US House Rep Karen Bass's office released the following:
WASHINGTON
– Today, Congressmember Karen Bass (D-Calif.), member of the Quiet
Skies Caucus, released a statement on the inadequate response the Caucus
received from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator
Stephen Dickson on concerns on airplane noise. The Caucus had previously
requested information on FAA’s plans to mitigate the impacts on these
communities but found the response from Administrator Dickson
disappointing both prior to and during their meeting, and now in most
recent letter from the agency.
During
a meeting with Administrator Dickson in October 2019, Caucus members
expressed serious concerns about airplane and helicopter noise and the
FAA’s lack of responsiveness to impacted communities. Caucus Members
asked questions about unresolved problems and FAA’s plans, as well as
issues specific to their districts. The FAA responded formally in
January in a letter addressed to QSC co-chair Eleanor Holmes-Norton.
“Members of our community have been consistently bombarded by noise coming from airplanes flying too low, too loud and too often,” said Rep. Bass. “The FAA’s response letter does not address these issues. FAA must understand that increasing airline efficiency must not and cannot require the sacrifice of health and well-being of those on the ground.”
“We continue to receive complaints about interrupted sleep patterns, disruption of business and economic activities, shaking homes and concerns about the effect on youth development and education,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), co-chairs of the Quiet Skies Caucus, and Caucus Vice-Chairs Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL). “Furthermore, the Administrator’s view that community noise concerns are solely an aviation industry issue is not only inadequate, but false. The FAA has a responsibility to help mitigate noise concerns in impacted communities and the Administrator’s failure to recognize these concerns speaks volumes about why our communities feel slighted, and shows a lack of willingness to make the necessary improvements to administration functionality. We plan to use our oversight function on the committees we serve to direct the FAA to engage with impacted communities and examine possible solutions to this debilitating problem.”
“Members of our community have been consistently bombarded by noise coming from airplanes flying too low, too loud and too often,” said Rep. Bass. “The FAA’s response letter does not address these issues. FAA must understand that increasing airline efficiency must not and cannot require the sacrifice of health and well-being of those on the ground.”
“We continue to receive complaints about interrupted sleep patterns, disruption of business and economic activities, shaking homes and concerns about the effect on youth development and education,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), co-chairs of the Quiet Skies Caucus, and Caucus Vice-Chairs Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL). “Furthermore, the Administrator’s view that community noise concerns are solely an aviation industry issue is not only inadequate, but false. The FAA has a responsibility to help mitigate noise concerns in impacted communities and the Administrator’s failure to recognize these concerns speaks volumes about why our communities feel slighted, and shows a lack of willingness to make the necessary improvements to administration functionality. We plan to use our oversight function on the committees we serve to direct the FAA to engage with impacted communities and examine possible solutions to this debilitating problem.”
