Welcome to the CHARGE town hall meeting October 2 nd 2006

1. The WEST 45 AIRPORT NOISE COMMITTEE www.FlightNoise.comhas affiliated itself with two other groups:CHARGE theCHARGE.org*****The Coalition Against the Hooks Airport Expansion

2. Welcome to theCHARGE town hall meetingOctober 2nd 2006

3. Purpose of this meeting • Update CHARGE activities this year • The problem • The cure • Receive update from the Houston Airport System • Hear from candidates and elected officials on their stance on this issue • Understand what the airport, your elected officials and you can do to solve this problem

4. CHARGE positions • CHARGE is grass roots with no political affiliations. • CHARGE does NOT wish the airport closed or the runways removed. • CHARGE understands the economic benefit that the airport provides to this area and the region. • CHARGE does not believe that the neighbors of the airport should bare the burden of Bush Intercontinental Airport’s expansion.

5. How CHARGE lives… • Your donations • Stream energy

6. CHARGE’s activities this year

7. THE PROBLEM(S) • Noise effecting health • Pollution from overflights • Property devaluation • Potential for catastrophic disaster • Reasonable enjoyment of your property

8. The reasons for the problem City of Houston

9. Reasons Since the opening of the newest runway (and at the same time), FAA tripled the amount of class B airspace over which they have control. ** FAA’s stance on airport expansion is NOT pro-neighboring communities – it is safety and promotion of air carriers and facilities

10. Our MissionOur mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. Our VisionOur vision is to improve the safety and efficiency of aviation, while being responsive to our customers and accountable to the public. Our Values Safety is our passion. We're world leaders in aerospace safety. Quality is our trademark. We serve our country, our customers, and each other. Integrity is our character. We do the right thing, even if no one is looking. People are our strength. We treat each other as we want to be treated.

11. The solutions • Noise Abatement Program established by Bush Intercontinental Airport • Land Use Management around the airport • Reconfiguration of the use of the airspace around the airport

12. 1. Noise Abatement Program (NAP) • Mitigation for affected neighborhoods • Governs use of airspace avoiding flights over noise sensitive areas • Establish noise sensitive areas • residential, schools, hospitals and churches • CHARGE has proposed an NAP to the airport • Procedures in the proposed NAP are from NAP’s at other airports, not imagined utopia

13. Most middle to large airports, in this country, have NAPs • The NAP encourages noise abatement during the planning stages of airport expansion

14. The proposed NAP makes use of the major thoroughfares surrounding Bush Intercontinental Airport

15. NAP uses FAA technology called RNAV which is in testing in Atlanta and Las Vegas airports – specifically Continuous Decent Approach Prof. John-Paul Clarke, PhD Aeronautical Engineering MIT, Director of the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory at Georgia Institute of Tech, Advisor to Boeing

16. 4000’ INTERCEPT 2000’ INTERCEPT GLIDE SLOPE 3º END OF RUNWAY Intercept Elevation ChangesContinuous Descent Approaches • Planes should fly high over residential areas and begin their descent on the glide slope at the last possible moment. • Higher planes mean less noise • Currently planes fly at 2000 feet

18. 2. Land Use Management • Is it zoning…No • The NAP establishes flight corroders… the Land Use Management prevents noise sensitive development in these corroders • Who is in control – this is a commission comprised of Houston, Humble, Harris county, FAA and citizen neighbors of the airport

19. Land use management recommended by Environmental Impact Study of 2000 • Land use is allowed by State Law • It is exclusively for the airport “affected areas” and future expansion • It prevents this problem with future expansion

20. 3. FAA Airspace Configuration • NAP establishes air corroders, FAA adjusts use of the airspace • Present configuration is not efficient according to controllers, nor is it noise sensitive • A commission is established to reconfigure

21. FAA is a bureaucracy much like the IRS • It does not report to the citizens of this country • It’s basic premise is to enhance air travel and promote safety • It will require the efforts of our elected officials

22. WHO ARE THE PLAYERS IN SOLVING THIS PROBLEM • Houston Airport System • Your elected officials • You

23. What can the airport do? • Adopt an NAP • Begin the establishment of a Land Use Management Commission • Both items were discussed as needed in a meeting between CHARGE and Rick Vacar on April 11th 2006

24. The role of your elected officials? State Elected Officials • Help establish Land Use Commission for Bush Intercontinental Airport region • Encourage the Houston Airport System to play their role in curing the expansion problem both now and for future expansion • Encourage Commissioner Eversole to begin promised pollution monitoring as is done at the ship channel • City/County officials are included in this category

27. Federal Elected Officials • Federal Officials can have the greatest impact on FAA • FAA needs to change the decibel level to 55, from 65, just as the EPA recommends • Federal Officials can have the greatest impact on the Houston Airport System

28. How to find your elected officials? • Congress.org • Firstgov.gov • Handouts on the outside table

29. Richard Vacar, Director, Houston Airport System said, “IAH receives approximately 1,000 noise complaints a month and 80 to 90 percent of those are made by the same six people.” (Spring Online Observer, 8/1/2005 Edition)

30. What Impact Can You Have? • You are the most important part of the solution • Complain to the airport when you have problems… • Every time you have a problem…the airport noise compliance office can have a greater impact on the problem if you can provide details, time, date, type of plane, altitude, what occurred • How to complain handouts…on the tables outside • Airport complaint link is on theCHARGE.org and flightnoise.com

31. Lodge a complaint with FAA when you see unsafe flight operations • File a complaint with your elected officials…put them on notice of the problems • Notify them repeatedly…once is not enough for them to think there is a problem • Talk to neighbors &friends about doing the same…repeatedly

32. A Note on Our Elected Officials • They work on many different issues • They sometimes get separated from the issues of their constituents • They need to be reminded of our problems Regularly • They do not know what problems we have if we do not tell them

33. Elected officials positions • This meeting was scheduled during an ‘out of session’ period so they would be able to attend • Notification was 1 ½ months prior to this meeting to allow for their attendance • They were requested to send their Chiefs of Staff if they were not able to attend • They were asked to send their position statements on the airport issue

34. Vote on November 8th! The U.S.A. needs your vote.