2017-11-08 ARC PacketCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION
November 8, 2017
7:00 p.m.
Somerset Elementary School
1355 Dodd Road, Mendota Heights
(NOTE: If possible, please attend the Comp Plan Open House, beginning at 5:00 PM)
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes
a. Approval of Minutes of September 13, 2017 Meeting
4. Unfinished and New Business
a. Review of 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update Open House
b. Review of Meeting with Councilor Miller regarding 12L Departure Noise Abatement Procedure
(Norling)
c. Status of NOC 2018 Work Plan with Mendota Heights Request
d. Discussion of Fair Skies Position Statement
e. Review of October Airport Operational Statistics (link: https://www.macenvironment.org/reports/.
Monthly reports are typically published by the 10th of the each month).
i. Complaint Information
ii. Runway Use
iii. Noise Monitor Charts
iv. Turboprop Charts (if available)
f. 2018 Schedule of Meetings
6. Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence:
a. October 16, 2017 MAC Board Meeting Review
b. September 20, 2017 NOC Meeting Summary (Minutes Provided)
c. News Articles
7. Upcoming Meetings
a. City Council Meeting 11/21/2017 7:00 p.m.
b. Planning Commission Meeting 11/28/2017 7:00 p.m.
c. City Council Meeting 12/5/2017 7:00 p.m.
d. Next ARC Meeting (?) 12/13/2017 7:00 p.m.
e. Noise Oversight Committee Meeting 11/15/2017 1:30 p.m. (Agenda provided)
7. Public Comments
8. Commissioner Comments
9. Adjourn
Auxiliary aids for persons with disabilities are available upon request at least 120 hours in advance. If a notice of
less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will make every attempt to provide the aids. This
may not, however, be possible on short notice. Please contact City Administration at 651‐452‐1850 with
requests.
CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
September 13, 2017
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at Mendota Heights City Hall.
1.Call to Order
Chair David Sloan called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
2.Roll Call
The following commissioners were present: David Sloan, Sally Lorberbaum, William Dunn,
Arvind Sharma, Jim Neuharth, Gina Norling and Kevin Byrnes.
Absent: None
Guest Present: Scott Norling
Also present: City Administrator Mark McNeill, Assistant City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson
3.Approval of Agenda.
There were no additions or corrections.
4.Approval of Minutes
Approval of Minutes August 9, 2017 Meeting
Motion by Norling/Second by Neuharth to approve the minutes of the August 9, 2017 ARC
meeting, with a noted correction of the date in the heading. Motion carried 6‐0;
Lorberbaum abstained.
5.Unfinished and New Business
a.Follow‐up from August Norling Presentation –12L Departure Noise Abatement
Procedure
Chair Sloan reported that he, Ms. Jacobson, and Mr. McNeill had met on September
8th with Chad Leqve and Dana Nelson to review the proposal which had been
created by Scott and Commissioner Norling. He reported that they were advised to
have NOC Representative Jay Miller forward the information to Dana Nelson, and
request that it be considered for the 2018 NOC Workplan. Ms. Nelson said that
there were 17 similar requests which were considered for the 2017 Workplan.
It was determined that Councilor Miller would be invited to meet with the Norlings,
City staff, and Chair Sloan to be informed about the proposal. October 11th was
suggested as a possible date.
Item 3a
Commissioner Lorberbaum noted a verbiage change needed on the second to the
last slide of the presentation…”this could lead to increased use of the existing flight
paths”.
Motion/second Norling/Dunn to bring the proposal to NOC Representative Miller,
with the change as noted. Motion carried 7‐0.
b. Update on Meeting with MAC Staff of Sept 8, 2017
In addition to the above, it was reported that the Fairskies group of noise advocates
is pursuing a 55 dbl footprint to be designated by the MAC.
c. Airport Operational Statistics
i. Operational Charts—Commissioner Sharma noted that operations in June
actually went down 1.5%, which was the first decline in months.
