8/15/11 — Washington, D.C — The National Organization to Insure a Sound-controlled Environment (N.O.I.S.E.) extends its congratulations to Curtis Holsclaw, the new Deputy Director of the Office of Environment and Energy in the Federal Aviation Administration.

Executive Director Lourdes Maurice, in a release to PARTNER stakeholders:

“[Holsclaw] has 30 years of experience, encompassing assignments in industry and Federal service. During the last 19 years, Curtis has been a Manager in the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Environment and Energy. His experience covers all aspects of environmental issues, including oversight and enforcement of Federal environmental regulations, research and development, and international environmental policies and standards. Curtis has acted in the Deputy Director position since April.

AEE and APL are very fortunate to have someone of Curtis’ caliber in this position. Please join me in congratulating him.

Washington, D.C. – The National Organization to Insure a Sound-controlled Environment (N.O.I.S.E.) is soliciting input for their upcoming 2011 Aviation Policy Summit/Community Involvement Workshop, which will be held in conjunction with the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Congress of Cities and Exposition in Phoenix, AZ.  The Summit will take place on Wednesday, November 9^th from 10:30am-4:30pm at the Phoenix Convention Center (reception to immediately follow).

The 2011 Aviation Policy Summit/Community Involvement Workshop is an all day event designed to encourage dialogue between aviation noise abatement experts and community leaders to learn from each other and share best practices. In the past, presenters have included a range of elected officials, community activists, sound insulations and land use planning experts, FAA representatives, among others.  In an effort to ensure the organization’s members get the most beneficial information out of this summit, N.O.I.S.E. is accepting speaker and topic ideas for the 2011 Aviation Policy Summit/Community Involvement Workshop until August 31^st.

“We strive to always provide a varied and worthwhile panel to our members.  As a community-based organization, we find it beneficial to highlight local communities and provide a forum for our participants to both learn and share their unique stories and experiences with each other.  Understanding that each of our members have slightly different needs we also bring in policy and industry experts and are always open to speaker and topic suggestions to best address the dynamic needs of our group”, said President of N.O.I.S.E. and NLC Board Member, Minneapolis Councilmember Sandy Colvin Roy.

The Congress of Cities and Exposition is the NLC’s annual convention that brings together thousands of local elected officials from across the United States. The Congress of Cities and Exposition offers a broad range of learning opportunities through cooperative dialogue and workshops for over 4,000 participants, including more than 2,000 elected and appointed officials and stakeholders interested in implementing various programs and policy.

Please contact N.O.I.S.E. Communications Director, Johnna White (202) 544-9893 jewhite@locklaw.com with any questions or suggestions.

The Washington Post ran a story yesterday in regards to the hold-up of the most recent FAA extension. Aviation noise continues to be on the forefront of legislative negotiating. Excerpts from the introduction of the story and noise issue below.

“With the 20th stopgap funding extension for the nation’s aviation system about to expire, the congressional stalemate over a multibillion-dollar, long-term funding bill has turned into a strikingly nasty squabble.

Today the twenty-first extension of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs was introduced in the House by Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL), Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-WI), and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI).  It has been over 7 ½ years since the last FAA reauthorization was signed into law.

This 21^st extension, H.R. 2553, maintains current funding levels for the FAA, its employees, and airports across the country.  The extension also includes a Essential Air Service (EAS) reform provision, which the Senate passed unanimously during Floor consideration earlier this year.  This provision, which was section 420 in the Senate’s FAA bill, would limit EAS eligibility to communities that are located 90 or more miles from a large or medium hub airport.  It also includes a waiver should the Secretary of Transportation determine that geographic characteristics result in undue difficulty accessing the nearest medium or large hub.  This modest reform, already approved by the Senate this year, would eliminate 10 EAS communities located within 90 miles of a medium or large hub airport, resulting in $12.5 million in annual savings.

Source: CQ TODAY
June 24, 2011

House Passes Three-Week FAA Extension as Lawmakers Work on Long-Term Measure

By Anne L. Kim, CQ Staff

The House passed a three-week extension of federal aviation programs June 24, a move designed to avoid a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration by month’s end as lawmakers continue negotiations on a long-term reauthorization.

The House, which is in recess this week, passed the extension (HR 2279) by unanimous consent. The current short-term authorization of the FAA (PL 112-16) expires June 30.

The bill would extend through July 22 certain taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which pays for the bulk of federal aviation programs, as well as the authority to spend money from the fund. It also would provide about $2.8 billion in contract authority for the Airport Improvement Program from Oct. 1, 2010, through July 22.

The FAA has been operating on a series of short-term extensions since the last reauthorization (PL 108-176) expired at the end of fiscal 2007.

Earlier this year, both the House and the Senate advanced their own long-term reauthorization measures. The Senate passed a two-year bill (S 223) on Feb. 17 that would authorize approximately $35 billion, and the House on April 1 passed a four-year measure (HR 658) that would authorize about $60.4 billion.

Disputed Provisions

Negotiations on a pre-conference deal have become bogged down on a number of issues, including differences in funding levels and a provision in the House bill that would repeal a 2010 National Mediation Board rule that makes it easier for airline and railway employees to unionize.

The two measures also differ on the number of long-distance flights that would be allowed in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“It’s time to get this bill done,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spokesman Justin Harclerode. “Let’s see if the Senate is serious about doing so.”

“The Senate has appointed conferees and has been ready to move forward on this bill for some time,” said Jena Longo, a spokeswoman for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “We look forward to working with our House colleagues to do just that.”

Kathryn A. Wolfe contributed to this story.

A version of this article appeared in the June 27, 2011 print issue of CQ Today

Source: CQ Today Online News

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June 29, 2011

N.O.I.S.E. Executive Director, Dennis McGrann attended and participated in the June 29^th Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Executive Committee (ExCom) meeting in Washington D.C. at the FAA Headquarters. The Committee discussed a number of ongoing rulemaking projects and efforts to restructure the ARAC.  McGrann was appointed Assistant Chair of Noise Certification Aeronautical Technical Subject Area on the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration (USDOT/FAA) Rulemaking Advisory Committee in June of 2010.  ARAC members serve as the FAA’s appointed advisory board, which includes stakeholders from across the aviation community and provides advice and recommendations to the agency concerning a range of the FAA’s rule making activities, including air carrier operations, aircraft certification, system  personnel, airports, and noise.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Headquarters building, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590, Conference Room Oklahoma A-C.  The FAA is conducting its fourth public meeting that will include presentations on current supersonic aircraft research programs from NASA and Industry and a question and answer session for attendees.  The DOT building is located across the street from the Navy Yard Metro stop on the Green Line.  Attendance is open to all interested parties; however, for building security requirements, meeting registration is required by June 23.  There is no registration fee.  All participants are requested to register at the following Web site: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEFEdlRnYzBiaHZtTUozTHVtbkF4d0E6MQ

Attendees are encouraged to either come early or stay later to visit the Gulfstream’s simulator (SASSII) that will be outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT) building.  The SASSII is a mobile audio booth designed and equipped to demonstrate the “Gulfstream Whisper”, the aerospace company’s latest effort to provide a solution to the traditional sonic boom.

The public meeting will take place on Thursday, July 14, 2011, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.  For further information contact Laurette Fisher (FAA) at telephone (202) 267-3561 or facsimile (202) 267-5594 or Sandy Liu (FAA) at telephone (202) 493-4864 or facsimile (202) 267-5594.