I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6050 

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 

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 

Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. 

MOULTON, Ms. MENG, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. BASS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Noise and 

3 Emissions Mitigation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. NOISE AND AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND RE5 SEARCH GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

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

8 Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with 

9 Secretary of Transportation and other relevant Federal 

10 agencies determined by the Administrator, shall establish 

11 a 3-year pilot grant program with eligible entities to meas12 ure noise and emissions, including greenhouse gases, par13 ticulate matter, ultrafine particles, and other toxic pollut14 ants, in communities near airports or air flight pathways 

15 using sophisticated methods and technology that allow 

16 tracing of noise and emissions to specific sources such as 

17 aircraft and airport related noise and emissions near such 

18 communities, including identifying specific neighborhoods, 

19 structures, or areas impacted by such noise and emissions. 

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

21 subsection (a) shall— 

22 (1) use technology capable of producing data 

23 that can be used for wedge analysis to decipher the 

24 sources of noise and emissions so communities may 

25 better understand the primary contributors of noise 

26 and emissions; 


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1 (2) make every reasonable effort to establish a 

2 program that can be easily replicated across the 

3 country with the goal of ongoing data collection and 

4 monitoring in areas near airports or air flight path5 ways; 

6 (3) produce neighborhood and ZIP code-level 

7 data for a designated area to be used to determine 

8 or predict the level and impact of noise and emis9 sions on certain neighborhoods and ZIP codes of 

10 such area, and to identify frontline and dispropor11 tionately impacted communities; 

12 (4) coordinate and regularly communicate with 

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

14 local public health departments, local metropolitan 

15 planning organizations, Indian Tribal governments, 

16 community based organizations, and other local gov17 ernment, State government, or non-profit entities as 

18 the grantee determines useful to the project; 

19 (5) work with community-based organizations, 

20 some of which may be selected for a grant under 

21 section 2, to assist in developing a mitigation abate22 ment strategy for communities, neighborhoods, or 

23 areas impacted by aircraft or airport noise and emis24 sions; 


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1 (6) establish a clear plan for disseminating the 

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

3 and 

4 (7) consult initially and throughout the process 

5 with the public and relevant community-based orga6 nizations or local governments on the design and 

7 execution of the noise and emissions monitoring pro8 gram. 

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

10 education or other non-profit research entity, health insti11 tution, or local government with demonstrated experience 

12 in conducting either or both aviation noise or emissions 

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

14 The Administrator may award not more than 6 awards 

15 under this section. 

16 (d) GRANT AWARD AMOUNT.—The Administrator 

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

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

19 for the 3-year grant period. 

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

21 shall submit an annual report to the Administrator re22 garding the research conducted and any findings. The Ad23 ministrator shall make such reports publicly available. 


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1 SEC. 3. MITIGATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES GRANT PRO2 GRAM. 

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

4 submission of the final annual report submitted under sec5 tion 1(e), the Administrator of the Environmental Protec6 tion Agency, in consultation with the Department of 

7 Health and Human Services, Department of Transpor8 tation, or other relevant Federal agencies as determined 

9 by the Administrator, shall establish a pilot grant program 

10 to mitigate aircraft or airport noise and emissions, and 

11 their impacts, in communities near airports and air flight 

12 pathways. 

13 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall 

15 prioritize and provide guidance and technical assist16 ance to applicants applications that— 

17 (A) focus on communities found to be dis18 proportionately impacted by aviation noise or 

19 emissions identified in the research produced 

20 under the section 1 grant; 

21 (B) primarily benefit disadvantaged com22 munities and communities with a higher preva23 lence of diseases associated with environmental 

24 exposures; and 


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1 (C) demonstrate community support and 

2 involvement from affected communities in their 

3 proposed program. 

