[Laws in effect as of January 16, 1996]
[Document affected by Public Law 104-264 Section 406(a)]
[CITE: 49USC44715]
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
PART A--AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY
subpart iii--safety
CHAPTER 447--SAFETY REGULATION
Sec. 44715. Controlling aircraft noise and sonic boom
(a) Standards and Regulations.--(1) To relieve and protect the
public health and welfare from aircraft noise and sonic boom, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall prescribe--
(A) standards to measure aircraft noise and sonic boom; and
(B) regulations to control and abate aircraft noise and sonic
boom.
(2) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may
prescribe standards and regulations under this subsection only after
consulting with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency. The standards and regulations shall be applied when issuing,
amending, modifying, suspending, or revoking a certificate authorized
under this chapter.
(3) An original type certificate may be issued under section
44704(a) of this title for an aircraft for which substantial noise
abatement can be achieved only after the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration prescribes standards and regulations under this
section that apply to that aircraft.
(b) Considerations and Consultation.--When prescribing a standard or
regulation under this section, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall--
(1) consider relevant information related to aircraft noise and
sonic boom;
(2) consult with appropriate departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities of the United States Government and State and
interstate authorities;
(3) consider whether the standard or regulation is consistent
with the highest degree of safety in air transportation or air
commerce in the public interest;
(4) consider whether the standard or regulation is economically
reasonable, technologically practicable, and appropriate for the
applicable aircraft, aircraft engine, appliance, or certificate; and
(5) consider the extent to which the standard or regulation will
carry out the purposes of this section.
(c) Proposed Regulations of Administrator of Environmental
Protection Agency.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall submit to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration proposed regulations to control and abate aircraft noise
and sonic boom (including control and abatement through the use of the
authority of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration)
that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency considers
necessary to protect the public health and welfare. The Administrator of
the Federal Aviation Administration shall consider those proposed
regulations and shall publish them in a notice of proposed regulations
not later than 30 days after they are received. Not later than 60 days
after publication, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall begin a hearing at which interested persons are
given an opportunity for oral and written presentations. Not later than
90 days after the hearing is completed and after consulting with the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration shall--
(1) prescribe regulations as provided by this section--
(A) substantially the same as the proposed regulations
submitted by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency; or
(B) that amend the proposed regulations; or
(2) publish in the Federal Register--
(A) a notice that no regulation is being prescribed in
response to the proposed regulations of the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency;
(B) a detailed analysis of, and response to, all information
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
submitted with the proposed regulations; and
(C) a detailed explanation of why no regulation is being
prescribed.
(d) Consultation and Reports.--(1) If the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency believes that the action of the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under subsection
(c)(1)(B) or (2) of this section does not protect the public health and
welfare from aircraft noise or sonic boom, consistent with the
considerations in subsection (b) of this section, the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency shall consult with the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration and may request a report on the
advisability of prescribing the regulation as originally proposed. The
request, including a detailed statement of the information on which the
request is based, shall be published in the Federal Register.
(2) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall
report to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
within the time, if any, specified in the request. However, the time
specified must be at least 90 days after the date of the request. The
report shall--
(A) be accompanied by a detailed statement of the findings of
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and the
reasons for the findings;
(B) identify any statement related to an action under subsection
(c) of this section filed under section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C));
(C) specify whether and where that statement is available for
public inspection; and
(D) be published in the Federal Register unless the request
proposes specific action by the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration and the report indicates that action will be
taken.
(e) Supplemental Reports.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency may request the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration to file a supplemental report if the report under
subsection (d) of this section indicates that the proposed regulations
under subsection (c) of this section, for which a statement under
section 102(2)(C) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is not required,
should not be prescribed. The supplemental report shall be published in
the Federal Register within the time the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency specifies. However, the time specified
must be at least 90 days after the date of the request. The supplemental
report shall contain a comparison of the environmental effects,
including those that cannot be avoided, of the action of the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and the proposed
regulations of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(f) Exemptions.--An exemption from a standard or regulation
prescribed under this section may be granted only if, before granting
the exemption, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
consults with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
However, if the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
finds that safety in air transportation or air commerce requires an
exemption before the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency can be consulted, the exemption may be granted. The Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration shall consult with the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency as soon as
practicable after the exemption is granted.
