AIRPORT NOISE ADVISORY PANEL (ANAP) 4 th Quarter, December 16, 2013 3:30 P.M. FINAL MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Airport Board of Trustees Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada FAA Flight Standards District Office Washoe County Department of Comprehensive Planning City of Sparks Citizen Nevada Air National Guard RTIA Airlines Representative Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority 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 Program Technician MEMBERS ABSENT: Airport Board of Trustees Fixed Base Operators FAA Airport Traffic Control Division City of Reno Community Development City of Reno Citizen Washoe County Citizen Washoe County Citizen Washoe County Citizen Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency The Chamber, Reno Sparks Northern Nevada City of Sparks Community Development Nat Carasali, Vice Chair Steven Anderson Katherine Clark Chad Giesinger George Graham Lt. Col. Anthony Machabee Capt. Jon Proehl Brian Rivers Karl Scribner Jamie McCluskie Daniel Bartholomew Trish Tucker Faith Allen Bob Larkin, Chair Trent Brownlee David Ellsworth Nathan Gilbert Glenn Graves John Howitt Michael Moreno Yvonne Murphy Sienna Reid Lisa Ruggerio Jim Rundle VACANT SEATS: Air Cargo Carriers City of Reno Citizen (2) City of Sparks (2) General Aviation Pilots/Users
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. Vice Chair Nat Carasali called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT None. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Panel approved the minutes from the 3rd Quarter meeting of September 16, 2013 with no changes. DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF 2014 MEETING SCHEDULE The Panel approved the proposed 2014 Meeting Schedule: Monday, March17, 2014 Monday, June 16, 2014 Monday, September 15, 2014 Monday, December 2014 QUARTERLY REPORTS: Dan Bartholomew, Manager of Planning and Geographic Information Systems, presented the quarterly reports to the Panel. He initiated the meeting by thanking all those present, including RTAA Board of Trustees Chairman, Adam Mayberry, for their attendance. SCHEDULED DAILY DEPARTURES The following flight schedule changes have occurred since June 2013: July (61 daily and 2 non-daily non-stop departures) Alaska Airlines added one (1) nonstop flight to Seattle, WA. Allegiant Airlines added twice weekly non-stop service to Bellingham, WA. American Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Dallas, TX. Southwest Airlines discontinued service (2) to Oakland, CA. Southwest Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Seattle, WA. United Airlines added non-stop service (1) to Houston, TX. United Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to Denver, CO. United Airlines added one (1) non-stop flight to San Francisco, CA. U.S. Airways added one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. August (61 daily and 2 non-daily non-stop departures) Same as July. September (54 daily and 2 non-daily non-stop departures) Alaska Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Seattle, WA. Allegiant Airlines added twice weekly non-stop Page 2
service to Oakland, CA. American Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX. Southwest Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Las Vegas, NV. United Airlines discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to San Francisco, CA. United Airlines discontinued non-stop service (1) to Houston, TX. U.S. Airways discontinued one (1) non-stop flight to Phoenix, AZ. The current quarter started as follows: October (51 daily and 2 non-daily non-stop departures) Southwest Airlines discontinued non-stop service to Chicago-Midway, IL. Southwest 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 departure) Alaska Airlines added nonstop service (1) to Portland, OR. Allegiant Airlines discontinued twice weekly non-stop service 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. Future Flight Service of Interest: Southwest Airlines seasonal service to Chicago-Midway, IL is currently scheduled to return in February 2014. Delta Air Lines will be offering Saturday-only service to Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN from June through September 2014. The number of daily passenger airline departures has decreased in comparison to the previous year. However, the seasonal trend is similar to years past. CARGO ACTIVITY, RUNWAY USE & NOISE COMPLAINTS Staff indicated that there have been no significant changes in cargo activity. To meet the growing demand for cargo, FedEx recently increased the size of their aircraft and has begun flying the MD-10 in and out of the airport, replacing the Airbus A300. In regard to aircraft runway usage, wind direction determines which runways are used, as the aircraft take-off and land into the wind. During July, there was an extended period of time when the winds came in from the North. This north flow conditions changes where the aircraft are and typically increases the number of complaints received. In August and September, we returned to the more consistent south flow conditions and have, subsequently, seen a reduction in the number of noise complaints. Staff presented the noise complaints from the 3rd quarter of 2013 (July, August and September). The total number of noise complaints for 3rd quarter 2013 was down in comparison to the number of complaints in 3rd quarter 2012. A few of the contributing factors were: The Page 3
