ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
airport expansion oversight
commission
Establishes the Airport
Expansion Oversight Commission.
The
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires federal agencies to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for major federal actions
significantly affecting the quality of the environment. “Major federal actions”
include Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) actions to approve airport
proprietor requests for Airport Improvement Program funding for projects, for
the use of passenger facility charges and for approval of new development on
airport layout plans. According to the FAA, most new commercial service runways
and major runway extensions at high activity airports require an EIS.
When
an EIS is required, the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations mandate a sequence (Notice of Intent, Scoping, Draft EIS, Final
EIS, Record of Decision) and provide a recommended format. The process involves
the determination of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed
action, technical analyses of the impacts and reasonable alternatives. The EIS
development also includes the opportunity for public input.
Noise
is primarily generated at airports by arriving and departing aircraft, and
according to an August 2000 report by the United States General Accounting
Office (GAO), the noise from aircraft engines is the most significant
environmental concern facing airports now and in the future. According to a
recent GAO survey, the most frequently cited challenge was addressing the noise
generated by older aircraft that have been modified but are still loud, even
though they are in compliance with current standards they are louder than new
aircraft. Additional challenges facing airport officials involve local zoning,
which can lead to land uses that are incompatible with airport operations, and
the related issue of increasing residential populations near airports. Airports
and airlines have implemented a range of noise mitigation strategies to help
reduce the impact of aircraft noise on surrounding communities, but some
citizens and local officials do not believe that their concerns about aircraft
noise are being adequately addressed.
There
is no known fiscal impact associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes the Airport Expansion Commission (Commission) consisting of legislators representing districts that include any or entire parts of a city or town located within a 65 decibel day-night sound level contour of a commercial airport owned by another city or town.
2. Requires the Commission members to select a chairperson.
3. Requires the city or town that owns a commercial airport with a 65 decibel day-night sound level contour that extends into another city or town to submit an airport expansion environmental impact mitigation plan prior to the airport’s expansion.
4. Requires the Commission to approve or reject the city or town’s environmental impact mitigation plan. Specifies that if the plan is rejected, the Commission must recommend an alternative plan to mitigate the airport expansion’s environmental impact.
5. Specifies that a third party agreed to by both parties must resolve disputes regarding the Commission’s recommendations.
6. Requires the city or town to comply with the environmental impact mitigation plan if approved by the Commission, agree and comply with the Commission’s recommendations or agree and comply with the decision of the third party.
7. Withholds the city or town’s highway user revenue fund (HURF) monies and monies distributed from the state aviation fund if the city or town does not agree with the third party’s decision.
8. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
February 19, 2002