NBAA's Beef on Naples Noise Said to Be Procedural
Problem
NBAA's problem with the Stage 2 noise ban at Naples has as much to do with
APF management's way of enacting its ban as it does with the ban
itself, says the association's airports manager Jeff Gilley.
The key is the threshold level of 65 decibels, which according
to Gilley is the generally accepted problem level for residences.
"Naples couldn't find any, so they reached, and that took them to the
60 decibel contour," Gilley reports. And that, he says, opens
the door for other airports to act "outside of the accepted
national standard."
"We're really plotting new ground on how FAA rules and makes
determinations," he says.
One of NBAA's top priorities is access, which is why it's come
down so strongly on the FAA's side over Naples. "There are
other airports in the country that have been waiting in the wings,"
Gilley says. "Everybody wants to see all of the legal implications
of Naples." Naples chief Ted Soliday says APF is in the process
of appealing the FAA's administrative ruling, which is based on
the agency's grants authority, in court.
"The next battle is Stage 3," Gilley says-exemplified by the pending
nighttime ban of all activity at Burbank BUR.
