Here’s what Long Beach can, can’t do to address noise, other issues at city’s airport
Two recent reports detail issues with noise and leaded gasoline usage at Long Beach Airport. Long Beach is addressing residential concerns about increased noise from general aviation operators at its municipal airport, which have been causing concern among residents. Concerns arose at a City Council meeting in September when nearly 100 residents asked for a report on reducing general aviation flight noise at Long Beach Airport. The report suggests that the increase in general aviation activity is largely due to a nationwide pilot shortage, with projections indicating there is a need for 14,500 new pilots annually through 2030. Despite this, the city has limited authority to regulate general aviation carriers and is ranked No. 2 in the country for lead pollution, with planes emitting nearly 1,600 pounds of lead each year into neighborhoods. The city received its first delivery of unleaded fuel in August and implemented a subsidy program to incentivize general aviation companies to use it.
Publicado : Hace 2 meses por Kristy Hutchings en Travel
Long Beach is working to address residential concerns about a major uptick in noise from general aviation operators at its municipal airport, among other issues, according to two recent reports released by the city manger’s office.
Concerns about noise came to head at a City Council meeting in September, when nearly 100 residents showed up asking the body to figure out how general aviation flight noise at Long Beach Airport could be reduced.
Though residents have long lived in relative harmony with the airport — that peace has been disrupted as general aviation operations continue growing at LGB.
Residents aren’t concerned with noise from commercial flights, which is strictly regulated in Long Beach’s noise ordinance.
Rather, they’re concerned with general aviation flights — which include smaller aircraft operations for any non-commercial purpose, such as flight-school training.
During the September meeting, the City Council asked the airport and its representatives to provide a report back about the increase in general aviation and associated noise — and how it could be mitigated.
LGB officials, including airport Director Cynthia Guidry, have repeatedly acknowledged that residents are right about the increase in GA operations — with a “notable increase” in summer 2023 — and used the report, which was released in October, to explain why.
The key cause attributed to the increase in general aviation activity — which has gone up every summer for the last four years, according to the report — is largely linked to a nationwide pilot shortage.
Though the Federal Aviation Administration issues about 6,500 new pilot certificates annually, the October report said, projections indicate that there is a need for 14,500 new pilots annually through 2030 to keep up with the industry’s demand.
Many companies, the report added, have upped their compensation packages for potential pilots in an effort to incentivize them to join the career. That move has worked, to some extent, and spurred additional folks to pursue flight school.
But there are only so many locations that are ideal for pilot training, the report said, and the Long Beach Airport just happens to be a prime one.
“Basic pilot training must be conducted in fair weather,” the report said. “For this reason, fair weather climates found in states such as California, Arizona and Florida are particularly attractive for flight schools and these areas have long been associated with a high volume of flight training activity.”
Besides the good weather, though, Southern California is also home to complex airspace — great training for young pilots.
“LGB is particularly attractive for flight training operations as it is conveniently located within the Los Angeles basin,” the report said, “which has several training areas and the airport presents a complex training environment.”
More general aviation operations, however, means Long Beach residents are exposed greater noise and other consequences — such as additional lead pollution.
Though leaded gas has been fully banned in automobiles since 1996, it’s still widely used by many small planes and helicopters.
And out of more than 20,000 airports nationwide, data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows, LGB ranks No. 2 in the country for lead pollution — with planes there emitting nearly 1,600 pounds of lead each year into neighborhoods.
Though the City Council, in October 2022, directed staff to work with the airport and other stakeholders on a plan to reduce lead pollution from planes, the panel stopped short of outright banning the fuel.
LGB received its first delivery of unleaded fuel in August. Aircraft operators aren’t required to use it — but the city rolled out a subsidy program intended to incentivize general aviation carriers to use unleaded fuel in January.
As for the increase in noise, the October report laid out several action steps the city could take to address the issue, but also noted several limitations on what authority Long Beach actually has to regulate general aviation carriers.
Though Long Beach’s local noise ordinance, which was updated last year for the first time since 1975, is among the strictest in the nation, it doesn’t apply to actual airspace — which is under the sole jurisdiction of the FAA.
LGB has also accepted nearly $347 million from the federal government’s Airport Improvement Program and Passenger Facility Charges funds since 2004.
The money has paid for and continues to help fund nearly every aspect of LGB’s operation and management, the report said, though it doesn’t come without strings attached.
