Quigley, Quiet Skies Caucus Introduce Airplane Impacts Mitigation Act

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), joined by Representative Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and members of the bipartisan Quiet Skies Caucus, introduced H.R. 5075, the Airplane Impacts Mitigation (AIM) Act of 2016. As residents of communities surrounding airports face increasing levels and durations of airplane noise, the AIM Act will examine the health impacts of airplane overflights on local communities. The AIM Act will ensure that strong, independent research into the health impacts of prolonged exposure to airplane noise and emissions is available to inform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policies and decision-making going forward.

"My constituents back home in Chicago are facing unprecedented noise pollution that is eroding their quality of life, lowering their property values, and impacting their health," said Rep. Quigley. "I've been working hard to explore solutions to mitigate noise for the sake of public health at the local level as well as at the national level with my colleagues in the Quiet Skies Caucus, and I'm proud to join Congressman Lynch in introducing the Airplane Impacts Mitigation Act. The more we understand the effects aircraft noise is having on public health, the better suited we are to enact practical and effective solutions to protect our constituents from the damaging effects."

With the adoption of the NextGen, GPS-based navigation system, hundreds of flights per day are guided with laser-like precision over a narrow flight path. While the RNAV procedures of the NextGen system can increase efficiency, the neighborhoods lying beneath flight paths can experience extended periods of aircraft noise and exposure to air pollutants, raising health implications and negatively impacting the quality of life for local families.

The Airplane Impacts Mitigation (AIM) Act of 2016 has 16 original cosponsors including Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Congressman Michael E. Capuano (MA-07), Congresswoman Katherine M. Clark (MA-05), Congressman Joe Crowley (NY-14), Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), Congressman Sam Farr (CA-20), Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-09), Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03), Congressman Daniel Lipinski (IL-03), Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (NY-04), Congresswoman Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14).

In particular, the AIM Act requires the FAA Administrator to enter into an agreement with a school of public health to conduct a study of the health impacts of airplane flights on residents exposed to a range of noise and air pollution levels from such flights, including asthma exacerbation, sleep disturbance, stress, and elevated blood pressure.

The study will focus on residents living partly or wholly within the land area underneath the flight paths most frequently used by aircraft flying including during takeoff or landing at an altitude lower than 10,000 feet. It will consider only those health impacts that manifest during the physical implementation of the NextGen RNAV program.

In addition, the AIM Act mandates that the study will focus on residents in Boston, Chicago, New York, the Northern California Metroplex region, Phoenix, and up to three additional cities. These five areas have noticed a distinct change in flight paths and sharp shifts in airplane noise as a result of the NextGen flight system.

The Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus seeks to raise awareness of the impact of aircraft noise, hold the FAA accountable to the concerns of local communities, and find meaningful legislative and administrative solutions to reduce airplane noise. The caucus consists of members of Congress from across the country whose constituents are severely impacted by the FAA's NextGen flight system.

O'Hare International Airport became a part of Illinois' Fifth Congressional District in January 2013. Since then, Rep. Quigley has met continuously with neighborhood organizations and aviation officials to discuss solutions to increased noise pollution resulting from the O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP). In a recent Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Quigley pressured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta to commit to taking actions to protect residents and their property around O'Hare International Airport from aircraft noise. Recently, he and other Illinois representatives released a statement in response to the Chicago Department of Aviation's (CDA) plans to mitigate O'Hare noise after a previous letter was sent to the organization pushing them to address practical solutions to noise complaints. Rep. Quigley joined other members of the Quiet Skies Caucus in a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with recommendations for the FAA 2015 Reauthorization Act that would help address the harmful impacts of aircraft noise on communities across the country. In May, he secured language in the FY16 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) funding bill mandating the FAA develop short and long-term measures to mitigate excessive airplane noise experienced by local communities around O'Hare International Airport. In Congress, Rep. Quigley helped create the Quiet Skies Caucus and introduced the Silent Skies Act to help combat aircraft noise on a national level.

The text of H.R. 5075, the Airplane Impacts Mitigation (AIM) Act of 2016 is available here.

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