I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3965 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to improve 

the process for establishing and revising flight paths and procedures, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Ms. 

ESHOO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. 

MENG, Miss RICE of New York, and Mr. BEYER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to improve the process for establishing and revising flight paths and procedures, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FAA Community Ac5 countability Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FLIGHT PATHS AND PROCEDURES. 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in con3 sidering new or revised flight paths or procedures as part 

4 of the implementation of the Next Generation Air Trans5 portation System, the Administrator of the Federal Avia6 tion Administration— 

7 (1) shall take actions to limit negative impacts 

8 on the human environment in the vicinity of an af9 fected airport; and 

10 (2) may give preference to overlays of existing 

11 flight paths or procedures to ensure compatibility 

12 with land use in the vicinity of an affected airport. 

13 SEC. 3. FAA COMMUNITY OMBUDSMAN. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

16 the Federal Aviation Administration shall appoint an FAA 

17 Community Ombudsman for each region of the Federal 

18 Aviation Administration. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Ombudsmen appointed in accord20 ance with subsection (a) shall— 

21 (1) act as a liaison between affected commu22 nities and the Administrator with respect to prob23 lems related to the impact of commercial aviation on 

24 the human environment, including concerns regard25 ing aircraft noise, pollution, and safety; 


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1 (2) monitor the impact of the implementation of 

2 the Next Generation Air Transportation System on 

3 communities in the vicinity of affected airports; 

4 (3) make recommendations to the Adminis5 trator— 

6 (A) to address concerns raised by commu7 nities; and 

8 (B) to improve the use of community com9 ments in Administration decisionmaking proc10 esses; and 

11 (4) report to Congress periodically on issues re12 lated to the impact of commercial aviation on the 

13 human environment and on Administration respon14 siveness to concerns raised by affected communities. 

15 SEC. 4. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, in implementing the Next Generation Air 

18 Transportation System, the Administrator of the Federal 

19 Aviation Administration may not treat the establishment 

20 or revision of a flight path or procedure as covered by a 

21 categorical exclusion (as defined in section 1508.4 of title 

22 40, Code of Federal Regulations) if an FAA Community 

23 Ombudsman or the operator of an airport affected by such 

24 establishment or revision submits written notification to 

25 the Administrator that— 


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1 (1) extraordinary circumstances exist; or 

2 (2) the establishment or revision will have a sig3 nificant adverse impact on the human environment 

4 in the vicinity of such airport. 

5 (b) NOTIFICATIONS.—At least 30 days before treat6 ing the establishment or revision of a flight path or proce7 dure as covered by a categorical exclusion, the Adminis8 trator shall provide notice and an opportunity for com9 ment to persons affected by such establishment or revi10 sion, including the operator of any affected airport. 

11 SEC. 5. RECONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN FLIGHT PATHS 

12 AND PROCEDURES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad15 ministration shall reconsider a flight path or procedure es16 tablished or revised after February 14, 2012, as part of 

17 the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transpor18 tation System if an FAA Community Ombudsman or the 

19 operator of an airport affected by such establishment or 

20 revision submits written notification to the Administrator 

21 that the establishment or revision is resulting in a signifi22 cant adverse impact on the human environment in the vi23 cinity of such airport. 

24 (b) PROCESS.—In reconsidering a flight path or pro25 cedure under subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 


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1 (1) provide notice of the reconsideration and an 

2 opportunity for public comment; 

3 (2) assess the impacts on the human environ4 ment of such flight path or procedure; and 

5 (3) not later than 180 days after the date on 

6 which the relevant notification was received, submit 

7 to Congress and make available to the public a re8 port that— 

9 (A) addresses comments received pursuant 

10 to paragraph (1); 

11 (B) describes the results of the assessment 

12 carried out under paragraph (2); and 

13 (C) describes any changes to be made to 

14 such flight path or procedure or the justifica15 tion for not making any change. 

Æ 


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