FAA Will Then Review Four-Year Impact Study

Residents around Portland, OR have until February 15 to submit their comments on a plan that would route aircraft in and out of Portland International Airport (KPDX) along the Columbia River, and restrict available runways for nighttime operations.

As is often the case with such proposals, at issue is the amount of noise those on the ground would experience if the changes are implemented.

The Port of Portland commissioned the four-year Part 150 impact study, which recommends more than 24 changes to current flight ops over the city.

Port of Portland noise manager Jason Schwartz told The Oregonian while several options are on the table for the public to review, others have already been rejected.

Those include steeper approach angles for planes landing at PDX, and a proposal by the suburb of Vancouver that would have routed planes over an industrial area instead of downtown.

The FAA does not require the impact study, though it is a necessity to determine whether homes under proposed flight paths may need additional soundproofing. After the comment period expires, the FAA will then have six months to review the plan.

Schwartz said the Port's study was quite extensive... even by FAA standards.

"The study was delayed because the FAA asked that the study be reformatted to get it into fewer volumes," Schwartz said. "But the substantive recommendations were not altered."

FMI: www.portofportland.com