Evaluation of Noise Set Aside Portion\
of the Airport Improvement Program

October 1, 2002

# INTRODUCTION

**[\
PURPOSE\
\
]{.smallcaps}**This paper documents the Federal Aviation
Administration's (FAA) evaluation of how effectively its noise set-aside
grant program contributes to reducing the noise-impacted population
around the nation's airports. The Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) requires that each Federal Department develop a performance plan
that sets strategic goals, defines programs to address those goals and
identifies performance measures to evaluate program effectiveness.
Reducing the population exposed to significant levels of aircraft noise
is a performance measure for the "Aircraft Noise Exposure Program"
contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)
Performance Plan. The "Aircraft Noise Exposure Program" supports the
U.S. DOT strategic goal of "Protecting and Enhancing the Human and
Natural Environment". FAA periodically reviews its programs contained in
the U.S. DOT Performance Plan to determine if we are achieving the
intended outcomes. The noise set-aside program ("noise program") was one
of the FAA programs selected for evaluation in FY 2002.

**[DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM BEING EVALUATED\
\
]{.smallcaps}**AIP noise grants provide financial support to airports
and to units of local government to study and/or implement approved
noise compatibility projects such as: residential and public building
sound insulation; land acquisition and associated noise sensitive
residential and public building relocation; acquisition of noise
monitoring equipment; installation of noise barriers; taxiway and runway
construction primarily for the purpose of noise relief; and special
noise studies to determine the effectiveness of other noise mitigation
proposals. With the exception of noise insulation for buildings used for
educational or medical purposes, noise mitigation projects must be an
element of an FAA-approved Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) to be
eligible for AIP noise set-aside money. To compete favorably for AIP
noise set-aside money, noise compatibility projects normally must be
located in areas where noise is at the annual day-night average sound
level (DNL) of 65 dB(A) or greater. The DNL 65 dB(A) is the threshold of
noise exposure considered by the Federal Interagency Committee on
Aviation Noise, including the FAA, to be significant. Projects may also
be eligible in areas of lesser noise exposure, including projects to
provide a noise buffer or achieve equity in the neighborhood. Proposals
for projects below the DNL 65 dB(A) must be supported by appropriate
airport sponsor documentation and be approved in the sponsor's Part 150
program. Noise mitigation projects contained in an approved
environmental Record of Decision (ROD) or Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) are not eligible for funding from the AIP noise set-aside
but may be considered for entitlement or general AIP discretionary
funds.

Specific requirements for project eligibility, allowable costs and
sponsor eligibility are contained in FAA Order 5100.38B, "Airport
Improvement Program Handbook". The form and format of a Noise
Compatibility Program is described in Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR)
Part 150.

A NCP prepared under FAR Part 150 sets forth the measures that an
airport sponsor has taken, or proposes to take, to reduce existing
non-compatible land uses and prevent additional non-compatible land uses
within the area covered by the airport sponsor's Noise Exposure Maps
(NEM). Noise Exposure Maps are land use base maps depicting the airport
and the surrounding area, and they contain a series of noise exposure
contours, at a minimum including DNL 65, DNL 70 and DNL 75. NCP measures
for mitigation within the NEM contours and approved by FAA become
eligible for AIP grant funding. Participation in the Part 150 process is
voluntary to airport sponsors, and it is available to any airport
eligible to receive AIP moneys.

**[LEGISLATION\
\
]{.smallcaps}**The importance of reducing noise around airports is
recognized by the Congress of the United States, which provided under
paragraph 47101C, "Capacity Expansion and Noise Abatement", Chapter 471,
Title 49, that "non-compatible land uses around airports must be reduced
and efforts to mitigate noise must be given a high priority". Under
paragraph 47117(e), the Congress directed that the Secretary of
Transportation set aside 34 percent of available discretionary funding
under the AIP for carrying out noise compatibility programs.