Commissioner Neuharth questions why 12L was above the Upper Control
Limit? Chair Sloan suggested waiting until the NOC meeting the following
week, where an explanation might be heard.
ii. Complaint Information—Ms. Jacobson review on‐line information, and
compared the format to the previous line graphs. It was determined that the
revised look was easier to follow, but that it would be better to have the
chart dates which the City could report in chronological order. Ms. Jacobson
agreed to make the change.
iii. Turboprop Information. Turboprop charts were reviewed. Commissioners
Sharma and Dunn questioned whether the reporting was the same—those
showed only 56 planes for the entire month. Commissioner Neuharth
volunteered to follow‐up with Brad Juffer of MAC.
iv. Noise Monitor Charts
Review of the Noise Monitor charts was tabled until the next meeting.
6. Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence
The August 21, 2017 MAC Board meeting; the July 19, 2017 NOC Meeting; the Technical
Advisors Report; the Eagan/MH Departure Corridor Analysis Report; and Crossing in the
Corridor Analysis were reviewed.
7. Upcoming Meeting
There was discussion about whether to go to a meeting every other month, or stay with the
monthly. It was determined that keeping it monthly was easier to plan for. Therefore,
approximately two weeks in advance of the meeting, a notice would be sent by staff to
inquire whether there was business to consider. If there was nothing pressing, the Chair
and City Administrator could choose to cancel the ensuing meeting.
It was suggested that our state legislators should be invited to the January meeting.
8. Public Comments
There were no members of the public present.
9. Commissioner Comments
No additional comments were made.
10. Adjourn
Motion by Dunn/Second by Lorberbaum to adjourn at 8:37 PM. Motion carried 5‐0
Minutes Taken By:
Cheryl Jacobson, Assistant City Administrator
To: Airport Advisory Commission
From: Mark McNeill, City Administrator
Subject: November ARC Meeting—CHANGE OF LOCATION
Date: November 8, 2017
COMMENT:
As the business meeting for the ARC is rather routine this month, with the concurrence of Chair
David Sloan, we would like to invite you to do something different for the November meeting.
As is required of each city in the metropolitan region, the City of Mendota Heights is in the
process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. This is done every ten years, with a twenty year
“look-out”; in this case, through 2040.
On the same evening as is scheduled the ARC meeting, the City is hosting one of three informal
“Open Houses”, during which time residents and stakeholders of Mendota Heights are invited to
attend, and give their thoughts on such things as land use, transportation, parks and open spaces,
and other components of the City’s planning process.
It is interesting to note that, at an earlier public input meeting when attendees were allowed to
prioritize their feelings in a SWOT exercise (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats), airport noise ranked highly as one of the weaknesses of the City.
The Open House to be held on Wednesday, November 8th will be from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at
Somerset Elementary School. I would like to invite you to come early, perhaps 6:30 PM, to
learn and provide input for the Comp Plan exercise. Then, at approximately 7 PM, the ARC
could meet in a quiet corner of the facility and hold the November ARC meeting.
The disadvantage of meeting off-site is that we will not have the technology that we have been
able to experience over the past few meetings. However, hopefully that should not impact the
quality of the discussion.
Again, please plan to attend at Somerset Elementary at 6:30 PM if you would like to participate
in the Open House for the Comprehensive Plan (and 7:00 PM if otherwise you can’t make it.)
Please contact me with any questions. Thank you.
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
Item 4a
MEMORANDUM
TO: MSP Noise Oversight Committee (NOC)
FROM: Dana Nelson, Manager – Noise, Environment & Planning
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF 2018 NOC WORK PLAN, MEETING DATES AND
2017 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
DATE: November 1, 2017
In early October 2017, the NOC members were requested to forward – prior to the
November 1 agenda mailing – to MAC staff any work plan elements that they would like
to include on the 2018 Work Plan. Staff received one request from the City of Mendota
Heights and their Airport Relations Commission. This item has been added to the 2018
Draft Work Plan included in this packet.
Additionally, the NOC’s Fall Listening Session was held to receive a list of items that
citizens would like the NOC to pursue in 2018. The attendees were instructed to come up
with ideas for the Committees consideration to fill two open slots in the 2018 Work Plan.