“The city and the airport are bound by federal grant assurances that limit the authority to curtail, deter or further minimize operations,” the report said.
That essentially means that beyond Long Beach’s ability to regulate some airport noise through its local ordinance, there isn’t much the city can do to force changes.
“Furthermore, as a federally obligated airport,” the report said, “it would be extremely difficult and unreasonable for the city to attempt to return long-term federal dollars, nearly $350 million, to obtain local control of airport regulations.”
The city, similarly, doesn’t have the authority to regulate the type of fuel that aircraft carriers use. That responsibility falls to the EPA — which, in recent years, has taken steps to initiate the process of outlawing unleaded fuel.
The EPA unveiled its Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions initiative, which aims to transition aircraft carriers to unleaded fuel in the U.S. by 2030, last year.
The agency also made a final determination last year that leaded fuel is indeed harmful to human health under the Clean Air Act — a move that, according to the city’s report, will set in motion new federal regulatory processes and standards for lead emissions as they relate to leaded aviation fuel.
“Due to federal regulations, grant assurances, etc., the airport does not have the authority to ban the use and sale of leaded fuel,” the report said. “In other words, to do so would place the airport in jeopardy of compliance with federal regulations.”
Instead, according to a second report released on Friday, March 15, Long Beach is working to advocate on the federal level for stronger lead pollution mitigation measures.
Various city officials, including Fifth District Councilmember Megan Kerr — whose district includes LGB — met with FAA and EPA leadership in December to “discuss concerns regarding increased GA operations and a desire to accelerate federal efforts to eliminate the use of leaded aviation fuel,” according to the report.
The City Council also included several unleaded fuel and other environmental concerns to its 2024 Legislative Agenda — which lays out the city’s advocacy priorities for the year.
The report also noted the need for Long Beach to explore additional incentives for aircraft carriers who opt to use unleaded fuel.
When it comes to the noise issue, the city’s chief priority is pursuing voluntary agreements with flight schools that operate at LGB.
“As voluntary agreements are typically the best and fastest remedy to noise mitigation,” the March report said, “LGB continues to meet with its GA tenants to discuss community concerns regarding GA operations.”
The city most recently met with flight schools and other stakeholders in January, the report said, where staffer provided updates about community concerns and reviewed “fly friendly” methods.
Long Beach has also had a “preliminary conversation” with the FAA regarding potential updates to the city’s noise ordinance violation fees, which are meant to deter airport carriers from operating outside the bounds of those regulations.
That process is still playing out, the report said, with the airport and city attorney’s office working to identify whether there is an existing legal precedent for Long Beach to revise its fee structure.
“Future meetings,” the report said, “will be coordinated as an appropriate approach to increasing the noise ordinance violation fee structure is further identified.”
Long Beach, meanwhile, has also begun work to increase outreach to the airport’s GA operators regarding noise issues, the report said.
LGB is in talks with the FAA to co-host an educational webinar in June aimed at providing both GA operators and residents with additional information about the noise issues and how they can be dealt with.
“We continue progress on developing a formal Fly Friendly program to reduce noise levels on a voluntary basis,” the report added. “We also continue to develop a recognition program to encourage best practices and acknowledge flight school and pilot participation.”
The LGB Noise Office, which handles community calls and requests for assistance, has also hired two additional full-time staffers to review and investigate complaints and issue violations when applicable.
LGB is also consulting with the FAA to flesh out feasible operation solutions to the noise issue, the report said. The airport recently submitted several new proposed “fly friendly” procedures on behalf of airport operators, which are under consideration.
And finally, Long Beach is considering putting a temporary moratorium on issuing business licenses to new flight schools in an effort to reduce additional noise — though its unclear if the city will legally be able to do so.
The nearby Torrance Airport — which is not federally obligated — recently banned certain flight procedures and limited the number of flight school licenses it would issue.
But Sling Pilot Academy, which operates at the Torrance Airport, filed a lawsuit preventing the city from taking any legal action on its business license renewal.
“The outcome of the city of Torrance actions will inform how best to proceed on discussions with the FAA to explore a similar moratorium at LGB,” the report said.
But until those longer term solutions, are established, it’s likely residents neighboring the Long Beach Airport will have to deal with the noise for the foreseeable future.
Residents, though, are encouraged to attend the Airport Advisory Commission’s monthly meetings to stay up-to-date on the latest information regarding GA noise.