**[BACKGROUND\
\
]{.smallcaps}**Public concern and sensitivity to aircraft noise around
airports is high. Aircraft noise is an undesired by-product of our
mobility, and the Government has acted to reduce the public's exposure.
Over the past 20 years, considerable effort has been expended to provide
relief to noise impacted areas by the funding of noise compatibility
projects under the AIP. The recent phase-out of air carrier aircraft
that use older and louder engines (i.e. Stage 2 aircraft) has
contributed greatly to the reduction in the number of people exposed to
significant (DNL 65 dB(A)) levels of aircraft noise. The Stage 2
phase-out was completed on December 31, 1999. Research continues on
quieter engine technology, but it has not advanced to the point that
would result in further aircraft noise reductions in the near future.
Therefore, for the foreseeable future, AIP-funded noise compatibility
projects will be the principal means employed by the Government to
further reduce the number of people exposed to airport noise.

# APPROACH

**[\
SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION\
]{.smallcaps}**\
The evaluation examined the noise compatibility projects of the FY 2000
and FY 2001 elements of the AIP. These fiscal years were chosen for
review, as they are the latest program years for which complete grant
data are available.

This paper did not evaluate AIP-assisted noise mitigation efforts that
are a result of airport capacity projects, such as new runways or other
projects funded outside of the AIP noise set-aside.

**[SURVEY\
\
]{.smallcaps}**A two-part questionnaire was transmitted to each of the
designated noise contacts in the nine regional airports division
offices. Instructions were provided to ensure uniformity in reporting. A
copy of the questionnaire is included in Appendix A. The first part of
the questionnaire contains a spreadsheet requesting funding, phasing and
noise benefit data for each AIP noise project funded in FY 2000 or FY
2001. The second part lists four questions to support the data reporting
on the spreadsheet and eight general questions on the regional noise
program.

# FINDINGS

**[\
DISTRIBUTION\
\
]{.smallcaps}**A total of 219 individual noise compatibility projects
were AIP-funded in FY 2000 and FY 2001. Projects were supported at 84
airports in 37 states. Approximately \$535M in AIP funds was originally
committed to these projects. Project additions, deletions and
adjustments made to date by the regional offices raise the current
dollar total to approximately \$543M, a change of about 2%. Table 1,
below, represents the distribution of noise compatibility projects by
project type.

TABLE 1

  ---------------------------------- ----------------- ------------------
  Project Type                       Number of         Amount [^1]
                                     Projects          

  Residential Sound Insulation       69                \$226.6M

  Land Acquisition/Relocation        47                \$165.4M

  Public Building Sound Insulation   49                \$54.2M

  Land Acquisition-No Relocation     10                \$28.2M

  Runway/Taxiway for Noise           2                 \$22.0M

  Public Building Relocations        3                 \$14.4M

  Noise Monitoring Systems           10                \$7.8M

  Part 150/NEM/Other Studies         26                \$7.1M

  Noise Barriers/Run Up Enclosures   3                 5.5M

  Other [^2]                         \-                \$11.8M
  ---------------------------------- ----------------- ------------------

**[RESIDENTIAL BENEFITS\
\
]{.smallcaps}**Table 2 is an accounting of the residential population
that benefits as a result of FY 2000 and FY 2001 AIP funded noise
compatibility projects. The regional airports division offices supplied
the population numbers. The numbers were derived from AIP grant
information on the number of residential units (e.g. houses, apartments,
etc.) that are to be insulated or relocated by applying an average
number of residents per household. The airport sponsors have confidence
or a high degree of confidence in the average number of residents per
household as the data is primarily based upon actual population counts,
sponsor experience with similar projects or U.S. census data. The
benefits noted below are limited to residential sound insulation and
residential land acquisition and relocation projects and do not contain
projects (such as easements and sales assistance) that do not result in
a direct noise reduction benefit.

TABLE 2

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  Region                  FY 2000 Benefit         FY 2001 Benefit

  AAL                     0                       73

  ACE                     0                       125

  AEA                     203                     717

  AGL                     2994                    3667

  ANE                     2394                    1866

  ANW                     1254                    1871

  ASO                     2419                    3370

  ASW                     927                     1136

  AWP                     3594                    6218

  **Total**               13,785                  19,043
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

The regional data represents residents within the DNL 65 dB(A) or higher
noise contour as shown on the noise exposure maps used by the airport
sponsors.