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

5 grant under this section, an applicant shall be a 

6 local community-based non-profit organization, a 

7 consortium of community-based non-profit organiza8 tions from a community that participated in the 

9 noise and emissions monitoring program under sec10 tion 1, a local public health department, or a local 

11 or Indian Tribal government. If the recipient is a 

12 public health department or local or Indian Tribal 

13 government, the recipient shall demonstrate commu14 nity support for the program and how it plans to 

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

16 organization. 

17 (3) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—An applicant shall 

18 demonstrate in its application how the— 

19 (A) research conducted under section 1 in20 forms its proposed project design; 

21 (B) proposed project addresses environ22 mental or health disparities and the needs and 

23 concerns of affected communities, disadvan24 taged communities, or other communities facing 

25 environmental justice concerns, including how 


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1 the applicant used the Climate and Economic 

2 Justice Screening Tool or other similar environ3 mental justice mapping tool to effectively target 

4 mitigation strategies; 

5 (C) applicant incorporated input from af6 fected communities in its proposed program, 

7 demonstrated community support for the pro8 posed program, and has established a written 

9 plan detailing how the applicant will maintain 

10 ongoing engagement with the affected commu11 nities; and 

12 (D) applicant intends to partner or coordi13 nate with relevant local organizations, govern14 ment entities, and service providers such as 

15 local public health departments, Indian Tribal 

16 governments, community health centers, and 

17 local education authorities, depending on the 

18 mitigation plan. 

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

20 program shall be used to mitigate the impacts of air21 craft or airport noise and emissions on communities 

22 near airports or air flight pathways, including estab23 lishing 1 or more of the following: 

24 (A) Noise mitigation packages that may 

25 include weatherization, retrofitting, or energy 


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1 efficiency upgrades that have noise reduction, 

2 environmental, or health benefits for house3 holds, schools, or other facilities, prioritizing 

4 low-income households and low-resourced com5 munities and facilities, and structures that are 

6 less likely to be eligible for other similar Fed7 eral resources. 

8 (B) Programs to promote environmental 

9 and public health services in impacted commu10 nities, including programs that address the dis11 proportionate effects of climate change on envi12 ronmental justice communities. 

13 (C) Health care services and environmental 

14 and public health interventions that address un15 derlying impacts from airport noise and pollu16 tion on health and quality of life, especially in 

17 children, vulnerable populations, disadvantaged 

18 communities, and communities of color. 

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

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

21 years as determined appropriate by the Adminis22 trator. 

23 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

25 awarding of grants under this section, and annually 


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1 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report 

2 to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 

3 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committees on Environ5 ment and Public Works and Commerce, Science, and 

6 Transportation of the Senate on the activities of the 

7 grant programs to include— 

8 (A) the services provided and their tar9 geted beneficiaries (including households, 

10 schools, other facilities, children, adults, sen11 iors); 

12 (B) the steps taken by the grantee to en13 gage the public and impacted communities dur14 ing execution of the grant; 

15 (C) a breakdown of the areas served under 

16 the grant and if and how such areas align with 

17 locations identified under section 1; and 

18 (D) aggregate information about the com19 munities, households, and individuals benefit20 ting from the services provided under the grant, 

21 including a breakdown of the demographic in22 formation and socioeconomic status of individ23 uals and households. 

24 (2) AFTER 3D YEAR.—Three years after award25 ing of the first grant under this section, the agency 


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1 shall submit a report to the congressional commit2 tees referred to in paragraph (1) to include— 

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

4 ability to meet its goal of mitigating airport and 

5 aviation noise and emissions; 

6 (B) potential lessons learned to inform fu7 ture efforts to address the impacts of noise and 

8 emissions in communities near airports and air 

9 flight pathways; and 

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

11 noise and pollution from airports and air flight 

12 pathways can be incorporated into the Climate 

13 and Economic Justice Screening Tool or other 

14 similar environmental justice mapping tool used 

15 by the Government. 

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

17 subsection shall be completed with input from grant18 ees and affected communities. 

Æ 


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