T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluationrecertified State 2 aircraft from the fleet mix. This change in fleet mix further reduced the contour size from thatpredicted in the 1999 NCP Update. Thus, homes that may have been acquired or sound insulated at the start ofthe RIAC Part 150 NCP, may no longer fall within impacted noise contours.RIAC Aircraft Operations Monitoring SystemIn 1998, the Rhode Island Legislature enacted Title 1, Aeronautics, Chapter 1-5, Permanent Noise Monitoring Act,which required RIAC to install an Aircraft Operations Monitoring System (AOMS) and to report, on a quarterlybasis, information related to the operation of aircraft at T.F. Green. The AOMS tracks flights arriving to anddeparting from the Airport. The AOMS has five radar sensors, deployed throughout the State, which receiveinformation from all aircraft with transponders operating within 20 miles of T.F. Green. Transponders allow theaircraft to report its location, altitude and identification information. The system records aircraft type, flightnumber, aircraft registration number, altitude, arrival or departure status, and the origin or destination of theflight. RIAC prepares Quarterly Operations Reports, posted on its website, 156 that provide data on:• Activity levels, including: total operations, operations by Part 36 certification (noise classification), late nightoperations (by time, airline and aircraft category);• Adherence to the noise abatement corridors developed in the Part 150 Study, by airline and runway; and• A summary of noise complaints during the period, and comparison to previous quarters.4.2.2 Affected EnvironmentThe noise analysis examined the Baseline Condition for aircraft noise, and vehicular traffic noise. Predicted cargo operations-related ground noise for future year conditions is presented in Chapter 5,Environmental Consequences. 4.2.2.1 Aircraft Noise ExposureAircraft noise exposure is described in terms of the DNL 60, 65, 70, and 75 dB contours for the BaselineCondition aircraft operations, which are shown on Figure 4-3. DNL noise exposure contours are a graphicalrepresentation of how the cumulative exterior noise levels from T.F. Green Airport’s aircraft operations isdistributed over the surrounding area on an average day of a given year. Both the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD) and the FAA define DNL 65 dB as the threshold of noise incompatibility withresidential land uses. 157, 158 Thus, the DNL 65 dB contour is important for population impact assessments. TheDNL 65 dB contour also forms the basis on which the FAA determines eligibility for sound insulation funding.INM ModelingAircraft noise exposure contours were generated by the INM for 2004 aircraft operations. Figure 4-1 provides asample of the flight tracks modeled for the Baseline Condition. These tracks follow the NCP flight paths but alsoinclude deviations from these paths. The DNL 65 dB contour at T.F. Green Airport (Figure 4-3) extends mainlyalong the flight track off Runway 5-23. The contour extends northward near Warwick Avenue almost to156 T.F. Green Airport Noise Management, www.pvdairport.com/main.aspx?sec_id=74, May 2011.157 Environmental Criteria and Standards of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 24 CFR Part 51; 44 Federal Register 40861,U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC, July 12, 1979.158 14 CFR Part 150, Airport Noise Compatibility Planning.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-6 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc