AIRPORT NOISE ADVISORY PANEL (ANAP) 1st Quarter, March 17, 2014 3:30 P.M. FINAL MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Airport Board of Trustees Airport Board of Trustees General Aviation Pilots/Users City of Reno Community Development City of Sparks Citizen Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada Fixed Base Operators Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency The Chamber, Reno Sparks Northern Nevada FAA/Air Traffic Manager RENO-TAHOE AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF: Vice President of Planning, Engineering and Environmental Management Manager of Planning and Geographic Information Systems Manager of Airport Noise Program Airport Noise Analyst Program Technician MEMBERS ABSENT: FAA Flight Standards District Office FAA Airport Traffic Control Division Washoe County Department of Comprehensive Planning City of Reno Citizen Nevada Air National Guard RTIA Airlines Representative Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority City of Sparks Community Development Bob Larkin, Chair Nat Carasali, Vice Chair Gary Baker Nathan Gilbert George Graham John Howitt Frank Lepori Tiffany Morris Sienna Reid Lisa Ruggerio Karl Scribner Jamie McCluskie Daniel Bartholomew Trish Tucker Rick Miller Faith Allen Michael Becker David Ellsworth Chad Giesinger Glenn Graves Lt. Col. Anthony Machabee Michael Moreno Yvonne Murphy Capt. Jon Proehl Brian Rivers Jim Rundle VACANT SEATS: Air Cargo Carriers City of Reno Citizen (2) City of Sparks (2)
CALL TO ORDER The Airport Noise Advisory Panel (ANAP) met in the River Room in the Main Terminal of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada. Chairman Bob Larkin called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS Chair Larkin introduced Gary Baker, Frank Lepori, and Tiffany Morris. They are the newly appointed General Aviation Pilots, EDAWN, and Fixed Base Operator representatives, respectively. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Panel approved the minutes from the 4th Quarter meeting of December 16, 2013 with no changes. QUARTERLY REPORTS: Rick Miller, Noise Analyst, presented the quarterly reports to the Panel. SCHEDULED DAILY DEPARTURES The following flight schedule changes have occurred since September 2013: October (51 daily and 2 non-daily non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines discontinued non-stop service (1) to Chicago-Midway, IL. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Seattle, WA. United Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Denver, CO. November (48 daily and 1 non-daily non-stop departures) Alaska Airlines added nonstop service (1) to Portland, OR. Allegiant Airlines discontinued twice weekly nonservice to Oakland, CA. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Portland, OR. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. United Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to San Francisco, CA. December (57 daily non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Los Angeles, CA. Southwest Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Portland, OR. United Airlines added non-stop seasonal service (1) to Houston, TX. United Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Los Angeles, CA. United Airlines added three (3) non-stop flights to San Francisco, CA. U.S. Airways added one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. Page 2
The current quarter started as follows: January (49 daily non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) nonstop flight to Denver, CO. Southwest Airlines discontinued two (2) non-stop flights to Los Angeles, CA. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Portland, OR. United Airlines discontinued non-stop seasonal service (1) to Houston, TX. United Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Los Angeles, CA. United discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to San Francisco, CA. U.S. Airways discontinued one (1) nonstop flight to Phoenix, AZ. February (49 daily non-stop departures) Same as January. March (53 daily non-stop departures) Future Flight Service of Interest: Southwest Airlines resumed seasonal, Saturday only non-stop service to Chicago- Midway, IL on February 15, 2014. Daily non-stop service resumed on March 8, 2014. United Airlines resumed season, Saturday only non-stop service to Houston- Intercontinental, TX on February 15, 2014. Seasonal services will discontinue on March 29, 2014. Southwest Airlines to discontinue non-stop service to Seattle, WA and Portland, OR effective June 8, 2014. Alaska Airlines is expected to increase frequency to a total of five (5) daily non-stop flights to Seattle WA and a total of two (2) daily non-stop flights to Portland, OR as of June 8, 2014. The number of daily passenger airline departures decreased during the first part of the year; however, the number increased in March. The number of anticipated daily flights in March (53) is approximately one-half of the number of daily flights the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RTIA) had in 2007. CARGO ACTIVITY, RUNWAY USE & NOISE COMPLAINTS Staff indicated that there has been an increase in cargo activity. To meet the growing demand for cargo, the carriers are beginning to use larger aircraft. In regard to aircraft runway usage, wind direction determines which runways are used, as the aircraft take-off and land into the wind. During the fourth quarter, RTIA returned to more consistent south flow conditions and saw a reduction in the number of noise complaints. This is not surprising however, as it is during north flow conditions that the RTIA receives more noise complaints from community members concerned about the change in aircraft location. Staff presented the noise complaints from the 4th quarter of 2013 (October, November and December). The total number of noise complaints for 4th quarter 2013 was down in comparison to the number of complaints in 4th quarter 2012. The total noise complaints for 4 th quarter 2013 numbered 54, with 32 complaints in October, 13 in November and 9 in December. A majority of the complaints were primarily attributed to two households one north of the airport and the other south of the airport. Page 3
