Chapter ThreeNOISE IMPACTS

The purpose of this chapter is to examinethe impacts of aircraft noise on existingand future land use and populationwithin the study area. The effects ofnoise on people can include hearing loss,other ill health effects, and annoyance.While harm to physical health is general-ly not a problem in neighborhoods nearairports, annoyance is a common prob-lem. Annoyance can be caused by sleepdisruption, interruption of conversa-tions, interference with radio andtelevision listening, and disturbance ofquiet relaxation.

Individual responses to noise are highlyvariable, thus making it very difficult topredict how any person is likely to reactto environmental noise. However, theresponse of a large group of people toenvironmental noise is much lessvariable and has been found to correlate

well with cumulative noise metrics suchas DNL. The development of aircraftnoise impact analysis techniques hasbeen based on this relationship betweenaverage community response and cumu-lative noise exposure.

For more detailed information on theeffects of noise exposure, refer to theTechnical Information Paper (T.I.P.),Effects of Noise Exposure.

The major sections in this chapterinclude the following:

• Land Use Compatibility• Noise Complaints• Current Noise Exposure• Potential Growth Risk• 2007 Noise Exposure• 2022 Noise Exposure

3-1

Noise ImpactsChapter Three

3-2

L AN D U S E CO MP A T IB IL IT Y

The degree of annoyance wh ich peoplesu ffer from a ircra ft noise var iesdepending on their activities at an ygiven t ime. People r a rely a re a sdisturbed by a ircra ft noise when theyare shopping, working, or dr iving aswhen they are a t home. Transient hoteland motel residen ts seldom express asmuch concern with aircraft n oise as dopermanent residents of an a rea .

The concept of “land u se compat ibilit y”h a s a r isen from t his systema t icvar ia t ion in human tolerance to a ir cra ftnoise. St udies by governmen ta lagencies and pr ivat e resea rchers havedefined the compa t ibility of differentland uses with va rying n oise levels. (Areview of these guidelines is pr esen tedin the T.I.P., Noise a n d La n d UseCom p a t i b i li t y Gu id eli n es .) TheFedera l Avia t ion Admin ist ra t ion (FAA)has establish ed gu idelin es for definingland use compa t ibility for use inFedera l Avia t ion Regu la t ion (F.A.R.)Pa rt 150 stu dies.

F.A.R. P ART 150 GUIDELINES

The FAA adopted land use compa t ibilityguidelines when it promulgat ed F .A.R.Par t 150 in t he ear ly 1980s. (TheInt er im Rule was adopted on J anuary19, 1981; t he F ina l Rule was adopted onDecember 13, 1984, was pu blished inthe Federa l Register on December 18,1985, and became effect ive on J anuary18, 1985.) These new gu idelin es werebased on ear lier st udies and guidelinesdeveloped by federa l agencies (Federa lIn teragency Commit tee of Ur ban Noise,

1980). These land u se compa t ibilityguidelines a re only advisory; they a renot regula t ions. Pa r t 150 explicitlyst a tes tha t determina tions of noisecompa t ibility and regulat ion of land useare purely loca l responsibilities. (SeeSect ion A150.101(a) and (d) andexplana tory note in Ta ble 1 of F .A.R.Par t 150.) Exh ibit 3A illus t ra tes theFAA guidelines.

The FAA uses t he Par t 150 gu idelinesa s the ba sis for defining a rea s wit h inwhich n oise compat ibility projects maybe eligible for federa l funding t hroughthe noise set-aside fun ds of the Airpor tImprovement Pr ogram (AIP). Ingenera l, noise compat ibility project smu st be wit h in t he 65 DNL con tour tobe eligible for feder a l fu n d in g.Accordin g to th e AIP Ha ndbook, “Noisecompa t ibility project s usua lly must beloca ted in a reas where noise mea su redin da y-n ight avera ge sound level (DNL)is 65 (dB) or grea ter .” (See FAA Order5100.38A, Chapter 7, pa ragraph 710.b.)Funding is permitt ed outside the 65DNL contour only where the a irpor tsponsor has determined tha t non-compat ible lan d uses exist a t lowerlevels and t he FAA has explicit lyconcurred with tha t determina t ion .

