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June 13, 2008

Representatives Schiff and Berman Urge FAA to Approve Mandatory Nighttime Curfew at Bob Hope Airport

Official Seal of the US House of Representatives

Friday, June 13, 2008 Contact: Sean Oblack (202) 225-4176

Representatives Schiff and Berman Urge FAA to Approve Mandatory Nighttime Curfew at Bob Hope Airport

Washington, DC – Recently, Reps. Adam Schiff and Howard Berman have written to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority President Carl Povilaitis in support of the proposed mandatory nighttime curfew at the Bob Hope Airport. 

Schiff and Berman wrote in the letter that the curfew, “would provide meaningful nighttime noise relief to the communities surrounding the Bob Hope Airport in a cost-efficient manner while continuing to enable the Airport to serve the millions of annual passengers who use the facility each year.”  They continued, “The Airport has demonstrated that the suggested curfew will ultimately cost less than increased acoustical treatment of homes that will be affected by airport noise in the future…”

The full text of the letter is below.


June  5, 2008
Carl Povilaitis
President
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
Bob Hope Airport, 2627 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505,

Dear President Povilaitis:

We are writing this letter to convey our support for the proposed mandatory nighttime curfew at the Bob Hope Airport located in Southern California.  The proposed curfew, which will be the subject of FAA review under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA), as implemented by FAR Part 161, would provide meaningful nighttime noise relief to the communities surrounding the Bob Hope Airport in a cost-efficient manner while continuing to enable the Airport to serve the millions of annual passengers who use the facility each year. 

We believe that the proposed mandatory curfew meets the requirements set forth by the requirements of FAR Part 161. The Airport has demonstrated that the suggested curfew will ultimately cost less than increased acoustical treatment of homes that will be affected by airport noise in the future and it has also met the other five statutory tests. Congress intended for ANCA to permit airports, such as Bob Hope, to pursue and obtain FAA approval for access restrictions when the airport successfully demonstrates compliance with FAR Part 161. 

In particular, we note that the proposed curfew would impact a relatively small number of diverted flights (mostly cargo and general aviation) while delivering significant reductions in both the projected noise impact contour at the Airport and costs associated with sound mitigation.  Similar, albeit not identical, nighttime restrictions already exist at a number of Southern California airports, including John Wayne, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Van Nuys and that the national aviation system can clearly handle the relatively small number of impacted operations of an additional nighttime restriction in Southern California.  Furthermore, we believe that a vast majority of flights from Burbank could easily be diverted to Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario International Airport, which both have extensive nighttime operations. 

In closing, we commend the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for undertaking this Part 161 study and join the residents of these cities in urging the Federal Aviation Administration to fulfill its obligations under ANCA and seriously consider, pursuant to FAR Part 161, the full mandatory curfew proposed for the Bob Hope Airport.
Sincerely,

Hon. Adam Schiff
29th Congressional District of California

Hon. Howard Berman
28th Congressional District of California

cc: City Council, City of Burbank
 City Council, City of Glendale
 City Council, City of Pasadena