Hundreds Of Homes To Receive Sound Proofing

The Metropolitan Airports Commission in Minnesota has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to spend $127 million to settle its noise-mitigation lawsuit with the communities of Eagan, Minneapolis and Richfield.

Eagan's city council voted unanimously to settle a lengthy lawsuit against the MAC, allowing hundreds of city residents to insulate their homes against noisy overhead traffic to and from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. City leaders from Minneapolis and Richfield's also voted in favor of the settlement, according to the Pioneer Press.

The FAA said the settlement does not go against any federal grant assurances-thus--the MAC is free to spend the money on home improvements for residents along the air traffic corridor.

About 700 homeowners in northeast Eagan to receive a total of $7.4 million to help guard their homes from high-decibel noise, according to details in the settlement.

Those eligible for noise abatement are- Eagan, 492 homes north of Yankee Doodle Road and south of Interstate 494 -- including those along both sides of Minnesota 55 to Inver Grove Heights -- for MAC-sponsored noise-mitigation options.

Homeowners can either have central air conditioning and $4,000 for a specific list of noise-dampening improvements or $14,000 for improvements not including air conditioning.

Mitigation improvements include storm windows, doors and roof baffling.

An additional 38 multi-family homes in Eagan can receive up to $1,500 in air conditioning improvements, and as many as 177 homes not included in the most recent mitigation area outlined by the MAC -- but included on the MAC's 2005 maps -- could receive up to $2,500 in noise relief.

FMI: www.faa.gov