The FAA guidelines out lined in Exh ibit3A show tha t resident ial development ,in clu din g s t a nda r d c on st r u ct ion(resident ia l const ruct ion without specialacoust ica l t rea tment ), mobile homesand t rans ien t lodging, a re incompa t iblewith noise above 65 DNL. Homes ofs tandard cons t ruct ion and t ransien tlodgings ma y be considered compa t iblewh er e loca l com m u n it ie s h a vedetermined these uses a re permissible;

Residential, other than mobile homes and transient lodgings

Mobile home parks

Transient lodgings

Schools

Hospitals and nursing homes

Churches, auditoriums, and concert halls

Government services

Transportation

Parking

Offices, business and professional

Wholesale and retail-building materials, hardware and farm equipment

Retail trade-general

Utilities

Communication

Manufacturing, general

Photographic and optical

Agriculture (except livestock) and forestry

Livestock farming and breeding

Mining and fishing, resource production and extraction

Outdoor sports arenas and spectator sportsOutdoor music shells, amphitheaters

Nature exhibits and zoos

Amusements, parks, resorts, and campsGolf courses, riding stables, and water recreation

Y N N N N N

Y N1 N1 N1 N N

Y N1 N1 N N N

Y 25 30 N N N

Y 25 30 N N N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Y Y Y2 Y3 Y4 Y4

Y Y Y2 Y3 Y4 N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Y Y Y2 Y3 Y4 N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Y Y Y2 Y3 Y4 N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Y Y Y2 Y3 Y4 N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Y Y6 Y7 Y8 Y8 Y8

Y Y6 Y7 N N N

Y Y Y Y Y Y

Y Y5 Y5 N N N

Y N N N N N

Y Y N N N N

Y Y Y N N N

Y Y 25 30 N N

Below65 65-70 70-75 75-80 80-85

Over85

LAND USEYearly Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) in Decibels

Y N1 N1 N N N

The designations contained in this table do not constitute a federal determination that any use of land covered by the program is acceptable under federal, state, or local law. The responsibility for determining the acceptable and permissible land uses and the relationship between specific properties and specific noise contours rests with the local authorities. FAA determinations under Part 150 are not intended to substitute federally-determined land uses for those determined to be appropriate by local authorities in response to locally-determined needs and values in achieving noise compatible land uses.

See other side for notes and key to table.

PUBLIC USE

COMMERCIAL USE

MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION

RECREATIONAL

RESIDENTIAL

Exhibit 3ALAND USE COMPATIBILITY GUIDELINES

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2

Exhibit 3A (Continued)LAND USE COMPATIBILITY GUIDELINES

Where the community determines that residential or school uses must be allowed, measures to achieve outdoor-to-indoor Noise Level Reduction (NLR) of at least 25 dB and 30 dB should be incorporated into building codes and be considered in individual approvals. Normal residential construction can be expected to provide a NLR of 20 dB, thus, the reduction requirements are often stated as 5, 10, or 15 dB over standard construction and normally assume mechanical ventilation and closed windows year round. However, the use of NLR criteria will not eliminate outdoor noise problems.

Measures to achieve NLR of 25 dB must be incorporated into the design and construction of portions of these buildings where the public is received, office areas, noise-sensitive areas, or where the normal noise level is low.

Measures to achieve NLR of 30 dB must be incorporated into the design and construction of portions of these buildings where the public is received, office areas, noise-sensitive areas, or where the normal noise level is low.

Measures to achieve NLR of 35 dB must be incorporated into the design and construction of portions of these buildings where the public is received, office areas, noise-sensitive areas, or where the normal noise level is low.

Land use compatible provided special sound reinforcement systems are installed.

Residential buildings require a NLR of 25.

Residential buildings require a NLR of 30.

Residential buildings not permitted.

Source: F.A.R. Part 150, Appendix A, Table 1.

KEY

Y (Yes) Land Use and related structures compatible without restrictions.

N (No) Land Use and related structures are not compatible and should be prohibited.

NLR Noise Level Reduction (outdoor-to-indoor) to be achieved through incorporation of noise attenuation into the design and construction of the structure.

25, 30, 35 Land Use and related structures generally compatible; measures to achieve NLR of 25, 30, or 35 dB must be incorporated into design and construction of structure.

NOTES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

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2

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however , sound insula t ion measures a rerecommended. Schools a nd other pu blicuse fa cilit ies a re a lso gener a llyincompa t ible with noise between 65DNL and 75 DNL, but , aga in , theguidelines note tha t , where loca lcommunit ies determine tha t these usesare permiss ible, sound insu la t ionmea sures sh ould be used . Other landuses considered in compa t ible a t levelsgrea ter than 65 DNL include ou tdoormu sic shells an d am phith eat ers.

