necessity. Reasonable cause shall be based upon a determination that: (A) Present or planned airport operations cause or may cause noise impacts that interfere with noise sensitive use activities such as communication and sleep to the extent that the public health, safety or welfare is threatened; (B) These noise impacts will occur on property presently used for noise sensitive purposes, or where noise sensitive use is permitted by zone or comprehensive plan; and (C) It appears likely that a feasible noise abatement program may be developed. (b) Program Elements. An Airport Noise Abatement Program shall consist of all of the following elements, but if it is determined by the Department that any element will not aid the development of the program, it may be excluded: (A) Maps of the airport and its environs, and supplemental information, providing: (i) Projected airport noise contours from the Noise Impact Boundary to the airport property line in 5 dBA increments under current year of operations and at periods of five, ten, and twenty years into the future with proposed operational noise control measures designated in paragraph (4)(b)(B); (ii) All existing Noise Sensitive Property within the airport Noise Impact Boundary; (iii) Present zoning and comprehensive land use plan permitted uses and related policies; (iv) Physical layout of the airport including the size and location of the runways, taxiways, maintenance and parking areas; (v) Location of present and proposed future flight tracks; (vi) Number of aircraft flight operations used in the calculation of the airport noise levels. This information shall be characterized by flight track, aircraft type, flight operation, number of daytime and nighttime operations, and takeoff weight of commercial jet transports. (B) An airport operational plan designed to reduce airport noise impacts at Noise Sensitive Property to the Airport Noise Criterion to the greatest extent practicable. The plan shall include an evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the following noise abatement operations by estimating potential reductions in the airport Noise Impact Boundary and numbers of Noise Sensitive Properties impacted within the boundary, incorporating such options to the fullest extent practicable into any proposed Airport Noise Abatement Program: (i) Takeoff and landing noise abatement procedures such as thrust reduction or maximum climb on takeoff; (ii) Preferential and priority runway use systems; (iii) Modification in approach and departure flight tracks; (iv) Rotational runway use systems; (v) Higher glide slope angles and glide slope intercept altitudes on approach; (vi) Displaced runway thresholds; (vii) Limitations on the operation of a particular type or class of aircraft, based upon aircraft noise emission characteristics; (viii) Limitations on operations at certain hours of the day; (ix) Limitations on the number of operations per day or year; (x) Establishment of landing fees based on aircraft noise emission characteristics or time of day; (xi) Rescheduling of operations by aircraft type or time of day; (xii) Shifting operations to neighboring airports; (xiii) Location of engine run-up areas; (xiv) Times when engine run-up for maintenance can be done; (xv) Acquisition of noise suppressing equipment and construction of physical barriers for the purpose of reducing aircraft noise impact; (xvi) Development of new runways or extended runways that would shift noise away from populated areas or reduce the noise impact within the Airport Noise Impact Boundary. (C) A proposed land use and development control plan, and evidence of good faith efforts by the proprietor to obtain its approval, to protect the area within the airport Noise Impact Boundary from encroachment by non-compatible noise sensitive uses and to resolve conflicts with existing unprotected noise sensitive uses within the boundary. The Plan is not intended to be a community-wide comprehensive plan; it should be airport-specific, and should be of a scope appropriate to the size of the airport facility and the nature of the land uses in the immediate area. Affected local governments shall have an opportunity to participate in the development of the plan, and any written comments offered by an affected local government shall be made available to the Commission. The Department shall review the comprehensive land use plan of the affected local governments to ensure that reasonable policies have been adopted recognizing the local government’s responsibility to support the proprietor’s efforts to protect the public from excessive airport noise. The plan may include, but not be limited to, the following actions within the specified noise impact zones: (i) Changes in land use through non-noise sensitive zoning and revision of comprehensive plans, within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA); (ii) Influencing land use through the programing of public improvement projects within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA); (iii) Purchase assurance programs within the 65 dBA boundary; (iv) Voluntary relocation programs within the 65 dBA boundary; (v) Soundproofing