Daily operations at Austin's existing airport subject 30,000 residents to unacceptable levels of noise. Instead, with the move to Bergstrom and construction of noise abatement facilities required for civilian airports, the effects of aircraft noise will be reduced significantly. To prevent future problems with noise, the city has enacted compatible land-use zoning prohibiting new construction that would make noise an issue in the area affected by the noise of airport operations. The city completed the move of cargo operations to the new airport in June 1997. That move was important because Austin's cargo operations have been expanding at the rate of 20 to 30 percent per year.
Financing is available to the families through low- interest loans from community organizations.
Not only do the residents benefit from this approach, but the city also reaps rewards. The future use of the base as an airport played a significant role in determining the cleanup criteria for soil and groundwater. The application of the industrial and commercial exposure scenario that was clearly appropriate for the new airport avoided any concerns about residential land use. Therefore, industrial cleanup standards could be implemented with confidence. Another successful approach involved the use of soils from other sites as subsurface grading materials for the landfill at the base.