Land uses considered incompa t ible atlevels above 75 DNL include hospitals,nursing homes, places of worsh ip ,au ditorium s, concert ha lls, livestockbr eeding, amusement par ks, resort s,and camps. Many of these incompat ibleland uses a re considered compa t ible ina reas subject to noise between 65 DNLand 75 DNL if pr escribed levels of noiselevel redu ct ion can be achieved throughsound insu lat ion. These includehospitals, nu rsing homes, places ofworsh ip, audit oriums, and concert ha lls.

Histor ic pr oper t ies a re ident ified incomplia nce with F .A.R. Par t 150,Sect ion 4(f) of the Departm ent ofT ransportat ion Act (DOT Act ), and theN ational H istoric Preservation Act of1966, a s a mended. In general, theseproper t ies a re not any more sensit ive tonoise than a re other proper t ies of thesame use; however, th ese federa lregula t ions require t ha t n oise effects onthese proper t ies be considered whenevalua t ing the effects of an act ion , suchas a n oise aba tement or lan d usemanagemen t procedure.

The str ictest of th ese requirement s isthe DOT Act . Sect ion 4(f) of t he DOT

Act provides tha t the U.S. Secreta ry ofTranspor ta t ion sha ll not approve an yprogram (such as a Noise Compa t ibilityPlan) or project which requires t he u seof any h istoric sit e of na t iona l, sta te, orloca l sign ifican ce un less th ere is nofea sible and prudent a lterna t ive to theuse of such lan d. The F AA is requ ir edto consider both the direct phys ica ltak ing of eligible proper ty (such a sacquisit ion and dem olit ion of h ist or icstr uctu res) and the indir ect use of oradverse impact to eligible proper ty(such as t he 65 DNL noise contour).When eva lua t ing the a ffects of the noiseaba tement and land use managementa lter na t ives la ter in th is r eport , it isnecessary to a lso ident ify whether theproposed act ion conflict s wit h or iscompa t ible with the normal act ivity ofaest het ic va lue of any h istor ica lproper t ies not a lrea dy significant lya ffected by n oise. The Noise ExposureMap (NEM) contours a re not eva lua tedunder Sect ion 4(f).

La n d Us e Gu i de li n e sAt Lin co ln Airport

For pu rposes of the F .A.R. Par t 150Noise Compat ibility St udy a t Lincoln ,the FAA's land u se compa t ibilityguidelines will be used as t he basis formaking determina t ions a bou t land usecompa t ibilit y in the a irpor t a r ea .

While the FAA considers t he 65 DNL asthe th reshold of sign ifican t impact onnoise-sensit ive uses , the noise an alysisa t Lincoln Airpor t goes down to the 60DNL level. Th is is pa r t ly in response toa fe d er a l r e p or t w h i ch h a srecommended the need to examine

3-4

poten t ia l noise impacts below 65 DNLin environmenta l documents wheresign ifica nt increa ses in noise may beexpected (FICON, 1992, p . 3-5) a ndpar t ly in r esponse to loca l exper ience.Loca l noise compla in t h is tory indica testha t res idents outs ide of the 65 DNLnoise contour a re annoyed by exis t inga ir cra ft noise levels (noise compla in tcharacter ist ics will be r eviewed in thenext sect ion).

For purposes of th is Par t 150 Study,Lincoln Airport is consider ing noisebetween 60 a nd 65 DN L t o ha ve amargina l effect on the following noise-sensitive lan d uses.

< Residen t ia l, includin g mobilehome parks;

< Schools;< Hospita ls and n ur sing homes;< Churches , auditor iums, and

concert ha lls;< Out door music shells a nd a mph i-

th eat ers.

While r esea rch has shown tha tsign ificant ly fewer people a re a ffectedas noise decreases below 65 DNL,a ir cra ft noise cont inu es to be a problemfor a t least some people a t evenext remely low DNL levels. This isindica ted in the two graphs illust ra tedon Ex h ib it 3B rela t ing to annoyancewith DNL levels. (Also see the T.I.P .,Noise and La nd Use Compa t ibilityGu idelines.)

N O IS E CO MP L AIN T S

Before assessing t he exposure of loca lland use and popula t ion to exist ing

a ir cra ft noise levels, recent noisecompla in t s a nd t he m eth ods forr eceiving com p la in t s sh ould beeva lua ted. By themselves , compla in t scannot be taken as a completeassessment of a noise problem a t ana irpor t . Many un predictable va r iablescan influ ence whether a person choosesto file a noise compla in t . Many people,who a re annoyed, m a y find itinconvenien t or in t imida t ing to ca ll andcompla in . Others, who decide tocompla in , may be u nusu a lly sensit ive tonoise or m ay be especially a nxiousabout a ir cra ft over fligh t s. Unusua levent s, r a ther t han a long-terms itua t ion , may a lso st imu lat e acompla in t . Despit e t he lim its ofcompla in t inform at ion, it can a id inunderstanding the geographic pa t ternof concern about the noise cr ea ted bythe use of the a irpor t .

