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Meng Asks Head of EPA to Increase Role in Federal Efforts to Reduce Increased Airplane Noise Over Queens

May 5, 2015
With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failing to reduce increased airplane noise over Queens, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) today asked the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the agency's role in federal efforts to decrease aircraft noise in the borough.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Meng called for the agency to consider how reopening its Office of Noise Abatement and Control – which previously oversaw the nation's noise control activities until it was defunded by the Reagan Administration in 1981 – would benefit borough residents plagued by excessive aircraft noise.
"I have witnessed an inconceivable lack of coordination between airport operators and the FAA regarding noise control," Meng wrote. "While the airport operators are deemed responsible for noise, the FAA is responsible for flight paths and regulating the airline industry. The FAA neither has the resources or mission priorities to adequately address intolerable levels of noise in the best interests of my constituents. I fully support the necessity of creating an efficient and safe airspace, and the FAA continues to take tremendous strides to improve those areas. However, it has failed to convince me and the public that it can objectively handle the problems caused by noise pollution. The EPA is better suited to study the consequences of noise pollution and propose measures to ameliorate this ongoing problem."
A copy of the full letter can be found here.
Although airplane noise has long existed over Queens due to the proximity of New York's airports, the blistering sounds of jets significantly increased in 2012 when the FAA implemented new flight patterns over the borough. These new routes, which are for airplanes departing from LaGuardia, have increased the frequency of flights over residential neighborhoods in Queens, and the substantial rise in aircraft noise has negatively impacted the quality of life for borough residents.
Meng, who secured additional noise monitors for Queens and helped establish the new airplane noise community roundtable and Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, has repeatedly called on the FAA to mitigate the excessive noise. However, the agency has been virtually unresponsive.