Shays blasts FAA plans

Where is Congressman Murphy on this issue ? Many of the towns he represents are affected by the same problem . He didn't do anything to warn the towns that the FAA was going to implement their harmful plan and he has done nothing to try to change their plan since they announced their decision . Towns have spent over $1,000,000 on legal fees trying to protect their quality of life and have the FAA plan changed ,while Congressman Murphy remains asleep at the switch .He either needs to wake up now or the voters should give him a wake up call in November

Hey Congressman Shays,
Too noisey for the Gold Coast?

As an enabler and appeaser of Messrs Bush - Cheney, what do you say to the Iraqis who have had to deal with 5 years of an American attack, invasion and occupation of their country?

Remember "shock and awe?" That was pretty noisey.

And what do you say to our troops and US taxpayers who have had to endore your folly?

Washington CT USA

There are those who want you to think that this is really an issue for New Milford, Brookfield, Danbury, Ridgefield, etc.... IT ISN'T.....

It might be an issue for Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc.....

When they came to New Milford asking for money to join the "alliance," I spoke very loudly against it. First of all, the altitude that planes will fly over New Milford is high enough that most people won't even notice it. Secondly, they based the "entry fee" on the town's size, rather than their proximity to the issue....

Fortunately, Town Council did not vote in favor of joining.....They would've thrown the money right out the window.....This is a losing battle that New Milford doesn't even belong in.....

MURPHY MIA wrote:

Where is Congressman Murphy on this issue ? Many of the towns he represents are affected by the same problem . He didn't do anything to warn the towns that the FAA was going to implement their harmful plan and he has done nothing to try to change their plan since they announced their decision . Towns have spent over $1,000,000 on legal fees trying to protect their quality of life and have the FAA plan changed ,while Congressman Murphy remains asleep at the switch .He either needs to wake up now or the voters should give him a wake up call in November

I didn't know New Canaan, Stamford or Darien were in Murphy's district?

Seems someone just hates Murphy and is looking for an excuse to attack him.

Don't worry... the price of fuel will limit the number of planes over the GOLD COAST.

Question Everything wrote:

There are those who want you to think that this is really an issue for New Milford, Brookfield, Danbury, Ridgefield, etc.... IT ISN'T.....
It might be an issue for Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc.....
When they came to New Milford asking for money to join the "alliance," I spoke very loudly against it. First of all, the altitude that planes will fly over New Milford is high enough that most people won't even notice it. Secondly, they based the "entry fee" on the town's size, rather than their proximity to the issue....
Fortunately, Town Council did not vote in favor of joining.....They would've thrown the money right out the window.....This is a losing battle that New Milford doesn't even belong in.....

Actually the Town Council passed the motion to spend 85K on the first pass. It was only when the Finance Board stepped in and vetoed it that the folley of the Council became apparent and enough people complained so that the Town Council backed off. Kudos again to the Finance Board.

Not in my backyard either

Seems like everyone want access to airports, but nobody wants airplanes to fly over. This is a problem. Same issue with drilling for oil - people want gasoline, but don't want it to be drilled (or refined) in their town. It is no wonder that progress in this country has ended.

I applaud Congressman Shays on his resolute stand against implementation of the FAA's ICC Airspace Redesign.

The chief aim of the Airspace Redesign is to increase capacity of the Terminal Airspace as part of the FAA's Operational Evolution Plan. The FAA was not successful in addressing delays through the airspace redesign, although initially part of the project scope.

The airspace redesign will very likely worsen flight delay because we do not have enough runway, taxiways and air traffic controllers to land the planes we have today on time- let alone the increase volume of planes mad epossible through the redesign. According to the FAA the redesign will save a grand total of 3 minutes of flight delay per flight by the year 2011, however this projection is overly optimistic due to flawed data.

The FAA first must address flight delay by limiting the number of flights into the New York area airports. They are all operating over capacity without an adequate number of controllers to land them safely. The FAA must also implement safety upgrades to protect against runway incursions at the airports, and equipment and technology upgrades in the airplanes and control towers to prevent mid air collisions. Some of these critical upgrades are not scheduled until 2025.