Exh ibit 3C dep ict s the h is tory of noisecompla in t s received by the a irpor t s ince1995. As depicted on the exhibit , thenumber of compla in t s has decreaseddramat ica lly sin ce 1995. The major ityof noise compla in t s r eceived by Lin colnAir por t were t he r esu lt of milita rya ircra ft u t ilizing the a irpor t .

After reviewing th e addresses of th oseindividu a ls tha t lodge compla in t s, itwas determined tha t mos t of theindividu a ls lodgin g noise compla in t sreside out side of th e 65 DNL noisecontour .

In 2002, t he a irport bega n r eceivin g anumber of compla in ts regard ing noisecrea ted by aircraft r un -up a ctivities.Run-ups a r e a pa r t of a ircra ftmain tenance and a re necessa ry to

Exhibit 3B ANNOYANCE CAUSED BY AIRCRAFT NOISE IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS

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7/03

45 50 60 65 70 75 80 8555

20

40

60

80

100

0Seriously AnnoyedSeriously Annoyed

AnnoyedAnnoyed

Not AnnoyedNot Annoyed

Seriously Annoyed

Annoyed

Not Annoyed

Source: Richards and Ollerhead 1973, p.31NOISE EXPOSURE LEVEL - DNL

Source: Finegold et al. 1992 and 1994. Equation for Curve: % HA =1 + e (11.13 - .14 Ldn)

100

Per

cen

t o

f P

op

ula

tio

nH

igh

ly A

nn

oye

d (

%H

A)

DNL

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

UPDATED SCHULTZ CURVE

40

20022001200019991998199719961995

20022001200019991998199719961995

7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Undetermined

16%

39%

45%

21%

79%

12%

18%

70%

9%

26%

65%

38%

24%

38% 100%

7%

64%

29%

41%

59%

NOISE COMPLAINTS (by time-of-day)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by time-of-day)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by time-of-day)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by time-of-day)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by time-of-day)

NOISE COMPLAINTS (by type)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by type)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by type)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by type)NOISE COMPLAINTS (by type)N

UM

BER

OF

CO

MP

LAIN

TSN

UM

BER

OF

CO

MP

LAIN

TS

Exhibit 3CNOISE COMPLAINT HISTORY

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35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Military Aircraft

Commercial/General Aviation Aircraft

Run-up Operations

Unknown

Number of IndividualsLodging Noise Complaints

27

21

28 28

7

2

98

27

3-5

ensure the sa fet y of a ircra ft wh ich havebeen modified or repa ired. P r ior to thespr ing of 2001, ru n-ups occurred on arun-up pad loca ted nea r the west apron .Since tha t t ime, these act ivit ies havebeen a llowed to occur on the nor th endof t he east apron , primar ily due toconst ruct ion act ivit ies on crosswindRunway 14-32. Th is cha nge in t heloca t ion of ru n-up a ctivities is mostlikely the cause for the increa sednumber of noise compla in t s due to run-up a ctivities.

For the filing of noise compla in t s, st a fffrom Lincoln Air por t a re available 24hours per da y to receive complain ts.

CU R R EN T N O IS E

EXP O SU R E

This sect ion descr ibes the exposure ofexist ing land uses and popu la t ion a sthey rela te t o the 2002 noise cont our s.For the purposes of this st udy, noise inexcess of 60 DNL will be discussed forthe pur poses of eva lua t ing fu ture landuse plann ing a lt erna t ives. It must benoted tha t on ly noise-sensit ive landuses with in the 65 DNL contour will beeligible for federa l funding assist ance.

LAND USES EXPOSEDTO 2002 NOISE

The loca t ion of exist ing noise-sensit iveland uses, in r elat ion to the 2002 noisecontours a t Lincoln Airpor t , is sh own onExh ibit 3D . Noise-sensit ive lan d usesshown on the exh ibit a re based onF.A.R. Part 150 land use compa t ibilityguidelines and include uses considered

incompa t ible wit h noise above 65 DNLand margina lly incompa t ible with noiseabove 60 DNL.

