Schumer Urges Rockland County Residents To Voice Concerns About FAA Airspace Redesign During The 30 Day Comment Period Set To Begin Friday

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Schumer Urges Rockland County Residents To Voice Concerns About FAA Airspace Redesign During The 30 Day Comment Period Set To Begin Friday

With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set to release its final Airspace Redesign Study, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged Rockland County residents to take advantage of the 30 day comment period that is included in the plan. Beginning on Friday, the comment period, required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), will allow Rockland County residents an opportunity to formally voice all concerns about noise mitigation and the other effects that increased air traffic may have on the quality of life within the region. The FAA must include and consider this comment period before the final Record of Decision is released in September.

"As the FAA prepares to release its final decision on the airspace redesign plan, no concern should go unheard," said Schumer. "Although this plan represents an effort to improve safety and efficiency, it still overlooks the quality of life concerns for many Rockland communities. I urge all Rockland County residents to take advantage of this opportunity to voice their concerns to the FAA so they can impact the final decisions."

The FAA Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is the first airspace redesign project for the region in nearly 50 years. The FAA's goal is to achieve the highest levels of safety and the most efficient airspace design for customer operations by reviewing and reworking domestic and oceanic airspace. The final version of this study has been delivered to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will be officially published in the Federal Register Friday, August 3. Upon this publication NEPA requires that a 30 day comment period be held for those affected by the plan to voice all remaining concerns. As the final step in the NEPA process, the FAA will release a Record of Decision (ROD) which includes issues raised during the comment period. Implementation of the redesign plan may begin once the ROD is released.

The FAA's plan includes a new flight path over Rockland County to handle Newark Liberty International Airport arrivals, potentially leading to an average of 300-400 flights flying over the county each day. The majority of the flights would travel in a corridor which runs between Suffern and Hillcrest and includes Wesley Hills, Montebello, Kaser, Monsey, Chestnut Ridge and Pearl River. Local residents are concerned that with planes flying as low as 6,000-8,000 feet above the ground, communities in Ramapo and Orangetown will experience a significant rise in noise levels. Many people believe that having so many planes flying overhead could lead to an overall reduction in the quality of life.

Schumer has repeatedly called on the FAA to ensure that local concerns are adequately expressed and considered in the Airspace Redesign Project. In early July, he sent a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to schedule additional meetings in the New York metropolitan area in order to hear the concerns of local residents. In his letter he expressed that he understood that the priority of the redesign project was efficiency, but that the FAA could not overlook the fact that increased efficiency and increased traffic would mean an increase in air traffic noise and pollution for many communities in Rockland County.

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