In regards to location, the largest percentage of noise complaints came from the Other area. The 34 Other complaints represented 63.0 percent of the quarterly total. The Huffaker area logged 13 complaints, which represented 24.1 percent of the quarterly total. The Sparks area had 5 complaints, which represented 9.3 percent of the quarterly total. The Northeast Reno area had 2 complaints, which represented 3.7 percent of the quarterly total. There were no complaints from the Donner Springs, Double Diamond, Mt. Rose Highway, Smithridge, South Hills, Stead, Virginia City Highlands or the Virginia Foothills areas. These 54 complaints came from a total of 11 locations (households). There were three main contributing factors to the number of noise complaints received during the 4th quarter. These were north flow arrivals, military aircraft operations and helicopter activity mainly from the Nevada Army National Guard based at the Reno-Stead Airport. Daily commercial airline operations for the 4th quarter averaged 93. The daily cargo operations averaged 13. Of the 54 total noise complaints, 35 percent referred to flights occurring during daytime hours and 65 percent referred to flights occurring during nighttime hours. Commercial airline carriers had 87 percent of their operations occur during the day and air cargo carriers had 73 percent of their operations occur during the day. (Daytime operations occur between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., while nighttime operations occur between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.) A large number of the noise complaints are filed during the early morning hours, as there are more operations during these hours. In addition, some of the aircraft being used during this timeframe are heavier with a lower climb profile. In response to Panel member questions, staff explained that the airlines are not notified about every complaint that staff receives from the community. Regardless of receipt of a noise complaint from the public, staff evaluates flight operations for any abnormalities and addresses such with the airline involved depending on the circumstance. Typically, the highest percent of complaints come from the Huffaker and Golden Valley areas. Often, the largest number of complaints come from a residence north of the airport and occurs during north flow operations and in the early morning hours. SOUND INSULATION PROGRAM STATUS Trish Tucker, Manager of Airport Noise Program, presented an update on the sound insulation program to the Panel. The sound insulation program for the 2014 construction season is underway and consists of Phase 21.5 which is made up of 64 single, multi-family and condominium residences located in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. The construction bids were opened last week with the low, responsive bid coming in from G & G Specialty Contractors out of Phoenix, Arizona. The construction contract will be awarded at the April 2014 Board Meeting. Construction is scheduled for mid-august through mid-november, 2014. Staff is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to get clarification on new restrictions that they are imposing on sound insulation programs throughout the United States, including the RTIA program. Unlike past program homes, these new restrictions do not allow new acoustical windows to be placed in rooms that the FAA considers to be non-habitable, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. Page 4
In looking toward the future of the sound insulation program, staff is attempting to bring the final two eligible schools into the program (Marvin Picollo and Elizabeth Lenz Elementary). One of the new FAA restrictions requires that the schools be pre-tested (acoustical eligibility tested) to determine their eligibility before being brought into the program. The testing was completed in January 2014 and staff is waiting for the results of the tests which are expected in May. If one or both of the schools are determined to be eligible, design will begin in 2014 with construction to be completed in the summer of 2015. If needed, Panel members have offered their assistance to help get the two schools into the sound insulation program. AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF ITEMS Staff shared the 2013 sound insulation program survey results from Phases 20.4 and 22.1. The results were very positive for both program phases, with high satisfaction ratings. In response to a Panel member question regarding acoustical testing of previously insulated homes, staff explained that this is not a part of the current RTAA sound insulation program. Staff mentioned that research is currently being done by the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) to determine if this is something that should be done as part of the FAA s sound insulation program. Chair Larkin proposed that this might be a topic to bring before a future meeting of the Panel. Staff created a Scavenger Hunt using the RTAA s WebTrak noise and operations monitoring system to refresh the Panel on how to use the system. WebTrak is the system that the public can use to identify aircraft and related data when they have concerns and/or questions about aircraft overflights. This system also allows for public filing of aircraft noise complaints. GENERAL COMMITTEE COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & ITEMS FOR FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETINGS No items. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. ADJOURNMENT There being no further questions or business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m. /fma Page 5