AIRPORT NOISE ADVISORY PANEL (ANAP) 4 th Quarter, December 17, 2012 5:30 P.M. FINAL MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Washoe County Citizen City of Reno Community Development Airport Board of Trustees RTIA Airlines Representative Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority The Chamber, Reno Sparks Northern Nevada City of Sparks Community Development FAA/Air Traffic Manager RENO-TAHOE AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF: Vice President of Planning, Engineering and Environmental Management Manager of Airport Noise Program Airport Noise Analyst Program Technician Michael Moreno, Chair Nathan Gilbert Adam Mayberry Capt. Jon Proehl Sienna Reid Brian Rivers Lisa Ruggerio, Vice Chair Jim Rundle Karl Scribner Jamie McCluskie Trish Tucker Rick Miller Faith Allen MEMBERS ABSENT: Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada General Aviation Pilots/Users Nevada Air National Guard FAA Airport Traffic Control Division City of Sparks Citizen City of Reno Citizen Washoe County Citizen FAA Flight Standards District Office Washoe County Department of Comprehensive Planning City of Sparks Citizen Fixed Base Operator Washoe County Citizen Steven Anderson Don Berman Capt. Erik Brown David Ellsworth George Graham Glenn Graves John Howitt Harold Jones R. Paul Kelly Kenneth Pender Bruce Roberts Bill Vandenberg VACANT SEATS: Air Cargo Carriers City of Reno Citizen (2) City of Sparks (1) Page 1
CALL TO ORDER The Airport Noise Advisory Panel (ANAP) met at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport Administrative Offices, Conference Room A-B, in Reno, Nevada. Chair Michael Moreno called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. MOMENT OF SILENCE Chair Moreno asked that the Panel observe a moment of silence for victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS Trish Tucker, Manager of Airport Noise Program, introduced Jamie McCluskie. Mr. McCluskie is the new Vice President of Planning, Engineering and Environmental Management. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Panel approved the minutes from the 3rd Quarter meeting of September 17, 2012 with no changes. APPROVAL OF 2013 MEETING SCHEDULE In response to a question from a Panel member, staff indicated that the By-Laws do not require the Panel to meet quarterly; however, the Panel must meet at least twice a year. Staff indicated that if the Panel determined that four quarterly meetings were not necessary, staff would still send out quarterly reports. Staff and a few members of the Panel expressed the need for the Panel to meet quarterly in order to continue to be a venue for the community to voice noise concerns. A Panel member voiced their concern that the Panel does not have the power to actually help homeowners when they have noise issues but another Panel member stressed that the Committee does have input and influence to make things happen. Trustee Mayberry suggested that the Panel reevaluate its purpose and possibly take steps to retool the Committee. Chair Moreno suggested that staff consider what opportunities there may be to make the ANAP more effective and responsive to the citizenry in 2013 and beyond. In addition, Chair Moreno recommended that the Panel revisit the By-Laws, look at the charge of the Panel and determine if the Panel should be retooled. In the meantime, he recommended that the 2013 proposed meeting schedule included in the Agenda be approved. Motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved that the Panel meet on the following dates in 2013: Page 2
Monday, March 18, 2013, 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 17, 2013, 5:30 p.m. Monday, September 16, 2013, 5:30 p.m. Monday, December 16, 2013, 5:30 p.m. QUARTERLY REPORTS: Rick Miller, Airport Noise Analyst, presented the quarterly reports to the Panel. SCHEDULED DAILY DEPARTURES The following flight schedule changes have occurred since June 2012 (66 daily and 1 weekend only non-stop departures): July (65 daily and 1 weekend only non-stop departures) Delta Airlines temporarily discontinued their non-stop service (1) to Minneapolis, MN. August (66 daily and 1 weekend only non-stop departures) American Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Los Angeles, CA. United Airlines discontinued 1 non-stop flight to Denver, CO. September (59 non-stop departures) Alaska Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Seattle, WA. American Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Dallas, TX. Continental Airlines (United) discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Houston, TX. Delta Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Salt Lake City, UT. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Las Vegas, NV. United Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop, Saturday only flight to San Francisco, CA. U.S. Airways discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. The current quarter started as follows: October (57 daily and 1 weekend only non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Seattle, WA. November (53 non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Oakland, CA., one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. And one (1) non-stop flight to Portland, OR. United Airlines discontinued two (2) daily non-stop flights and one (1) Saturday only non-stop flight to San Francisco, CA. U.S. Airways added one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. Future Flight Service of Interest: United Airlines one (1) non-stop flight to Houston, TX will return on a short-term basis during the month of December 2012 and then return again on a regular basis beginning March 2013. United Airlines will resume their normal flight schedule to San Francisco, CA in January 2013, with six (6) daily and one (1) weekend only non-stop flights. Southwest Airlines will begin daily non-stop seasonal service with one (1) flight to Ontario, CA in January 2013. Southwest Airlines will discontinue one (1) non-stop flight to Salt Lake City, UT in January 2013 and two (2) non-stop flights to Oakland, CA in June 2013. Page 3