Both verbal and written comments were taken and compiled into the attached list for the
Committee’s consideration in the finalization of the 2018 Work Plan.
NOC members are encouraged to come to the November 15th Committee meeting
prepared to finalize the work plan.
In addition, the pages following the Draft 2018 Work Plan and the citizen input from the
Fall Listening Session provide the 2018 meeting schedule and the 2017 NOC
accomplishments summary.
Following NOC approval, the 2018 Work Plan will be presented to the MAC Planning,
Development and Environment (PD&E) Committee by the NOC Co-Chairs on December
4, 2017 at 10:30 AM in the Commission Chambers at Terminal 1-Lindbergh.
REQUESTED ACTION
APPROVE AND RECOMMEND TO THE MAC PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE THE FINAL 2018 MSP NOC WORK PLAN AND APPROVE
THE LIST OF 2017 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND 2018 MEETING DATES.
ITEM 6
46
Item 4c
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Noise Oversight Committee (NOC)
Draft 2018 MSP NOC WORK PLAN
1. RESIDENTIAL NOISE MITIGATION PROGRAM
a. Review Residential Noise Mitigation Program Implementation Status
2. MSP NOISE PROGRAM SPECIFIC EFFORTS
a. 2017 Actual Noise Contour Report and Residential Noise Mitigation Program
Eligibility
b. Update on the MSP Long Term Comprehensive Plan and Associated Stakeholder
Engagement
c. Update on the FAA’s Survey to Re-Evaluate Noise Measurement Methods
d. Improve MAC Noise and Operations Monitoring System (MACNOMS) for a Better
User Experience
e. MSP Fleet Mix and Nighttime Operations Assessment
f. Status of FAA Center of Excellence/ASCENT, TRB, and FICAN Research
Initiatives
g. Update on Converging Runway Operations at MSP
h. Evaluate Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission Runway 12L Departure
Proposal
3. CONTINUE REVIEW OF PUBLIC INPUT
a. Continue to Review Input Received from quarterly Listening Sessions as
Possible Agenda Items
47
MEMORANDUM
TO: MSP Noise Oversight Committee (NOC)
FROM: Dianne Miller – NOC Co-Chair, City of Eagan
Jeffrey Hart – NOC Co-Chair, Delta Air Lines
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO MSP FAIRSKIES REQUESTS
DATE: November 1, 2017
At the September 20, 2017 NOC meeting, the co-founders of the MSP FairSkies Coalition
made several requests to the Committee. The presentation slides containing these
requests were sent to the Committee following the meeting and added to the meeting
presentation deck at: www.macnoise.com/sites/www.macenvironment.org/files/pdf/noc-
presentation-20170920.pdf.
In summary, the following requests were made to the NOC:
1. Produce and publish a 55 dB DNL contour
2. Produce and publish an N65 contour
3.Establish a goal to reduce noise
4.Enhance the NOC with greater stakeholder (citizen) representation
We have directed MAC staff to present at the November 15, 2017 NOC meeting on
information for consideration with respect to each request so that the Committee can
discuss and make an informed determination on its response to the requests.
REQUESTED ACTION
PROVIDE COMMITTEE RESPONSE TO MSP FAIRSKIES REQUESTS.
ITEM 3
15
Item 4d
Environment
Maps Archive Date: 10/2017
Home
Complaints By City
Operations Complaints Sound
Monitoring
Abatement
Search:
CITY LOCATIONS COMPLAINTS
MINNEAPOLIS 150 4777
EAGAN 40 3166
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS 7 1242
RICHFIELD 28 301
MENDOTA HEIGHTS 14 266
APPLE VALLEY 11 183
GOLDEN VALLEY 5 166
ST. LOUIS PARK 12 143
EDINA 16 135
EDEN PRAIRIE 5 62
MINNETONKA 1 53
COTTAGE GROVE 1 53
FALCON HEIGHTS 1 52
BURNSVILLE 11 52
SHOREWOOD 2 43
BLOOMINGTON 6 35
LAKEVILLE 3 25
NEW BRIGHTON 1 21
MOUNDS VIEW 1 16
PLYMOUTH 3 16
SAINT PAUL 4 13
SOUTH ST PAUL 1 5
GREY CLOUD ISLAND TWP 1 5
WEST ST PAUL 2 3
ORONO 1 2
LILYDALE 1 1
SPRING LAKE TWP.1 1
Page 1 of 4
11/3/2017https://www.macenvironment.org/reports/
Item 4.e.i
Download the CSV
CITY LOCATIONS COMPLAINTS
CHANHASSEN 1 1
Page 2 of 4
11/3/2017https://www.macenvironment.org/reports/
Item 4.e.ii
Item 4.e.iii
Turboprop North October, 2017Item 4.e.iv.