community s access to the airport s WebTrack on-line aircraft noise tracker, which offers citizens the ability to go on-line and identify the aircraft causing the noise event; the use of quieter aircraft, and different procedures/profiles flown by the airlines. The total noise complaints for 3rd quarter 2013 numbered 340 with 143 complaints in July, 85 in August and 112 in September. A majority of the complaints were primarily attributed to one household south of the airport. The complaints correlated with the types and numbers of activities occurring at the airport, primarily those associated with arriving aircraft due to their lower altitudes and consolidated flight paths. The largest percentage of noise complaints came from the Huffaker Hills area. The 214 Huffaker complaints represented 62.9 percent of the quarterly total. The Other area logged 110 complaints, which represented 32.4 percent of the quarterly total. The Virginia Foothills area had 7 complaints, which represented 2.1 percent of the quarterly total. The Virginia City Highlands area had 3 complaints, which represented 0.9 percent of the quarterly total. The Northeast Reno area logged 3 complaints, which represented 0.9 percent of the quarterly total. The Sparks area had 2 complaints, which represented 0.6 percent of the quarterly total. The Mt. Rose Highway area had 1 complaint, which represented 0.3 percent of the quarterly total. There were no complaints from the Donner Springs, Double Diamond, Smithridge, South Hills or the Stead areas. The 340 third quarter complaints came from a total of 11 locations (households). One of the contributing factors for the number of complaints in the third quarter 2013 was the number of north flow arrivals. Two other contributing factors to the number of noise complaints received during the third quarter were military aircraft operations and helicopter activity. In response to a Panel member question, staff explained that, generally speaking, there is not much we can do about the noise concerns received other than educating the community and aircraft operators. Staff believes that we will see a decrease in the number of complaints due to new aircraft flight procedures, resulting from the continued implementation of advanced navigational technology. Daily commercial airline operations for the 3rd quarter averaged 108. The daily cargo operations averaged 11. Of the 340 total noise complaints, 59 percent referred to flights occurring during daytime hours and 41 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 68 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 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. Page 4
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 2013 construction season is substantially complete with a total of 465 residences sound insulated in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. Staff is working on the final change orders for the projects and plans to close out Grant 21 by the end of March 2014. The sound insulation program completed work on its 5,000 th home this past fall. Staff provided a video that was taken by KOLO-TV, a local television station that had a crew at the media event that was held in mid-november 2013. Trustees Mayberry and Larkin spoke at the event, which was also attended by a few members of ANAP. Grant 21 has been consolidated into one bid package, consisting of homes in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. One-on-One homeowner floor plan reviews are scheduled for mid-january 2014. The bid opening will take place in March 2014 and Construction is scheduled to take place from the middle of August through the middle of November 2014. Due to recently implemented and more restrictive guidelines placed on noise programs by the FAA, the final residential phase of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority s Sound Insulation Program (Phase 21.5) is not being designed like past phases of the program. Currently, the Airport Authority is waiting on a response from FAA headquarters in Washington D.C. regarding an exception request staff made to be able to incorporate windows in non-habitable space (e.g. bathrooms and laundry rooms) that is adjacent to a habitable space (e.g. bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens). On July 31, 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the Airport Authority s request to amend Grant 22 to include the noise mitigation of the two remaining schools (Marvin Picollo Elementary and Elizabeth Lenz Elementary) in the approved noise contour south of the airport. A total of approximately 650 students would be helped with noise mitigation of both schools. However, since these schools fall under the new FAA sound insulation program requirements, they need to be pre-tested by our acoustical consultants to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements. Testing is scheduled to take place during the week January 6, 2014, while the Washoe County School District is on Winter Break. If these schools are found by the FAA to qualify for the noise mitigation program, construction will take place during the summer of 2015. To date, the sound insulation program has completed 5,069 residences. Originally 105 residences applied to the program requesting to have work done in 2014; however, some of those homes have pulled, leaving 71 homes currently slated to be insulated in 2014. For a variety of reasons, approximately 270 homes have declined to participate in the sound insulation program. It has been explained to these homeowners that once the program is complete, they will not have another opportunity to participate. In response to a Panel member question, staff shared that the Noise Office received a variety of telephone calls and emails following the 5000 th home media event and although, in most cases, the homes were not eligible to participate in the program, staff was able to help one homeowner Page 5
