BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AJR 41
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Lieu
VERSION: 6/30/10
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: no
Hearing date: August 10, 2010
SUBJECT:
Santa Monica Airport
DESCRIPTION:
This resolution requests that the federal government review
noise, air pollution emission levels, and the safety of flight
operations at Santa Monica Municipal Airport.
ANALYSIS:
Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) is a general aviation
airport that the City of Santa Monica owns and operates. Since
airplane flights began operating at the site that is now SMO in
1919, urban development has encroached upon the facility. With
the introduction of jet aircraft operations in 1980's, tension
has escalated between the community and the airport over the
environmental impacts of airport operations.
Existing state law requires an Airport Land Use Compatibility
Plan for public use airports in California. In addition, the
Department of Transportation's Division of Aeronautics is
required to prepare a California Aviation System Plan, which has
several elements, including, but not limited to, a policy
element, a capital improvement plan, an inventory element, and a
system requirements element.
Existing law federal law confers primary jurisdiction over all
aspects of air travel in the United States to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), including the certification of
aircraft, the certification of airports, the administration of
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the national air traffic control system, the administration of
an ongoing aviation safety program, the administration of
capital grants for the improvement of airports, and other
related responsibilities. In addition, federal law permits
airport operators to regulate certain aspects of airport
operations, such as the time of day that airplanes may use a
facility.
This resolution :
1. Makes findings relative to the deleterious impacts of
aircraft operations at SMO on the community surrounding the
facility, including the impact of FAA air traffic
management practices, aircraft noise, and exhaust emissions
from aircraft operating at the airport.
2. Memorializes the California congressional delegation the
FAA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the
federal Department of Transportation (DOT) to:
a. Engage research by qualified scientists to
study the effects of emissions from SMO and, on the
basis of the study's findings, develop remediation
plans for the airport.
b. Establish minimum distance between aircraft
operations at SMO.
c. Restrict the use of Category C and D aircraft
at SMO. (Category C aircraft land at speeds between
121 and 140 knots and Category aircraft land at speeds
of greater than 141 knots.)
3. Orders the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit
copies of the resolution to members of the California
congressional delegation, the FAA, the USEPA, and DOT.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . According to the author, the goal of this
resolution is to spur the federal government to take action
to reduce exposure to toxic jet fuel exhaust byproducts and
noise pollution and to prevent their deleterious health
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effects. The author 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 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 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. These "new UCLA findings" serve as
the basis for the resolution's memorialization to establish
and implement a reasonable minimum distance between
aircraft operations at SMO and the neighboring communities.
2. Background . SMO has approximately 400 aircraft based at
the airport and had 165,000 flight operations (landings and
take-offs) in 2007. About 60 percent of the operations are
non-resident aircraft using the facility. The single runway
at the airport is 4,987 feet long and 150 feet wide. The
disputes associated with airport operations have focused on
airport approach category C aircraft which land at speeds
between 121 and 140 knots, and airport approach category D
aircraft which land at speeds over 140 knots. These
aircraft are jet and turbo propeller aircraft. Aircraft
representing this category include Lear, Gulfstream,
Citation, Cessna, and other similar corporate aircraft.
There have been several disputes between the SMO and the
FAA for several years. In 1984, the City of Santa Monica
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and the FAA entered into an agreement in which the city
committed to operating and maintaining the airport without
derogating its role as a general aviation reliever airport
or its capacity in terms of runway length and width,
taxiway system, and runway weight bearing strength until
2015. In return for making these commitments, the city is
entitled to prohibit the takeoff of aircraft between the
hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and from 11 p.m.
until 8 a.m. on weekends. "Single event" noise exposure
levels are capped at 95 dB.
The city has enacted ordinances banning category C and D
aircraft on the basis of safety, but it has lost in
administrative hearings before the FAA and in federal
district court. The city has appealed the most recent
administrative rulings in the federal circuit court in
Washington. Final briefs in this appeal are scheduled to be
filed at the end of this month.
There have been several disputes regarding ground safety at
the airport. Because of the urban encroachment at either
end of the runway, it is impossible to create runway
protection zones, either by clearing areas, which would
entail taking businesses and residences, or by reducing the
length of the runway for deploying material designed to
absorb the energy of out of control aircraft. Underlying
the limitations to making changes to the runway is the 1984
agreement which prohibits changes to runway at the airport.
According to the FAA, there have been seven runway overruns
and one undershoot between 1981 and 2008. None of these
have involved category C or D aircraft.
If the city has not accepted any airport development funds
from the FAA since it entered the 1984 agreement, it may,
after July 2015, be able to take actions, such as reducing
the length of the runway, which would likely reduce the
operation of high performance jet aircraft out of the
airport.
3. Related legislation .
a. AJR 37 (Lieu), Resolution Chapter 127,
Statutes of 2008, memorializes the FAA to initiate a
collaborative process to review the safety of flight
operations at SMO and to examine the role of the
airport in the regional aviation transportation
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system.
b. AB 700 (Lieu) of 2007 required the City of
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 the FAA with recommendations about
potential actions that could be taken to reduce the
air quality impacts caused by air traffic connected
with SMO. This bill passed Senate Environmental
Quality Committee, but was held in Senate
Appropriations.
c. AB 2501 (Lieu) of 2006 required SMO to record
the engine type and operation times of the landing and
takeoff operation cycles of all aircraft operating at
SMO and the data available to the public. This bill
was defeated in the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 46-27
Trans: 8-4
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
August 4, 2010)
SUPPORT: Concerned Residents Against Airport pollution
(sponsor)
Friends of Sunset Park
Global Green USA
Mar Vista Community Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club California
Venice Neighborhood Council
Bill Rosendahl, councilmember, City of Los
Angeles
Karen Croner
Suzanne Escoffer
Esther Fine
Denise Gerber
Jesse Kramer
Ingrid Mueller
Shalini J. Nemec
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Gavin Scott
Theo Swerissen
OPPOSED: None received.