Turboprop South October, 2017
MSP NOISE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, 20th of September 2017 at 1:30pm
MAC General Office
Lindbergh Conference Room
Call to Order
A regularly-scheduled meeting of the MSP Noise Oversight Committee, having been duly called,
was held Wednesday, 20th of September 2017, in the Lindbergh Conference Room at the MAC
General Office. Chair Hart called the meeting to order at 1:38pm. The following were in attendance:
Representatives: T. Link; J. Oleson; G. Goss; J. Hart; D. Miller; P. Dmytrenko; J. Miller;
L. Olson; R. Barette;
Staff: D. Nelson; B. Juffer, C. Leqve; A. Kolesar; J. Christenson; M. Baker;
P. Hogan
Others: J. Aul – City of Bloomington; D. Langer-FAA; M. Doran – City of
Richfield; M. Brindle – City of Edina; K. Terrell – MSP Fair Skies; D.
Ingraham – Northern Planes District, FAA; S. Nienhaus – City of
Burnsville; S. Heegaard – City of Saint Paul; P. Litke – FAA; B.
Donley – Plymouth; J. Winingar – FAA, MSP Tower; M. Sands –
FAA, MSP Tower; J. Moore – Star Tribune; C. Carino – MSP Fair
Skies; K. Mara – MSP FAA; M. Nolan – City of Edina; M. Doran –
City of Richfield; M. McNeill – City of Mendota Heights; B. Hoffman
–City of Saint Louis Park; R. Ditto – FAA, SYSUPS; L. Grotz – City
of Edina; M. Brindle – City of Edina; S. Devich – City of Richfield
Chair Hart, Delta, requested a motion to approve an agenda change to add an MSP FairSkies
presentation to the second agenda item. Representative Oleson, Bloomington, moved the
motion. Representative Olson, Minneapolis, seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.
1.Review and Approval of the July 19 17, 2017 Meeting Minutes
Chair Hart, Delta started the meeting by mentioning there was not a quorum and therefore July
and September meeting minutes will be approved at the November NOC Meeting.
2.Presentation from MSP FairSkies Coalition
Steve Kittleson, MSP FairSkies Coalition, introduced himself and Kevin Terrell and started
the presentation by saying that MSP FairSkies Coalition would like to reduce noise and have
no surprises with use of the airspace around MSP. Kittleson stated that MSP FairSkies has
observed MSP airport noise increasing. Kittleson said that they send shape data from a 55dB
DNL contour to the University of Minnesota to place on a population map. Based on this
Item 1
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Item 6b
MSP Noise Oversight Committee
20 September 2017
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information, he then presented a map on the power point presentation, comparing 2015-2017
and stated that noise has increased 30% in the last two years. Kittleson mentioned the recent
ruling of the Washington D.C. US Court of Appeals and Circuit Judge Griffith’s statement at
the hearing and said “The petitioners argue that the FAA’s approval of the new flight routes
was arbitrary and capricious. We agree”.
Kevin Terrell, MSP FairSkies Coalition reiterated that MSP FairSkies doesn’t want surprises
from the FAA, that Phoenix Sky Harbor had surprises that resulted in a court case; that the
Governor of Maryland wants to sue the FAA for airport noise; that the number of people
exposed to noise near LaGuardia Airport has increased from 370,000 in 2010 to 774,000 in
2016. Terrell related all of these instances to the FAA’s implementation of NextGen and that
MSP FairSkies doesn’t want to see that at MSP.
