WHAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED?
Inventory
Information necessary for completing the technical aspects of the study was collected and organized. Information obtained includes:
- Airport Operating Characteristics – the consultant team completed an inventory of existing airport operational data. This information was used as part of developing the baseline air traffic conditions for Boston Logan International Airport.
- Airport Survey – The results of this survey were used to assist BOS/TAC members in identifying viable alternatives and effective use of noise metrics.
- The boundaries of the area to be studied were established and a Geographic Information System (GIS) map was developed to identify land uses within the general study area.
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Definition & Preliminary Screening of Alternatives
A comprehensive list of noise abatement procedures was developed and evaluated for further consideration. Steps undertaken to screen and identify alternatives included:
- An initial list of procedures, developed by BOS/TAC in 2003 was further evaluated by the consultants and a total of 53 airspace and operational procedures to potentially improve the aircraft noise environment in a large area around Logan International Airport were identified.
- During preliminary screening, each procedure was evaluated for safety and operational efficiency. Of the original 53 procedures, 18 procedures were discarded as unsafe or infeasible, leaving 37 procedures for secondary screening analysis.
- These 37 procedures were evaluated for potential adverse environmental impacts under federal regulations, requiring possible preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
- Twenty three procedures were identified as not requiring EA or EIS level environmental documentation and were grouped as Early Implementation Alternatives.
- The remaining 14 procedures, grouped as 12 actual procedures, will be further assessed under Phase 2.
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Evaluation and Documentation of Early Implementation Alternatives
This is the final segment of Phase 1. Steps taken include:
- Detailed Flight Procedures Developed – In June 2006, BOS/TAC received 13 flight procedure alternatives for further review. Future implementation of these alternatives will follow further review by the CAC pending subsequent assessment of noise exposure conditions associated with each procedure.
- FAA comments were incorporated into the 13 early implementation alternatives that were presented to BOS/TAC.
Further evaluation, based on prior established methodology and operational factors identified by the FAA, was conducted for the 13 early implementation alternatives
Noise Levels – Noise conditions resulting from exposure to overhead aircraft operations are being modeled using noise metrics that may included:
- The consultants have completed technical analyses and are preparing to discuss their findings at the next BOS/TAC meeting.
- There was a BOS/TAC meeting on November 8, 2006 at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge.
Documents used in the meeting included:
- On December 5, 2006 a CAC meeting was held to discuss the alternatives and make official
recommendations. Motions voted on included:
- Shift Alternative 9 to Phase 2 of the Boston Overflight Noise Study. This
motion was amended twice. Both amendments were withdrawn and the committee voted on the
original motion. The motion was defeated unanimously. Because Alternative 9 as designed did
not meet the Phase 1 criteria, the alternative, in its present form, was dropped from further
consideration.
- The Chelsea representative moved to recommend Alternative 1/14/15 to Massport for implementation. The motion was passed unanimously.
- A CAC meeting was held on January 17, 2007 to continue discussing recommendations to be made to Massport. Motions voted on included:
- To affirmatively recommend Alternatives 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 together to Massport. This
motion was amended twice. The first amendment failed and the second amendment was withdrawn. The committee voted on the
original motion. The motion was passed.
- To affirmatively recommend Alternative 8 to Massport. This motion failed. The alternative was dropped from further
consideration.
- To affirmatively recommend Alternative 11 to Massport. This motion was amended once and the amendment failed. The committee voted on the
original motion. The motion was passed.
- To affirmatively recommend Alternative 13 to Massport. This motion failed. The alternative was dropped from further
consideration.
- To reject Alternative 12a/b/c. The motion was passed.
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Alternatives
The purpose of this task was to develop a comprehensive list of noise abatement procedures and determine which could be implemented early in Phase 1, which should be carried forward into Phase 2, and which alternatives should not be considered further. A total of 53 alternatives were introduced. Through the screening process, 12 of those alternatives met the Early Implementation criteria. A document depicting the original 53 alternatives can be found in the "First Screening - 53 Alternatives" document on the Phase 1 Documents page or by accessing the document directly.
Description:
The consultants began with the initial list of concepts that were developed in the BOS/TAC brainstorming session in November 2003. The consultants considered additional concepts and developed a list of possible actions that could be taken to reduce the noise impact to communities affected by over flight noise resulting from operations at Logan International Airport. The only limitations used to develop Phase 1 noise abatement alternatives was that they would not include Airport use restrictions, runway use actions, or procedures intended to address noise created by aircraft taxiing on the ground at the Airport. While taxi-related ground noise actions are not addressed in Phase 1, they will be addressed in Phase 2 of this study. Modifications of runway use will be evaluated as part of the Preferential Runway Assignment System (PRAS) evaluations conducted under Phase 3 of the study. Ground noise generated by aircraft operations while on the runway (during takeoffs and landings including reverse thrust) will be considered in all aircraft flight noise assessment. Airport use restrictions, except for those imposed by the FAA Airside EIS ROD of August 2002, will not be considered in either Phase 1 or Phase 2 of this study.
Status:
The consultant team identified the alternatives on the list that meet operational criteria and those that can be implemented early. Several coordination meetings with the FAA Boston Air Traffic Evaluation Team have been held to discuss and document the alternatives that are operationally feasible and an update was provided to BOS/TAC at the meeting on April 27, 2005. Preliminary draft Phase 1 findings for 12 alternatives were presented to BOS/TAC and CAC on June 7, 2006.
As of late 2006, the alternative screening analysis has been completed, resulting in the selection of 13 Early Implementation Alternatives that are to be further evaluated. Further information on the Early Implementation Alternatives can be found under Early Implementation Alternatives in the following section on this page.
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Early Implementation Alternatives
The purpose of this task was to develop a comprehensive list of noise abatement procedures and determine which could be implemented early in Phase 1, which should be carried forward into Phase 2, and which alternatives should not be considered further. A total of 53 alternatives were introduced. Through the screening process, 12 of those alternatives met the Early Implementation criteria. A document depicting the original 53 alternatives can be found in the "First Screening - 53 Alternatives" on the Phase 1 Documents page or by accessing the document directly.
Description:
The alternative definition and preliminary screening task resulted in a shortlist of alternatives to be evaluated and potentially implemented. The evaluation includes both the potential benefits and impacts of implementing each of the alternatives. If, after completion of this evaluation, the BOS/TAC agrees that the Alternatives should be implemented the recommendations will be forwarded to Massport. Massport will then provide the recommendation to the FAA. The FAA is reviewing the information provided and will determine whether the Alternatives are categorically excludable according to FAA Order 1050.le.
Status:
Twenty-three alternatives of an initial group of 53 proposed actions were identified following two screening processes. Following a third screening process, 13 alternatives were identified as Early Implementation Measures, not necessitating further assessment through an Environmental Assessment (EA) or and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The alternative design and operational assessments are completed. The noise modeling is complete and the data has been provided to the CAC for review. The CAC provided their recommendations for implementation.
The following flash presentation depicts existing conditions and each Early Implementation Alternative (Macromedia Flash Plug-in Required. The Flash Player can be downloaded here.):
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