Senator Charles Schumer Wants FAA To Regulate Helicopter
Noise
A provision in the FAA re-authorization bill passed last week by
the U.S. Senate gives the FAA a 12-month deadline to implement
helicopter flight regulations in New York. The amendment,
introduced by New York Senator Charles Schumer (D) also provides
explicit legal authority to the FAA to implement helicopter flight
regulations, which he says will shield the agency from any
potential litigation. Earlier this year, the FAA announced it was
taking comments on proposed regulations, but has not acted to
implement them. Schumer’s legislation places a hard and fast
deadline to do so and gives explicit authority to the agency, a key
to timely promulgation of meaningful regulations.
Senator Schumer
“This legislation puts all ambiguity aside, and for the
first time, gives the FAA unquestionable authority to put
helicopter regulations in effect while providing a hard and fast
deadline to start providing some relief from ear-shattering
helicopter noise,” said Schumer in a news release. “We
have worked in every possible way to get these regulations in place
and now, by passing a law giving the FAA the explicit authority to
regulate helicopter noise on Long Island, the ability of the agency
to do so cannot be questioned.”
Since first being contacted about noise from low-flying
helicopters in Long island, Schumer says he has worked with
officials from the FAA, New York metropolitan area helicopter
operators, and airport managers from Nassau and Suffolk Counties,
NY to establish voluntary solutions to eradicate helicopter noise.
While parties originally agreed to voluntary minimum flight
altitudes of 2500 feet and the establishment of a North Shore route
to divert helicopters over the Long Island Sound, those
recommendations were largely ignored. After years of advocacy by
Senator Schumer, the FAA finally agreed last year to put in place
mandatory regulations, but to date they have not been enacted.
Schumer accuses the agency of slow-walking their implementation out
fear that their legal authority to do so would be challenged by the
helicopter industry. Schumer’s legislation, which passed as
an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization bill last week, provides
explicit legal authority to the FAA to regulate helicopters on Long
Island and makes it mandatory that those regulations are enacted
within 12 months of the legislation being signed into law.
“This is the end of a chapter and makes it indisputably
clear that the FAA has the legal authority to implement robust
helicopter regulations on Long Island and bring some relief from
the incessant buzz of helicopter noise that has plagued Long Island
families for years.”
"We are proud to stand with Senator Schumer as he takes this
issue head on," said North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman. "This
is the kind of leadership that will improve the quality of life for
tens of thousands of North Hempstead residents and people
throughout Long Island."
Many of these flights are from New York City out to the East End
of the Island and are for recreational or commercial purposes
during the summer months. The number of flights does increase
during summer, but Schumer says they are a constant presence
throughout the entire year. He contends that the flights impact
communities in countless ways, not the least of which is disruption
of daily life, forcing people to stay inside during the summer, and
reducing property values in impacted areas.
There is no similar amendment in the House version of the bill,
which has yet to be considered by the full House of
Representatives. The North Shore Sun reports that aviation
industry organizations have opposed pushing all helicopter traffic
into a single corridor, saying it creates a collision hazard. There
are also concerns about increased fuel costs to follow the longer
route, as well as the costs for GPS equipment some say would be
necessary for the precise navigation required to accurately follow
the corridor.