Terrell believes that in order to succeed in the prevention of a similar situation occurring, that
all parties need to agree on the problem. Then there needs to be baseline data, improvement
goals need to be set, and then there needs to be collaboration to reach the goals. To start,
Terrell believes the baseline measurement of 65 dB DNL needs to be lowered to 55 dB DNL
as studies have shown a negative association at 55 dB DNL. He also states the other issue
with the current baseline data, is that MSP doesn’t look at population counts but instead actual
dwellings. He also suggested that the noise metrics be calculated by single events not
averages, modeled noise, or daily averages.
Terrell placed a list of things MSP FairSkies would like to see done in order to create baseline
data and drive progress: a 55dB DNL contour produced annually by MAC staff, have that
contour then turned into a noise exposure map, finally, use a single event metric with an N65
contour and also turn that into a noise exposure map.
Terrell stated that MSP FairSkies came to what they think is a reasonable goal and a good
airport for comparison is Amsterdam Schipol Airport. MSP FairSkies’ target is to reduce the
population impacted by 55 dB DNL noise at MSP by 50% by 2025 and ensure it’s fairly
distributed. In an effort to collaborate, MSP FairSkies listed a number of ways to collaborate
with NOC which include changing Noise Oversight Committee to Noise Reduction committee;
add representatives on the NOC that are from the school board, elected citizen groups, or an
appointed Ombudsman.
In conclusion, Terrell showed a list of the requests for the NOC’s consideration.
Representative Olson, Minneapolis, stated that Minneapolis supports creating a 55 dB DNL
and N65 style map. A national discussion surrounding the use of 55 dB DNL as a standard
metric is occurring and as such, Minneapolis is advocating for that as well. She then asked
MSP FairSkies if there was a certain way to have them produced or presented. Kittleson
responded that both the Annual Report to the Legislature and the Annual Noise Contour
Report are two opportunities for this report to be added. Terrell stated that MSP FairSkies is
not advocating for additional mitigation to the 55 dB DNL.
3. Review of Monthly Operations Reports: July and August, 2017
Brad Juffer, Assistant Technical Advisor, started by reporting that 37,665 flights operated at
MSP in July increasing to 38,511 operations in August. This represents a 1.2% decrease and a
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MSP Noise Oversight Committee
20 September 2017
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1.7% increase from 2016. Year to date operations at MSP are 279,774 which is currently 1.1%
above the previous year.
During night time hours, 2,346 flights operated at night in July accounting for a 21% drop from
2016. 2,213 operations occurred at night in August 2017 which was a 16% drop from 2016. For
all of 2017, through September 19th, there have been 17,933 MSP nighttime flights which is 640
less flights or a 3.4% drop at night from 2016.
The runway flow at MSP in July was 31% in the north flow, 54% in the south flow and 7% mixed
flow. In August, those numbers changed to 32%, 42% and 16% of the time. While the north flow
stayed consistent, south flows were reduced and in part replaced by hours in a mixed flow in
August. The 2017 splits are similar to the same time period in 2016.
In July 2017 the carrier jet splits were 37% regional jets, 60% narrow body aircraft, and 3% and
wide body aircraft. That gap fell slightly in August to 38%, 59%, and 3%. The numbers for in
2016 for July and August were exactly the same at 41% regional jets, 56% narrow body aircraft,
and 3% wide body aircraft.
There were 16,293 complaints filed in July and an additional 16,727 complaints filed in August,
collectively, this number is 44% higher than last year. In 2017, complaints were filed from 557
locations in July and 615 locations in August; in 2016 those numbers were 625 and 584. On
average there were 2.3 operations for every complaint in both July and August in 2017. These
numbers are lower than they were in 2016 as our complaint totals continue to rise and the
operations numbers are very similar to 2016.