Co n to u r D e sc rip tio n s

The sha pe and exten t of the contoursreflect the under lying fligh t t rackassu mpt ions. As indica ted on theexhibit , the pr ima ry ru nway, Runway17R-35L, accommoda tes the major ity oft ra ffic a t Lincoln Airpor t . A number ofbulges with in the contour set a re due tot ra in ing and m ain ten ance a ct ivit y a tthe a irport . For example, th e bulge eastof Runwa y 17L-35R is du e tomaintenance runup act ivit ies performedby the fixed ba se oper a tors a t thea irpor t . The sligh t bu lge wes t of thesou th end of Runway 17R-35L is due tomilita ry t ra in ing act ivit ies. The bu lgeon t he east side of the sout h en d ofRunway 17L-35R is caused by a ircra fttu rn ing over t he lake a s well as th epresence of the pa ra llel runway system.

The 60 DNL con tour a t it s longest pointextends to the nor th , a pproxima tely16,000 feet from a irpor t p roper ty, oversca t t ered sin gle-fa m ily residences,agr icu ltu ra l la n d, a nd in du st r ia lpropert ies. The contour is “forked” dueto the differen t ia t ion bet ween t ra ffict raveling due nor th versus to thenor theast . To the south , the contouralso exten ds a ppr oxima tely 16,000 feetover r esiden t ia l, commer cial, a ndindu st r ia l pr oper ty. The contoursligh t ly extends off a irport pr oper ty ina ll other dir ections, pr imar ily mirror ingrunwa y use a t the a irport wit h sligh tbulges due to milita ry and main tenanceact ivit ies a s discussed pr eviously.

3-6

The 65 DNL n oise contour is smallerthan the 60 DNL contour . The shape ofthe 65 DNL contour is s imila r to tha t ofthe 60 DNL contour , other than tha t the“fork” in the 60 DNL contour south ofthe a irport is no longer a s pr evalen t . Tothe nor th , th e 65 DNL con tour , a t it slongest point , extends approximately7,500 feet from a irpor t proper ty. To thesouth , the contour extends approxi-mately 8,000 feet , ter mina ting a t WestA St reet . The contour sligh t ly exten dsoff a irport proper ty in a ll otherdirections.

The 70 DNL n oise con tour extendsapproximately 1,800 feet off a irpor tproper ty to the nor th and 3,000 feet offa irpor t p roper ty to the south . In a llother direct ions, t he contour pr imar ilyremains on a irport proper ty. The 75DNL contour is complet ely conta ined ona irport pr oper ty.

2002 Lan d Use Impa cts

The number of dwelling unit s wit h ineach noise contour range is determinedby computer -genera t ed coun t s based ona n under lying housing dat aba se.(Dwellin g unit s , for the pur poses of th isst udy, include single fam ily homes,mobile homes, and apar tmen t andcondominium units .) This da tabase wasdeveloped with the use of geograph ica lin format ion system (GIS) dat a providedby the Lincoln /Lancas t er Coun tyP la n n in g Dep a r t m en t , a e r i a lphotography taken in J u ly 2002, a ndfield su rveys conducted in Ma y 2002.The loca t ion and number of noise-

sensit ive ins t itu t ions were der ived fromthe GIS da ta and n ota t ions m adedu r ing the Ma y 2002 field survey.

To determine the presence of h istor ica lor a rchaeologica l sites with in the studya rea , the Na t iona l Regist er of Hist or icP laces wa s consu lted. It wasdetermined tha t one h istor ic st ructure,loca ted west of the a irpor t , is p resentwith in the study a rea .

The 2002 lan d use impacts a resummarized in Table 3A and describedbelow.

A tota l of 444 dwelling un it s a re loca tedwith in the 60 DNL noise contour . Themajor it y of these dwelling unit s a reloca ted with in the 60 to 65 DNL contourwh ich has a tota l of 433 dwelling unit sincludin g five a pa r tmen t bu ildin gs and298 h om es, m obile h omes , a n dtownh omes. With in the 65 to 70 DNLcon tour a re 11 dwelling u nit s whichconsist of five sin gle-family homes andsix mobile homes. No dwelling un it sa re found with in the 70 DNL contour .

The major ity of the dwelling unit sa ffected by n oise a re found to the nor th ,sou theast , and sou th of the a irpor t . Tothe eas t and wes t of the a irpor t , nodwelling unit s a re conta ined with in thenoise con tours. The dwelling un it sconta ined with in t he 65 t o 70 DNLcontour a re found pr imar ily nor th andsou th of the airport a long NW 27t h

St reet as depicted on Exhib it 3D . Non oise-sen s i t ive in s t i t u t i on s a r econta ined with in the va r ious n oisecont our s.