programs within the 65 dBA boundary, or within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA) if the governmental entity with land use planning responsibility desires, and will play a major role in implementation. (vi) Purchase of land for airport use within the 65 dBA boundary; (vii) Purchase of land for airport related uses within the 65 dBA boundary; (viii) Purchase of land for non-noise sensitive public use within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA); (ix) Purchase of land for resale for airport noise compatible purposes within the 65 dBA boundary; (x) Noise impact disclosure to purchaser within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA); (xi) Modifications to Uniform State Building Code for areas of airport noise impact within the Noise Impact Boundary (55 dBA). (c) Federal Aviation Administration Concurrence. The proprietor shall use good faith efforts to obtain concurrence or approval for any portions of the proposed Airport Noise Abatement Program for which the airport proprietor believes that Federal Aviation Administration concurrence or approval is required. Documentation of each such effort and a written statement from FAA containing its response shall be made available to the Commission; (d) Commission Approval. Not later than twelve months after notification by the Director pursuant to subsection (4)(a) of this rule, the proprietor shall submit a proposed Airport Noise Abatement Program to the Commission for approval. Upon approval, the abatement program shall have the force and effect of an order of the Commission. The Commission may direct the Department to distribute copies of the approved abatement program to interested federal, state and local governments, and to other interested persons, and may direct the Department to undertake such monitoring or compliance assurance work as the Commission deems necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of its order. The Commission shall base its approval or disapproval of a proposed Noise Abatement Program upon: (A) The completeness of the information provided; (B) The comprehensiveness and reasonableness of the proprietor’s evaluation of the operational plan elements listed under paragraph (4)(b)(B) of this rule; (C) The presence of an implementation scheme for the operational plan elements, to the extent feasible; (D) The comprehensiveness and reasonableness of the proprietor’s evaluation of land use and development plan elements listed under paragraph (4)(b)(C) of this rule; (E) Evidence of good faith efforts to adopt the land use and development plan, or obtain its adoption by the responsible governmental body, to the extent feasible; (F) The nature and magnitude of existing and potential noise impacts; (G) Testimony of interested and affected persons; and (H) Any other relevant factors. (e) Program Renewal. No later than six months prior to the end of a five-year period following the Commission’s approval, each current airport Noise Abatement Program shall be reviewed and revised by the proprietor, as necessary, and submitted to the Commission for consideration for renewal. (f) Program Revisions. If the Director determines that circumstances warrant a program revision prior to the scheduled five year review, the Airport Proprietor shall submit to the Commission a revised program within 12 months of written notification by the Director. The Director shall make such determination based upon an expansion of airport capacity, increase in use, change in the types or mix of various aircraft utilizing the airport, or changes in land use and development in the impact area that were unforeseen in earlier abatement plans. Any program revision is subject to all requirements of this rule. (5) Consultation. The Director shall consult with the airport proprietor, members of the public, the Oregon Departments of Transportation, Land Conservation and Development and any affected local government in an effort to resolve informally a noise problem prior to issuing a notification under subsections (3)(b), (4)(a) and (4)(f) of this rule. (6) Noise Sensitive Use Deviations. The airport noise criterion is designed to provide adequate protection of noise sensitive uses based upon out-of-doors airport noise levels. Certain noise sensitive use classes may be acceptable within the airport Noise Impact Boundary if all measures necessary to protect interior activities are taken. (7) Airport Noise Monitoring. The Department may request certification of the airport Noise Impact Boundary by actual noise monitoring, where it is deemed necessary to approve the boundary pursuant to subsection (3)(e) of this rule. (8) Exceptions. Upon written request from the Airport Proprietor, the Department may authorize exceptions to this rule, pursuant to OAR 340-035-0010, for: (a) Unusual or infrequent events; (b) Noise sensitive property owned or controlled by the airport; (c) Noise sensitive property located on land zoned exclusively for industrial or commercial use. [Note: You can view a PDF of referenced publications by clicking on the "Tables" link below.] [ED. NOTE: To view attachments referenced in rule text, click here to view rule.]