In July each location filed 29 complaints, on average, and that dropped to 27 in August. Median
complaints per household has held steady at 3 for every month in 2017. Using a map, Juffer
showed the top 10 complaint locations which filed 52% of all complaints during the previous
months. The Top 50 locations recorded 80% of the complaints and the top 100 locations
recorded 88% of all complaints in July and August. Overall, there were 632 locations or 75% of
all households shown to file 10 or less complaints.
On monitoring, aircraft events occurred for just under 454.5 hours in July and roughly 507 hours
in August. That time is the result of 94,434 aircraft sound events in July and 98,847 events in
August. The total events are down from 2016.
Time Above per Operation was 43 seconds July and 47 seconds in August. In 2016 those
numbers were 46 and 48. The N65 count above per operation was 2.51 sound events per
operation in July and 2.57 sound events per operation in August. This means that each
operation triggered a sound event at 2.5 RMTs. These numbers are down from earlier this
summer and are consistent with the same time last year. The average duration of events was
17 seconds in July and 18.5 seconds in August.
Runway 17 procedure was consistently used for 99.8% of the time for both months. A total of
29 jets on R17 turned westbound early. The corridor procedure was used 94.7% of the time in
July increasing to 94.3% of the time in August. In July, 95 jets were north of the corridor and
139 were south. In August, 86 jets were north of the corridor and 110 jets were south.
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MSP Noise Oversight Committee
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Crossing Procedure was used during the day 37% (1532) of the time in July and in August it
was used 37% (1211) of the time. During night time hours, the procedure was used only 37%
(93 flights) of the time in July and 35% (52 flights) of the time in August.
Finally on the runway use. High priority runways were used 52.1% of the time in July and 55.4%
of the time in August. The August percentile of 55.4% is the second highest total since Juffer
and his team began tracking its use.
Juffer also said that the NOC requested a Help Video to navigate the new Noise website, it is
complete and ready to be viewed.
Representative Olson, Minneapolis, commented that the number of complaints looks very
large. Juffer responded that while the number is high, numbers in 2011 were higher. Juffer
also clarified that the number of complainants isn’t as high as his team has seen in the past. In
2015, there were over 1000 unique addresses associated with complaints. Olson followed up
by asking if there was a map that showed the individual houses with the number of complaints.
Juffer directed her to the map on the online reports section but Olson commented that she
would like to see it in the report presented to the NOC. Representative Miller, Eagan,
commented about scheduled night time operations, it appears that in August there were more
scheduled night time flights, not just actual. Miller then asked if it was possible to obtain the
data from the airlines as to why more night time flights were being scheduled. Juffer mentioned
that in terms of data, Delta generally has a larger schedule in the summer months and that tends
to reduce when school starts. However he said that he will look into the information and the data
and try to understand the increase in scheduled night time flights. Chair Hart, Delta, asked
about RUS and month over month the Mixed Flow seems to be doubling. Juffer said the same
pattern occurred last year, that the Mixed Flow hours in August of 2016 were about 15% use
and then again in 2017.
4. Update on Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport PBN
Chad Leqve, MAC Director of Environment, stated that FAA implemented RNAV at Phoenix
Sky Harbor International on September 18th, 2014. After that, the city became concerned and
engaged in the actions occurring at the airport. The FAA responded that they would reconstitute
a working group to see what could be done in terms of procedure modification and provide relief
to the community. The community relied on those representations and at the end of a very long
process, there were no changes presented to the community in order to modify any procedures.
As a result, in June 2015, the city filed with the DC Circuit to review the FAA decision. This file
alleged that the implementation was arbitrary and capricious. Litigation was filed and questions
before the court were presented as part of this process, one being on the concept of timeliness.
Challenges to FAA final decisions need to occur within 60 days of the final administrative
decision. In this situation, the FAA alleged that the final decision occurred on September 18th,
2014; the three judge panel on the case agreed with that statement. The follow up question
became, how can you hear a petition that is over 6 months beyond that final determination date?
