BILL ANALYSIS
AJR 41
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AJR 41 (Lieu) - As Amended: May 10, 2010
SUBJECT : City of Santa Monica Airport
SUMMARY : Memorializes the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
the United States Department of Transportation, and the members
of the California congressional delegation to work
collaboratively to review noise and air pollution emission
levels and the safety of flight operations at Santa Monica
Municipal Airport (SMO). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes various statements relative to SMO, its operations, and
aspects of the current flight situation surrounding SMO to be
unacceptable for surrounding residents.
2)Memorializes FAA and specified federal government agencies and
the California congressional delegation to work
collaboratively to review noise levels and the safety of
flight operations at SMO, and to carefully examine the air
pollution impact on the surrounding communities.
3)Memorializes those entities to enlist the help of expert
scientists to study the effects of emissions from SMO and
apply that science into remediation efforts.
4)Encourages those entities to work together to establish and
implement a reasonable and minimum distance between aircraft
operations at the SMO and the neighboring communities.
5)Memorializes those entities to work together to develop and
offer federally funded relocation assistance to affected
homeowners who desire it.
6)Strongly encourages FAA to honor the decision of the City of
Santa Monica to increase safety precautions and restrict the
use of class C and D aircrafts at SMO and to limit the fuel
these jets are allowed to carry when taking off from SMO.
EXISTING LAW :
AJR 41
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1)Under federal law, confers primary jurisdiction over all
aspects of air travel in the United States to FAA, including
the administration of an ongoing aviation safety program.
2)To the extent permitted by federal law, authorizes local
governments to regulate the operations of airports within
their jurisdictions.
3)Under state law, requires an Airport Land Use Compatibility
Plan for public use airports. Further, requires a California
Aviation System Plan including, but not limited to a Policy
Element, a Capital Improvement Plan, an Inventory Element, and
a System Requirements Element.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : General aviation airports are those airports used by
the general public that are not used by the commercial airline
companies that provide scheduled passenger service. SMO is a
general aviation airport owned by the City of Santa Monica
(Santa Monica), although many of the neighborhoods immediately
surrounding the airport are within the City of Los Angeles.
Over the last several years, the local residents have complained
to the author concerning the operations of SMO, relative to air
pollution and noise impacts. The author has attempted to
address these concerns with limited success (see "Related Bills"
section).
According to the author, the goal of AJR 41 is to spur the
federal government to take action to reduce exposure to toxic
jet fuel exhaust byproducts and noise pollution, and prevent
their deleterious health effects. The office further contends
that "since the 1980s, a number of changes have taken place with
respect to aircraft operations at SMO, including longer jet
aircraft idling times. In addition, more high-polluting jet
aircraft use SMO than ever before. In recent years the number
of jet aircraft operations at SMO has increased from an annual
total of 1,000 in 1984 to tens of thousands today."
The author's office indicates that "A February 2010 study by
pediatricians in their residency training at the UCLA Medical
Center evaluated the health impacts of SMO on the surrounding
community. The project was supervised by faculty from the UCLA
AJR 41
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Department of Pediatrics. One of the study's key findings was
that airport operations, particularly jet take-offs and
landings, are contributing to elevated levels of black carbon in
the area surrounding SMO. Elevated black carbon is associated
with increased rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease,
including asthma, bronchitis, and increased risk for sudden
death. It is also associated with irreversible decrease in lung
function in children and increased carcinogenic risk. Reduced
lung function is a strong risk factor for medical complications
in adulthood as well. Given the number of children exposed to
jet fuel exhaust in homes and schools around SMO, the health
impact from increased black carbon exposure is substantial."
Apparently, these "new UCLA findings," as stated by the author,
serve as the basis for the bill's memorialization to establish
and implement a reasonable minimum distance between aircraft
operations at SMO and the neighboring communities.
On May 22, 2008, Santa Monica served FAA with a court order that
restricted the use of category C and D aircrafts at SMO in an
attempt to promote public safety. One of the provisions of this
bill is to encourage the FAA to honor the action by Santa Monica
in the ban of jets at SMO and to limit the amount of fuel the
jets are allowed to carry at takeoff. (As a note, Category A- 1
aircraft have an approach speed of less than 91 knots. Category
B-1 aircraft have an approach speed of less than 91 knots but
less than 121 knots. Category C-1 aircraft have an approach
speed between 121 knots or more but less than 141 knots.
Category D-1 aircraft have an approach speed of more than 141
knots but less than 166 knots. Accordingly, Santa Monica's
restriction has the general affect of banning jet propelled
aircraft.)
In response to Santa Monica's court order to restrict the use of
category C and D aircraft at SMO, FAA asserted that Santa Monica
did not have the legal authority to adopt the ordinance
prohibiting the operational use category C and D aircraft by
SMO. FAA also referenced a grant for airport improvement
projects accepted by Santa Monica in 1994. The grant requires
Santa Monica to operate the property for 20 years, until 2014.
Santa Monica received a payment in 2003 at the conclusion of the
projects funded by the 1994 grant. According to Santa Monica,
the grant payment received in 2003 was not a new grant and thus
did not extend Santa Monica's obligations to operate SMO until
2023 as asserted by FAA. In the meantime, the two parties have
been in court for various reasons such as Cease and Desist
AJR 41
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Orders and Stay Motion Requests.
Committee concerns:
1)The February 2010 study, performed by pediatricians in
residency training at the UCLA Medical Center, listed a
recommendation to "Maintain a runway buffer zone of at least
660 meters to protect surrounding residents from the harmful
health effects of jet fuel exhaust byproducts during idling
and take-off." That recommendation also is specifically
mentioned in this resolution. The committee has strong
reservations with the inclusion of this recommendation in this
bill as the residency training program study does not provide
a scientific or engineering basis for establishing the
distance of the buffer zone, nor has the study been properly
peered reviewed for accuracy or credibility. Accordingly, the
committee suggests the references be deleted from the
resolution in its entirety.
2)The resolution includes several statements and terms that are
not corroborated or appropriate for inclusion in the
resolution and, accordingly, the committee suggests their
deletion or modification as indicated in the following
section.
Suggested committee amendments:
1)On page 2, lines 15 and 16, delete the following: and
infringes upon the right of the people to breathe clean air
2)On page 2, delete lines 29-33 inclusive.
3)On page 2, line 29, add the following: a minimum distance
between homes and aircraft operations; and
4)On page 2, line 34, change "unacceptable" to: problematic
5)On page 3, line 16, change "establish and implement" to:
consider
6)On page 3, line 20, delete: and provided
7)On page 3, lines 26 and 27, delete the following: and limit
the fuel these jets are allowed to carry when taking off from
Santa Monica Airport
AJR 41
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Related bills : AJR 37 (Lieu), Resolution Chapter 127, Statutes
of 2008, memorialize FAA to engage in a collaborative process to
review the safety of flight operations at the SMO and to examine
the role that the airport plays in the regional aviation
transportation system.
AB 700 (Lieu) of 2007, would have required Santa Monica to
establish a technical advisory committee to evaluate relevant
and appropriate studies and data regarding SMO and submit a
report to the Legislature and FAA with recommendations about
potential actions that could be taken to reduce the air quality
impacts caused by air traffic connected with SMO. That bill was
held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2501 (Lieu) of 2006, would have required SMO to record the
engine type and operation times of the landing and takeoff
operation cycles, as defined, of all aircraft operating at SMO
and make the data available to the public. That bill failed in
the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution (sponsor)
The Sierra Club
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Genevieve Brown/Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093