Allegiant Air will begin twice weekly non-stop service between Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Las Vegas, NV beginning February 1, 2013. In response to a question from the Panel regarding flight service to the Bay Area, staff explained that even though Southwest Airlines is discontinuing its flight service to Oakland, CA. in June 2013, the fact that United Airlines would be resuming its regular flight service to San Francisco, CA. in January 2013 and because Alaska Airlines began service to San Jose, CA. in June 2012, there are still ample flights available to the Bay Area for those who wish to fly. CARGO ACTIVITY, RUNWAY USE & NOISE COMPLAINTS Staff indicated that there has been a minor increase in cargo activity but nothing substantial. There will be larger aircraft coming into the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RTIA) during the holiday season but there will be no increase in the frequency of flights. In regard to aircraft runway usage, the historical annual average is a 20/80 percent split, with 20 percent of the traffic flowing north and 80 percent of the traffic flowing south but there are seasonal variations. Third quarter 2012 showed a 30/70 percent split respectively. However, in the past few months, staff has seen a shift back to a more typical flow, mirroring the historical annual average. Staff presented the noise complaints from the 3rd quarter of 2012 (July, August and September). The total number of noise complaints for 3rd quarter 2012 is comparable to the number of complaints in 3rd quarter 2011. Staff noted that a large portion of these noise complaints came from the South Hill s Mountaingate Community s August 2012 letter to the Airport Authority. The total noise complaints for 3rd quarter 2012 numbered 584 with 219 complaints in July, 266 in August and 99 in September. The reduction in the number of complaints in September was primarily a result of a return to a more typical south flow. The largest percentage of noise complaints came from the Huffaker area south of the airport. The 244 Huffaker complaints represented 41.8 percent of the quarterly total. The Other area also had a large number of complaints, totaling 160. These complaints represented 27.4 percent of the quarterly total and are primarily from one household that is disturbed by south flow arrivals. The South Hills area had 123 complaints, which represented 21.1 percent of the quarterly total. Sparks had 26 complaints (4.5 percent). Virginia City Highlands had 16 complaints (2.7 percent). Mt. Rose Highway had 7 complaints (1.2 percent). Double Diamond had 4 complaints (0.7 percent) and Northeast Reno had 4 complaints (0.7 percent). There were no complaints from the Donner Springs, Smithridge, Stead or the Virginia Foothills areas. The 584 third quarter complaints came from a total of 89 locations (households). The contributing factors for the number of third quarter complaints included the SPLTM departure procedure, north flow arrivals, military aircraft (FEMA exercise) and helicopter activity in the area. Page 4
The daily passenger airline operations for the 3rd quarter averaged 94. The daily cargo operations averaged 11. Of the 584 total noise complaints, 46 percent referred to flights occurring during daytime hours and 54 percent referred to flights occurring during nighttime hours. Airline passenger carriers had 88 percent of their operations during the day and cargo carriers had 71 percent of their operations 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.) SOUND INSULATION PROGRAM STATUS Trish Tucker, Manager of Airport Noise Program, presented an update on the sound insulation program to the Panel. The 2012 construction season is substantially complete in the four phases of construction completed during the season. 501 total residences were sound insulated in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County in 2012. Staff will be closing out Grant 19 in early spring 2013, but there are still funds available in Grants 20, 21 and 22 for future phases of construction. Staff is in the planning and design stages for 2013 construction. There are two bid packages planned for the 2013 construction season. Phase 20.4 consists of 64 single, multi-family and condominiums located in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. Construction for this phase will take place in the fall of 2013. With the $7 million FAA grant received in September 2012, the Airport Authority will be able to complete Phase 22.1 consisting of a 404 unit apartment complex (The Village at Iron Blossom) located south of the airport. Bids were opened for this phase on November 8, 2012 and the construction contract was awarded to G & G Specialty Contractors at the December 13, 2012 Board meeting. Phase 22.1 construction will take place in the summer / fall of 2013. In summary, the sound insulation program (through Year 2012) has mitigated over 4,600 homes. During the 2013 calendar year, 468 homes are anticipated to participate in the sound insulation program. This will leave approximately 340 homes still eligible for the program to be mitigated at a later date. Staff anticipates doing a knock and talk beginning in March 2013. Staff, along with Architects+ and C. Kell-Smith & Associates staff, will be going door to door to inform homeowners about the program. This will be the last attempt to incorporate any remaining homes into the program. AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF ITEMS Flanders Road Community Update: Trish Tucker, Manager of Airport Noise Program, presented an update to the Panel with regard to those Flanders Road property owners who were previously told that their homes did not qualify for the sound insulation program. Staff reminded the Panel that Flanders Road is the south most boundary of the sound insulation program. Some of the homes on Flanders Road are not eligible for the sound insulation program due to the Federal Aviation Administration s (FAA) policy that homes built after September 30, 1998 do not qualify. Two-thirds of the homes on Flanders Road do not qualify due to this FAA policy. Staff sent an email to Ms. Shepherd, the Flanders Road homeowner who spoke at the 3 rd Quarter ANAP meeting. The email listed the 51 homes located on Flanders Road that are within the Page 5