There is a narrow exception, as it relates to court precedent on relieving that 60 day appeal
requirement. After looking at the case, two of the three judges on the panel decided in favor of
the city; although they were beyond that 60 day window, the court ruled that they were
reasonable in filing their expectation at a later date because they were trying to collaborate with
the FAA.
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The court ruled that the FAA failed to adequately consult with the City of Phoenix under the
NEPA Act, under the National Historic Preservation Act, and under Section 4(f). The court had
a number of instances that substantiated their position. One was that the FAA unreasonably
concluded a categorical exclusion was appropriate. FAA inappropriately applied DNL 65
standards under NHPA and Section 4(f). The FAA assumed that historic districts and parks
were all urban and they also neglected to consult with city representatives and state historic
preservation officers.
Leqve then reminded the Committee on the situation at MSP and the fact that the NOC’s RNAV
Resolution established MSP is an airport that has “Extraordinary Circumstances” and this
impacts how the category exclusion is applied. MSP has a strong record of having that
involvement from the community, as well as from the communities and the airlines. The NOC
resolution also provides a strong message with all stakeholders aligned around a set of local
expectations if the FAA considers implementing RNAV departure procedures at MSP.
Leqve concluded with the fact that the FAA is reviewing a possible new noise metric. The
expectation is that the report will be out before the end of 2017 and that will lead into what is
called the “Three Policy Analyses”. These are evaluations on any new noise threshold
recommendation, such as the possible 55 dB DNL instead of the 65 that’s used today. If there
was to be a change, the FAA would need to review and evaluate all policies on how a new
metric is implemented.
5. Evaluate and Enhance the Reporting of the Runway Use System (RUS)
Dana Nelson, Technical Advisor, reminded the NOC members that an item on the 2017
work plan was to create a holistic view of the RUS and airport configurations. When discussing
the topic of the RUS, the term “flow” is often mentioned and refers to various airport
configurations at MSP. There is a North Flow, the FAA refers to this as arrivals and departures
on the 30s and 35. A Straight North Flow refers to arrivals and departures on only the 30s. A
South Flow refers to arrivals and departures on the 12s and 17 but a Straight South Flow
refers to arrivals and departures on only the 12s. There is also a configuration called Mixed
Flow A, arrivals on the 30s and departures are on 17. This configuration uses the RUS-
established number one priority for arrivals, over the Eagan/Mendota Heights Corridor and
the second priority for departures. Mixed Flow B refers to departures on the 12s and arrivals
on 35. The FAA uses Mixed Flow B less often than Mixed A, but Nelson reported that as of
late, they seem to be utilizing B more regularly. The two Mixed Flow configurations are an
attempt to have optimal use of the RUS. The final configuration is called the Opposite Direction
Flow but this is the most challenging configuration to follow. This flow is only utilized when
winds are light, and when traffic demands are light.
Nelson and her team are proposing to expand the interactive reports website, under
abatement, the RUS by Flow information. This information will show the number of hours
spent in a particular flow, by year and month. The data tables list percentage of time in each
configuration, not the percentage of operations in each configuration. Representative Olson,
Minneapolis, asked if nighttime RUS can skew the average numbers and percentage and as
such, if you can view the data by daytime hours and nighttime hours only. Nelson responded
that the data can filter to only show nighttime or all hours. Representative Miller, Eagan,
asked why the data is showing percentage of time and not just operations. Nelson responded
that percent of operations and exact operation are both shown in other reports and showing
it again would be redundant.
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6. Investigate Noise-Reducing Landscaping Options
Dana Nelson, Technical Advisor, reported that the 2017 work plan included a discussion on
options for landscaping to reduce ground noise. Nelson reviewed landscaping done at
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. This airport is on over 6,800 acres of land, compared to MSP’s
3,400 acres. Schiphol Airport created ridges off an end of their newest runway to dampen low
frequency ground noise and it has shown to reduce the noise by 2-3 dB. These options are
not feasible at MSP due to the lack of airport property and the property surrounding the airport
is controlled by municipalities. Nelson concluded that if communities were willing to develop
their land with these landscaping options it would only provide noise reduction benefit if the
landscaping was done close to the airport, as these options do not reduce overflight noise.