(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1196.)
Historical and Revision Notes
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Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
44715(a)(1), (2)...................... 49 App.:1431(a), (b)(1) (1st Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, 72 Stat.
sentence). 731, Sec. 611(a), (b), (d); added
July 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-411, Sec.
1, 82 Stat. 395; restated Oct. 27,
1972, Pub. L. 92-574, Sec. 7(b), 86
Stat. 1239, 1241.
44715(a)(3)........................... 49 App.:1431(b)(2).
44715(b).............................. 49 App.:1431(d).
44715(c).............................. 49 App.:1431(c)(1). Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, 72 Stat.
731, Sec. 611(c); added July 21,
1968, Pub. L. 90-411, Sec. 1, 82
Stat. 395; restated Oct. 27, 1972,
Pub. L. 92-574, Sec. 7(b), 86 Stat.
1240; Nov. 8, 1978, Pub. L. 95-609,
Sec. 3, 92 Stat. 3080.
44715(d).............................. 49 App.:1431(c)(2).
44715(e).............................. 49 App.:1431(c)(3).
44715(f).............................. 49 App.:1431(b)(1) (last
sentence).
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In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the text of 49 App.:1431(a)
is omitted because the revised section identifies the appropriate
Administrator each time the Administrator is mentioned. The words
``present and future'' and ``and amend'' are omitted as surplus. In
clause (B), the words ``as the FAA may find necessary to provide'' are
omitted as surplus.
In subsection (a)(2), the word ``only'' is added for clarity.
Subsection (a)(3) is substituted for 49 App.:1431(b)(2) to eliminate
unnecessary words.
In subsection (b), before clause (1), the words ``and amending'' are
omitted as surplus. In clause (1), the words ``available . . . including
the results of research, development, testing, and evaluation activities
conducted pursuant to this chapter and the Department of Transportation
Act'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (2), the words ``departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government and
State and interstate authorities'' are substituted for ``Federal, State,
and interstate agencies'' for consistency in the revised title and with
other titles of the United States Code. The words ``as he deems'' are
omitted as surplus. In clauses (3) and (4), the word ``proposed'' is
omitted as surplus. In clause (4), the word ``applicable'' is
substituted for ``particular type of . . . to which it will apply'' to
eliminate unnecessary words. In clause (5), the words ``contribute to''
are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (c), before clause (1), the words ``Not earlier than
the date of submission of the report required by section 4906 of title
42'' are omitted as executed. The words ``regulatory . . . over air
commerce or transportation or over aircraft or airport operations'' and
``submitted by the EPA under this paragraph'' are omitted as surplus.
The word ``regulations'' is substituted for ``rulemaking'' for
consistency in the revised title. The words ``after they are received''
are substituted for ``of the date of its submission to the FAA'' to
eliminate unnecessary words. The words ``of data, views, and arguments''
are omitted as surplus. In clause (1), the words ``in accordance with
subsection (b) of this section'' are omitted because of the restatement.
In clause (2)(B), the words ``documentation or other'' are omitted as
surplus.
In subsection (d)(1), the words ``listed'' and ``the FAA to review,
and . . . to EPA . . . by EPA'' are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (d)(2), before clause (A), the words ``shall complete
the review requested and'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (B), the
words ``of the FAA'' are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (e), the words ``actually taken . . . in response to
EPA's proposed regulations'' are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (f), the words ``under any provision of this chapter''
and ``that . . . be granted'' are omitted as surplus. The words ``the
exemption may be granted'' are added for clarity.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 106, 44701, 44709, 44711,
45302, 46301, 46310, 46316, 47531 of this title; title 42 sections 4903,
4911, 4913, 4915.