**[VARIABILITY OF AIP NOISE PROJECT FUNDING\
\
]{.smallcaps}**Funding for AIP noise compatibility projects is variable
from year to year. Fluctuations in actual AIP allocations occur due to
several factors: 1) the total amount of AIP funds available in a fiscal
year, 2) the effect of prior year carry-over funds on the amount
available for current year discretionary funding for noise set-aside
projects and 3) the amount of AIP funds, other than the noise set-aside,
available for noise mitigation projects. To illustrate the annual
variability in funding, Table 3 provides the AIP noise set-aside funding
for FY 2000 and FY 2001. In addition, the table shows the additional
funds provided to noise compatibility projects for each of FY 2000 and
FY 2001. For the purposes of this evaluation, we measured the population
benefit associated with each fiscal year's total noise funding
(set-aside plus additional funds).

TABLE 3

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  Fiscal Year             Noise Set Aside Funding Additional Funding

  2000                    \$206,719,492           \$8,709,327

  2001                    \$315,261,073           \$4,029,446
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

**[AGE OF NOISE MAPS\
\
]{.smallcaps}**Many of the FY 2000 and FY 2001 AIP-assisted noise
projects were based upon NEM prepared in the late 1980s and early to
mid-1990s, prior to the completion of the phase-out of Stage 2 air
carrier aircraft. Because of the phase-out, it is likely that for many
air carrier airports, the current (and future year) noise contours are
smaller than that same airport's noise contours from the earlier time
period. Shrinking contours would result in some of the population
benefits reported for the FY 2000 and FY 2001 programs occurring in
areas that today would be moderately noise impacted (55 to 64 dB(A)).

Program Guidance Letter (PGL) 01-1 was issued on March 29, 2001 to
address the use of older NEM in making grant decisions. PGL 01-1
provides that "For airports that still have active funding programs
based on older maps that included a high concentration of Stage 2 air
carrier aircraft operations, the sponsor should be required to submit,
as part of its request for funding, current noise level information
...". Paragraph 800 of the recently issued FAA Order 5100.38B, "AIP
Handbook" provides that "Prior to programming noise compatibility
projects, airport sponsors and FAA Airports Offices should review the
Noise Exposure Maps upon which noise compatibility projects are based to
ensure that they are a reasonable representation of current and/or
forecast conditions at the airport".

A Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) is under development to update
FAR Part 150. The draft NPRM adds the requirement that the airport
sponsor must revise NEMs where there is a "...substantial change in
conditions that significantly reduces the noise contours such that major
portions of areas previously included within the airport's noise
contours are no longer included or predicted to be included within the
forecast time frame." The NPRM will be soliciting public comment on the
appropriate threshold of reductions in noise exposure that would require
the preparation of new NEMs. Although the updated FAR Part 150 is
expected to answer the question of when new NEMs and revised NCPs are
required, the update is expected to take some time and may not be
available for use for the FY 2003 or FY 2004 AIP noise programs.

**[PUBLIC BUILDING BENEFITS\
\
]{.smallcaps}**Under the combined FY 2000 and FY 2001 AIP program, 48
school insulation projects, 3 school relocation projects and 1 church
insulation project were supported. Although most of the projects were
for the New York (20 projects) and Chicago (14 projects) airports,
projects were also approved in eight other states.

**[OTHER PROGRAM OUTCOMES\
\
]{.smallcaps}**There are some AIP funded noise-set aside projects that
do not directly reduce the number of residents or students that are
exposed to a significant level of aircraft noise. However, these
projects do contribute in a positive way to the control or monitoring of
airport noise. Some of the contributions, such as the AIP funding of the
acquisition of land interests to prevent the future establishment of
non-compatible land uses, result directly from AIP-funded projects.
Others, such as local land use policies and projects to ensure that
pilots fly specific noise abatement procedures, although actions taken
by others, are a result of AIP funded Part 150 studies. Appendix B
contains a listing of these other contributions of AIP-funded noise
set-aside projects.