7. Status of FAA Center of Excellence/ASCENT, TRB and FICAN Research Initiatives
Dana Nelson, Technical Advisor, stated that the agenda packet included a report of projects
that were completed, active, initiated, or anticipated in 2017/2018 by the Transportation
Research Board (TRB), FAA’s Center of Excellence/ASCENT, Federal Interagency
Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN), or recent studies concerning health related effects of
aircraft noise. Representative Olson, Minneapolis, mentioned that she would like the group
to review the abstracts for each study and discuss them as well as the outcomes and how to
incorporate them into the regular NOC process. Nelson responded that this is a good time for
the Committee members to review these initiatives and consider whether they’d like further
review and discussion on any particular initiative be added to the 2018 NOC work plan.
8. Review of July 26, 2017 Listening Session
Dana Nelson, Technical Advisor, reported that 9 residents attended the Summer Listening
Session at the Apple Valley Municipal Center. The presentation slides from that meeting are
available on the MAC Noise website. Representatives from Delta and the FAA were both in
attendance, in addition to MAC staff and Apple Valley representatives. Most residents were
from the south metro area and thus the questions asked revolved around runways 17 and 35,
nighttime operations, noise monitoring, RUS, CRO, and components of the Federal
Environmental Impact Study. All questions asked at the meeting were answered. Nelson
added that MAC staff had a follow up meeting with an Inver Grove Heights resident and NOC
representative, Tom Link.
Nelson concluded with announcing the fall listening session scheduled for October 25th, 2017
at 7pm at the MAC General Office Building.
9. Public Comment Period - None
10. Announcements - None
11. Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was requested by Chair Hart, Delta, moved by Representative Miller,
Eagan, and seconded by Representative Oleson, Bloomington.
The meeting adjourned at 3:03 p.m.
The next meeting of the NOC is scheduled for Wednesday, 20 September 2017.
Respectfully Submitted,
Amie Kolesar, Recording Secretary
13
Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC)
NOC Committee Members
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Noise Oversight Committee (NOC)
MAC General Office Building
Lindbergh Conference Room
6040 28th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55450
Dianne Miller – Co-Chair, City of Eagan Representative (Assistant City Administrator)
Jeffrey Hart – Co-Chair (Delta Air Lines)
Ryan Barette – Minnesota Business Aviation Association Representative
Pam Dmytrenko – City of Richfield Representative (Assistant City Manager)
Gordon Goss – Chief Pilot Representative (Delta Air Lines)
Todd Lawrence – Charter/Scheduled Operator Representative (Sun Country Airlines)
Tom Link – At-Large Community Representative (Inver Grove Heights City Staff)
Jay Miller – City of Mendota Heights Representative (Mendota Heights City Council)
Angie Moos – Cargo Carrier Representative (United Parcel Service)
Jon Oleson – City of Bloomington Representative (Bloomington City Council)
John Quincy – City of Minneapolis Representative (Minneapolis City Council)
Kyle Bronowski – At-large Airport User Representative (Endeavor Air, Inc.)
MEETING AGENDA
November 15, 2017 at 1:30 pm
MAC General Office Building
Lindbergh Conference Room
(Dianne Miller, City of Eagan, will be the acting Chairperson for the meeting)
*Note: 1:00 to 1:30 – Committee Agenda Review Session
(NOC members only in the Stapp Conference Room)
1.1:30 – 1:35 Review and Approval of the July 19 and September 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes
2.1:35 – 1:50 Review of Monthly Operations Reports: September and October, 2017
3.1:50 – 2:20 Response to MSP FairSkies Requests
4.2:20 – 2:35 Annual MSP Fleet Mix and Nighttime Operations Report
5.2:35 – 2:50 Vortex Generator Noise Monitoring Study
6.2:50 – 3:10 Approval of 2018 NOC Work Plan, Meeting Dates and 2017 Accomplishments
7.3:10 – 3:15 Review of October 25, 2017 Listening Session
8.3:15 Public Comment Period
9. Announcements
10. Adjourn
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Item 7e