I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1048 

To develop pilot grant programs through the Environmental Protection Agency to research and collect data on aircraft and airport noise and emissions and to use such information and data to develop a mitigation 

strategy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To develop pilot grant programs through the Environmental 

Protection Agency to research and collect data on aircraft and airport noise and emissions and to use such 

information and data to develop a mitigation strategy, 

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 ‘‘Aviation Noise and 

5 Emissions Mitigation Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NOISE AND AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND RE2 SEARCH GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

5 Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with 

6 Secretary of Transportation and other relevant Federal 

7 agencies determined by the Administrator, shall establish 

8 a 3-year pilot grant program with eligible entities to meas9 ure noise and emissions, including greenhouse gases, par10 ticulate matter, ultrafine particles, and air toxics, in com11 munities near airports or air flight pathways using sophis12 ticated methods and technology that allow tracing of noise 

13 and emissions to specific sources such as aircraft and air14 port related noise and emissions near such communities, 

15 including identifying specific neighborhoods, structures, or 

16 areas impacted by such noise and emissions. 

17 (b) GRANT ACTIVITIES.—Recipients of grants under 

18 subsection (a) shall— 

19 (1) use technology capable of producing data 

20 that can be used for wedge analysis to decipher the 

21 sources of noise and emissions so communities may 

22 better understand the primary contributors of noise 

23 and emissions; 

24 (2) make every reasonable effort to establish a 

25 program that can be easily replicated across the 

26 country with the goal of ongoing data collection and 


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1 monitoring in areas near airports or air flight path2 ways; 

3 (3) produce neighborhood and ZIP Code-level 

4 data for a designated area to be used to determine 

5 or predict the level and impact of noise and emis6 sions on certain neighborhoods and ZIP Codes of 

7 such area, and to identify frontline and dispropor8 tionately impacted communities; 

9 (4) coordinate and regularly communicate with 

10 the local clean air agency (or agencies, if applicable), 

11 local public health departments, local metropolitan 

12 planning organizations, Indian Tribal governments, 

13 community based organizations, and other local gov14 ernment, State government, or non-profit entities as 

15 the grantee determines useful to the project; 

16 (5) work with community-based organizations, 

17 some of which may be selected for a grant under 

18 section 2, to assist in developing a mitigation abate19 ment strategy for communities, neighborhoods, or 

20 areas impacted by aircraft or airport noise and emis21 sions; 

22 (6) establish a clear plan for disseminating the 

23 data and results of the program on an regular basis; 

24 and 


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1 (7) consult initially and throughout the process 

2 with the public and relevant community-based orga3 nizations or local governments on the design and 

4 execution of the noise and emissions monitoring pro5 gram. 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An institution of higher 

7 education or other non-profit research entity, health insti8 tution, or local government with demonstrated experience 

9 in conducting either or both aviation noise or emissions 

10 research is eligible to receive a grant under this section. 

11 The Administrator may award not more than 6 awards 

12 under this section. 

13 (d) GRANT AWARD AMOUNT.—The Administrator 

14 may award a grant under this section to an eligible entity 

15 of not less than $2,500,000 and not more than $5,000,000 

16 for the 3-year grant period. 

17 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—A grantee under the section 

18 shall submit an annual report to the Administrator re19 garding the research conducted and any findings. The Ad20 ministrator shall make such reports publicly available. 

21 SEC. 3. MITIGATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES GRANT PRO22 GRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

24 submission of the final annual report submitted under sec25 tion 1(e), the Administrator of the Environmental ProtecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Mar 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1048.IH H1048

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1 tion Agency, in consultation with the Department of 

2 Health and Human Services, Department of Transpor3 tation, or other relevant Federal agencies as determined 

4 by the Administrator, shall establish a pilot grant program 

5 to mitigate aircraft or airport noise and emissions, and 

6 their impacts, in communities near airports and air flight 

7 pathways. 

8 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall 

10 prioritize and provide guidance and technical assist11 ance to applicants applications that— 

12 (A) focus on communities found to be dis13 proportionately impacted by aviation noise or 

14 emissions identified in the research produced 

15 under the section 1 grant; 

16 (B) primarily benefit disadvantaged com17 munities and communities with a higher preva18 lence of diseases associated with environmental 

19 exposures; and 

20 (C) demonstrate community support and 

21 involvement from affected communities in their 

22 proposed program. 