# CONCLUSIONS

The performance goal established for the noise program is to reduce the
residential population that is exposed to high levels of aircraft noise
(DNL 65 dB(A) or greater) by 62,500 over the five-year period of FY 2003
to FY 2007. This is an average annual population benefit of 12,500.
Prior to the program evaluation, FAA roughly estimated that in each
fiscal year, at least 10,000 people exposed to high levels of aircraft
noise (DNL 65 dB(A) or greater) benefited as a result of the AIP noise
set-aside program. This evaluation was our first effort to more
accurately measure the actual population benefit. The population
benefits summarized in Table 2, Section 3.2 of this report are larger
than the selected performance measure for two reasons. First, the FY
2001 population benefits resulted from a FY 2001 noise program funding
level that is approximately 10% higher than the noise program funding
expected for FY 2003 and subsequent years. Secondly, some of the
population benefits of Table 2 are based on the use of older NEM in
making program decisions. This most likely resulted in some of the
population benefits stated in Table 2 occurring in areas of moderate
noise impact (e.g. DNL 55 to 64 dB(A)), rather than all of them being
within the DNL 65 dB(A) or greater contour as reported in the survey.
While it is the policy of the FAA to give priority consideration for
funding to noise compatibility projects in areas with the greatest noise
impact, we believe that it is good public policy to support some
projects in areas of moderate noise impact where it has been decided
locally that non-compatible land uses exist, specific noise sensitive
properties are adversely affected by noise, or that a noise buffer
should be established. Proposals for noise compatibility projects below
DNL 65 dB(A) contour are to be supported by airport sponsor
documentation and are subject to the same FAA approval processes as
projects at or above DNL 65 dBA.

In order to improve the accuracy of reporting on how the AIP noise
set-aside program benefits a population that is impacted by high levels
of noise, starting with the FY 2003 program, the regional airports
division managers will be tasked with ensuring that 100% of all AIP
programming decisions are based on noise contours that were either
developed not more than five years prior to the grant application, or
are otherwise certified as current. Once more refined data becomes
available, FAA will examine whether the annual performance goal needs to
be adjusted.

**[ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS\
\
]{.smallcaps}**We acknowledge the following individuals that were very
helpful in the development of this evaluation report and in the
interpretation of its results; Vicki Catlett, Jake Plante, Tom Bennett,
Ralph Thompson and Rick Etter of APP-600, Jim Borsari of APP-510,
Cameron Bryan of APP-520 and Joe Hebert of APP-530. We also wish to
thank the following regional office individuals who were at all times
cooperative and patient and whose diligence led to the submission of
reports rich in detail; Lisa Lesperance (ANE-600), Ken Kroll (AEA-600),
Jim Castleberry (ASO-600), Sandy Nazar (AGL-600), Mark Schenkelberg
(ACE-600), Dean McMath (ASW-600), Patti Sullivan (AAL-600), Dennis
Ossenkop (ANM-600), Brian Armstrong and Mike Agaibi, both of AWP-600.
Finally, we recognize the FAA Airport District Offices and the airport
sponsors which contributed much of the valuable information needed for
this evaluation.

[^1]: Approximate amount due to project round offs and to assumptions of
    funds distribution for a small number of multi-project grants where
    the cost distribution was not readily apparent.

[^2]: The Other category includes; acquiring easements only, sales
    assistance to ensure sale of incompatible property, and other
    similar projects. In the submittals from the regional offices, these
    projects were included with residential sound insulation projects or
    with land acquisition/relocation projects and not as separate
    projects. Therefore, the total of 219 individual noise compatibility
    projects noted above does not change. The dollar amount of
    individual projects in this category was not tabulated and is
    assumed to be equal to the portion of the \$543M total that is not
    committed to the other project categories.