sound insulation program boundary along with their eligibility status. Staff gave Ms. Shepherd the Washoe County Assessor contact information to further investigate each home s certificate of occupancy date. In addition, she was sent the FAA s program clarification response regarding eligibility. Staff has yet to hear back from Ms. Shepherd. The Airport Authority requested FAA clarification regarding the October 1, 1998 cut-off date for eligibility. The FAA response stated, Per Program Guidance Letter 12-09 effective August 17, 2012, Table 1 of the Revised Paragraph 812 of FAA Order 5100-38C, AIP Handbook states that structure must have been built prior to October 1, 1998 meaning the construction was completed prior to October 1, 1998. Only the construction final inspection can reflect this completion milestone. A construction start prior to October 1, 1998 alone is not acceptable justification. Since our three local jurisdictions (Reno, Sparks and Washoe County) produce a Certificate of Occupancy as the final determination that a home is ready to be occupied, FAA Program Manager, Howard Chang, has agreed to accept this form of verification in lieu of a final construction inspection notice. The FAA s policy of eligibility was published in April, 1998. It advised all land use jurisdictions (nation-wide) that it would no longer approve remedial noise mitigation measures for new noncompatible development that occurs in the vicinity of airports after October 1, 1998. (The October 1 date was chosen due to the fact that it is the start of the FAA s fiscal year.) Mountaingate Community Update: Staff facilitated a meeting with the Mountaingate community residents and the FAA on Monday, October 29, 2012 at the Galena High School theatre. Twenty-one residents attended this meeting. Karl Scribner, the local FAA Tower Manager, with assistance from David Dodd, Operations Support Manager of Northern California TRACON, gave a PowerPoint presentation addressing the history of flight tracks over the Mountaingate community. Mr. Scribner explained the reasons behind why and how aircraft fly in and out of the RTIA. Mr. Scribner also responded to questions from the attendees. The last communication between members of the Mountaingate community and airport staff was in November 2012, when an email was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Cecil, the homeowners that wrote a letter to the RTIA on behalf of their neighborhood. This email shared a previously requested list of monthly flight operation totals dating back to 2008. SPLTM Update: Staff presented a PowerPoint presentation at the October 11, 2012 Board Meeting. In the presentation, staff shared the ANAP s recommendation that a letter be sent to the FAA conveying not only concerns regarding the SPLTM procedure, but also encouraging continued work to improve the SPLTM procedure and requesting temporary suspension of the SPLTM procedure until the FAA can ensure that the SPLTM procedure is flown as it was presented at the public meetings. The Board unanimously approved the ANAP s recommendation and sent the letter, with minor changes, to the FAA. Page 6
As of today s date, staff has yet to receive a formal written response from the FAA. However, staff had a recent telephone conversation with Rex MacLean, Air Traffic Control Specialist with the FAA s Western Service Center. Mr. MacLean stated that the SPLTM procedure has not been suspended, but it is not being assigned by the tower. However, if an airline files this departure procedure, it will be issued. Mr. MacLean could not make any promises but staff understands that the FAA intends to continue to pursue a proposed modification to the SPLTM procedure. Any new revision to the procedure would take at least 18 months to publish. Staff stressed to the FAA that whatever the final solution may be, there must be a high level of confidence that the solution will not only work for everyone involved but that it will work on a highly consistent basis and that all operators, with few exceptions, will be able to use it. This will be the only way to ensure community buy-in. MEMBER ITEMS A Panel member asked why this meeting was not held at the Airport Authority Firehouse as was the September 17, 2012 meeting. Staff explained that upon examination of the ANAP by-laws, they became aware that meetings ought to be held at the Airport Authority s Administrative Office. Therefore, the meeting was moved back to its current location. Another Panel member asked if it would be possible for staff to consolidate the number of pages that are included in the complaint portion of the information package sent out to Panel members before the quarterly meetings. Staff will see what can be done to accommodate this request. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. However, staff thanked the Panel members for the work that they had done throughout the year. Trustee Mayberry, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, also thanked the members for their commitment to the Airport Noise Advisory Panel. Chair Moreno echoed these statements of appreciation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further questions or business to discuss, it was moved, seconded and unanimously approved for the meeting to be adjourned at 6:30 p.m. /fma Page 7