23 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

24 grant under this section, an applicant shall be a 

25 local community-based non-profit organization, a 


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1 consortium of community-based non-profit organiza2 tions from a community that participated in the 

3 noise and emissions monitoring program under sec4 tion 1, a local public health department, or a local 

5 or Indian Tribal government. If the recipient is a 

6 public health department or local or Indian Tribal 

7 government, the recipient shall demonstrate commu8 nity support for the program and how it plans to 

9 partner with at least 1 non-profit community-based 

10 organization. 

11 (3) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—An applicant shall 

12 demonstrate in its application how the— 

13 (A) research conducted under section 1 in14 forms its proposed project design; 

15 (B) proposed project addresses environ16 mental or health disparities and the needs and 

17 concerns of affected communities, disadvan18 taged communities, or other communities facing 

19 environmental justice concerns, including how 

20 the applicant used the Climate and Economic 

21 Justice Screening Tool or other similar environ22 mental justice mapping tool to effectively target 

23 mitigation strategies; 

24 (C) applicant incorporated input from af25 fected communities in its proposed program, 


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1 demonstrated community support for the pro2 posed program, and has established a written 

3 plan detailing how the applicant will maintain 

4 ongoing engagement with the affected commu5 nities; and 

6 (D) applicant intends to partner or coordi7 nate with relevant local organizations, govern8 ment entities, and service providers such as 

9 local public health departments, Indian Tribal 

10 governments, community health centers, and 

11 local education authorities, depending on the 

12 mitigation plan. 

13 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds under the grant 

14 program shall be used to mitigate the impacts of air15 craft or airport noise and emissions on communities 

16 near airports or air flight pathways, including estab17 lishing 1 or more of the following: 

18 (A) Noise mitigation packages that may 

19 include weatherization, retrofitting, or energy 

20 efficiency upgrades that have noise reduction, 

21 environmental, or health benefits for house22 holds, schools, or other facilities, prioritizing 

23 low-income households and low-resourced com24 munities and facilities, and structures that are 


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1 less likely to be eligible for other similar Fed2 eral resources. 

3 (B) Programs to promote environmental 

4 and public health services in impacted commu5 nities, including programs that address the dis6 proportionate effects of climate change on envi7 ronmental justice communities. 

8 (C) Health care services and environmental 

9 and public health interventions that address un10 derlying impacts from airport noise and pollu11 tion on health and quality of life, especially in 

12 children, vulnerable populations, disadvantaged 

13 communities, and communities of color. 

14 (5) DURATION.—A grant under this section 

15 shall be not less than 3 years and not more than 5 

16 years as determined appropriate by the Adminis17 trator. 

18 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) AFTER 1ST YEAR.—One year after the 

20 awarding of grants under this section, and annually 

21 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report 

22 to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

24 Representatives and the Committees on Environ25 ment and Public Works and Commerce, Science, and 


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1 Transportation of the Senate on the activities of the 

2 grant programs to include— 

3 (A) the services provided and their tar4 geted beneficiaries (including households, 

5 schools, other facilities, children, adults, sen6 iors); 

7 (B) the steps taken by the grantee to en8 gage the public and impacted communities dur9 ing execution of the grant; 

10 (C) a breakdown of the areas served under 

11 the grant and if and how such areas align with 

12 locations identified under section 1; and 

13 (D) aggregate information about the com14 munities, households, and individuals benefit15 ting from the services provided under the grant, 

16 including a breakdown of the demographic in17 formation and socioeconomic status of individ18 uals and households. 

19 (2) AFTER 3D YEAR.—Three years after award20 ing of the first grant under this section, the agency 

21 shall submit a report to the congressional commit22 tees referred to in paragraph (1) to include— 

23 (A) an assessment of the grant program’s 

24 ability to meet its goal of mitigating airport and 

25 aviation noise and emissions; 


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1 (B) potential lessons learned to inform fu2 ture efforts to address the impacts of noise and 

3 emissions in communities near airports and air 

4 flight pathways; and 

5 (C) a review of how levels and impact of 

6 noise and pollution from airports and air flight 

7 pathways can be incorporated into the Climate 

8 and Economic Justice Screening Tool or other 

9 similar environmental justice mapping tool used 

10 by the Government. 

11 (3) INPUT IN REPORT.—The report under this 

12 subsection shall be completed with input from grant13 ees and affected communities. 

Æ 


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