Schumer: Federal Aviation Administration Should Stay Out Of Aircraft Noise Lawsuit Between Town Of East Hampton & Aviation Industry

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to forgo its support of a temporary restraining order on the Town of East Hampton to prevent the implementation of the Town's aircraft noise ordinances. For years, residents of the East End have been faced with incessant aircraft noise throughout the summer months. In the past, the Town was subject to federal ANCA regulations as a recipient of FAA funding, but when the Town voluntarily stopped receiving funding, the grant assurances expired and enabled the Town to set access restriction without FAA approval. This was confirmed in a FAA letter sent to former Congressman Tim Bishop. As a result, the Town of East Hampton put forth three local laws that crackdown on the aircraft noise issue. Schumer said that, since they dropped federal funding and were previously assured by FAA that it would not intervene, the Town should not face any objections from the FAA regarding these laws and should be allowed to defend these strictures against various challenges free of FAA interference.

"The FAA is creating an unnecessary amount of turbulence over control of the East Hampton Airport. They should honor their prior position on non-intervention and let the Town defend the regulations on their own legal merits," said Schumer. "The Town of East Hampton is already trying to cope with the challenge of managing aircraft noise, and it doesn't need more background noise from the FAA."

According to residents, the Town of East Hampton and surrounding areas endure the constant sound of airplanes and helicopters that fly low overhead during the summer months. Air traffic through the East Hampton Airport increases dramatically over the summer, and local residents have complained about the noise frequency and levels and, following the cessation of federal financial support for the East Hampton airport, the local board took steps to mitigate noise levels. These regulations are being challenged in court by a coalition of aircraft industry concerns.

In April, the Town of East Hampton proposed three laws to address the noise problem. First, the Town of East Hampton banned all flights between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Second, the Town created a curfew for especially noisy aircrafts from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. Lastly, the Town limited noisy aircrafts to one trip each week between May and September.

The aviation industry brought the Town to court and claimed that air control was under the jurisdiction of the federal government; counter to its previous pledge not to intervene, the FAA supported the aviation industry's request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Town from imposing these regulations.

The Town of East Hampton had ties to the FAA until last year, when they decided to stop receiving funds from the FAA. When the FAA grant assurances expired and the Airport Improvement Program was halted, the Town says it was free to enforce its new ordinances.

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