Determine Who Controls Aircraft Noise

The federal government has preempted much of the authority for addressing and regulating aircraft-generated noise. The FAA controls aircraft once it departs the runway. In addition, the FAA has the responsibility and authority for determining acceptable noise levels of aircraft “at the source.” The Airport has no authority over how much noise an individual aircraft can generate and public use airports cannot control the type, number, or time of day that aircraft fly. The FAA also determines eligibility for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) noise abatement or mitigation funds, and their associated thresholds.

Congress has delegated to FAA the responsibility to address aircraft noise (49 USC Section 44715(a)). The Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 imposes requirements on local restrictions of the operation of Stage 2 and Stage 3 aircraft (49 USC Section 47524(b) and Section 47524 (c)).

Resources

ACRP Report 15 Aircraft Noise: A Toolkit for Managing Community Expectations
Chapter 6, Noise Management and Public Response includes a discussion of the legislative control of aviation including a list of congressional and federal regulatory actions.
ACRP Synthesis 16 Compilation of Noise Programs in Areas Outside DNL 65
Chapter 2, Regulations, Policies, and Court Cases Governing Issues of Noise Outside DNL 65 explores a number of existing and emerging reasons that airport operators may need or desire to take action to address noise outside the DNL 65 contour.

Tools

ACRP Report 15 Aircraft Noise: A Toolkit for Managing Community Expectations
Table 6-1, Authorities and Responsibilities of Parties provides a number of noise abatement actions taken by a number of authorities such as the United States Congress and the FAA.
Noise 101, Part 3 - Federal Noise Laws and Regulations
This tool is a PowerPoint developed by the San Diego International Airport discussing a number of acts and programs to comply with the legal side of airport noise.
ACRP Synthesis 16 Compilation of Noise Programs in Areas Outside DNL 65
Table 1, DNL 65 Timeline describes a number of events and their results related to federal noise regulations and the 65 DNL.