whose home is on a parcel that contains two residences. Previously, one of the residences was noise mitigated and had an Avigation Easement recorded on the property. However, the FAA has agreed to allow the new owner to have the second residence mitigated despite the fact that an Avigation Easement has already been recorded on the property. PRESENTATIONS ON HELICOPTER FLIGHT ACTIVITIES Presentations were given by representatives from the FAA-Flight Standards District Office, the Washoe County Sheriff s Department RAVEN unit, REMSA s Care Flight unit and the Nevada Army National Guard. Ms. Katherine Clark of the FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) gave a brief presentation on the regulatory requirements of helicopter activities in the area. The FSDO handles complaints from the community which are typically noise related. Ms. Clark explained that their office does not certify helicopters. Rather, their job is to investigate and take action if it has been determined that unauthorized modifications have been made to a helicopter. Ms. Clark reiterated that the FSDO does not make rules. They only enforce them. The FSDO does not tell helicopter pilots where to fly or where to land and the only helicopters that FSDO regulates in the area are those operated by Care Flight. Ms. Clark also explained that helicopters are authorized by regulation to operate at much lower altitudes than airplanes because of their unique properties for accomplishing an emergency landing should an engine failure occur. Fortunately, most helicopter operators are sensitive to this issue. Captain Trevor Weaver of the Nevada Army National Guard (Guard) presented next. Captain Weaver is the company commander for the chinook unit up at the Reno-Stead Airport. The Captain explained to the Panel that they never fly their helicopters lower than 500 feet. However, the Army helicopters are very large and do make a lot of noise. The Army Guard helicopter pilots must follow strict standard operating procedures when flying over the Reno/Sparks area. They attempt not to fly over residential area unless it is absolutely necessary. In regards to training, the Guard conducts many training events north of the Reno-Stead Airport, as it looks much like Afghanistan. They also work with the Secret Service and other nameless entities in their training events. Deputy Sheriff Larry Lodge and Pilot Sipple Baumann with the Washoe County Sheriff s Department Regional Aviation Enforcement Unit, or RAVEN as it is otherwise called. RAVEN operations cover the northern half of Nevada. RAVEN has basically three functions: (1) law enforcement; (2) search and rescue; and (3) firefighting. RAVEN is regulated by Nevada Statutes for search and rescue events. RAVEN works closely with REMSA s Care Flight and other entities. Last year, RAVEN worked with the Reno-Tahoe International Airport when the airport was having problems with numerous laser strikes. RAVEN normally attempts to stay 800 1,000 feet above ground level when flying. However, this is not the case when they are performing a law enforcement function or when fighting fires and need to draw water from a lake, etc. There are three aircraft in the RAVEN unit which is based out of the Reno-Stead Airport. They fly all hours of the day, 24/7, 365. Art Vanu with the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) Care Flight division explained that REMSA s Care Flight is regulated by the Flights Standards District Office under the Part 135. Care Flight follows very restrictive rules, as their primary job is to Page 6
transport patients/passengers. They normally fly at 1,000 feet above ground level and they rarely fly outside of the McCarran Circle. However, Care Flight will land in someone s back yard if a medical emergency necessitates it. Mr. Vanu shared that Care Flight works closely with RAVEN in a search and assist capacity. They perform inter-facility transports, which means taking a patient between two medical facilities and they perform on-scene calls which entails responding to a traffic accident or something similar. In many situations, Care Flight is the first responder. In summary, helicopters are used for missions that cannot be covered by another form of transportation. Even though regulations allow helicopters to fly at an altitude of 300 feet above ground level; all three entities represented at the meeting fly much higher, unless absolutely necessary. The individual regulations that are followed by these entities are much more restrictive than those enforced by the FSDO. When noise complaints are made regarding helicopters, airport staff typically tries to educate the caller about what situations necessitate helicopters to fly close to residential areas and explain how minimum altitudes differ between helicopter and commercial aircraft operations. AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF ITEMS Staff will be sharing the 2013 sound insulation program survey results at the next quarterly meeting. Staff made available to Panel members copies of Robert s Rules of Order. 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 4:45 p.m. /fma Page 7