Then and only then should the FAA consider expanding the terminal airspace capacity with an airspace redesign.

We believe that the New York Airspace design should be refined to allow more direct routing. It needs to be done in a lawful systematic manner. The FAA is required by law to involve communities directly impacted by their plans to reroute aircraft. They must follow due process and they must abide by environmental law.
So far they have violated all of these laws by pushing this project into implementation before it is safe or legal to do so. This is why they are being in sued in a landmark case by 12 litigants not including the State of Connecticut.

The GAO is studying this project. The good Congressman Shays is supporting the people of Connecticut by taking a stand for due process, and quality of life.
With deepest respect and admiration for Shays,

Heather Wolf
Ouraispace.org

Heather Wolf wrote:

The chief aim of the Airspace Redesign is to increase capacity of the Terminal Airspace as part of the FAA's Operational Evolution Plan. The FAA was not successful in addressing delays through the airspace redesign, although initially part of the project scope.
The airspace redesign will very likely worsen flight delay because we do not have enough runway, taxiways and air traffic controllers to land the planes we have today on time- let alone the increase volume of planes mad epossible through the redesign. Heather Wolf
Ouraispace.org

Chris Shays couldn't careless about these concerns. He is grandstanding in the typical mode of politician hoping to garner votes for the coming election. His expertise was clearly visible during the congressional hearings on steroid use in the major league baseball. He doesn't deserve your vote or mine.

I grew up in Sherman CT. I went to High School in New Milford. Both Sherman and New Milford will suffer from the Airspace redesign because they have no seat at the bargaining table.

Sherman is a rural community with a quiet setting. I loved growing up there. Now they are facing a change of land use from Quiet rural/ pastoral. Why? Because the redesign introduces 500+ planes a day to the airspace over these towns. The area will now absorb all North Arrivals into at LA Guardia Airport. Many of these planes will be flying lower because La Guardia JFK and Newark holding patterns are now pushed from outside the State to right over the county. Landing and holding planes into the airports will now be "stacked" vertically and all regional traffic to Danbury and Steed and other smaller airports will have to fly under these La Guardia planes. Lower = louder and at 3000 feet it effects the air you breathe. Your sleep will likely by disturbed and your land values could decline.

What is so terrible about this- is that the FAA never contacted Sherman or New Milford about their plans. They never even studied the area for real impacts. They tried to hide the project and push it into implementation.

The DOT/FAA committed a pretty terrible offense. It is somewhat akin to them building a 10 lane highway through the center of your town without contacting any of the local residents, or their representatives. It amounts to the feds making an avigational easement of your land without your consent.

When the good Congressman Shays reached out to the FAA to ask for a public meeting they refused. They also refused to Dodd and Lieberman and many other senators and congressman across 5 states. Repeatedly. The FAA also refused to study how these 500+ planes a day now flying at lower altitudes over populated communities like Sherman and New Milford would impact its' people and the environment.

Unfortunately for Sherman and New Milford which I hold very dear, they are left without a voice or legal representation. These communities will be changed by this plan and most people will notice once it fully implements over CT which is early next year.

Luckily Shays and Dodd and Lieberman and the Attorney General Blumenthal are doing what they can to make up for that loss of local representation. I just hope it is enough.

Our efforts at OurAirspace to stop the redesign are well educated and balanced. We appreciate the role aviation has to play in our economy. We are only asking the FAA to stop implementation of the flawed project, follow due process, environmental law, and study the impacts before they create irreparable damage. The effects of aviation emissions and noise are cause for alarm and further study.

I am not only a prior resident of Sherman and New Milford, but also come from a family of commercial and private pilots. I personally love flying however I am mindful of the impacts flying has on the environment and people. We are trying to work with manufacturers to create quieter planes with less of a harmful impact. But we aren't there yet. We have a way to go before no one cares where the planes fly.

Heather Wolf
ourairspace.org

Question Everything wrote:

There are those who want you to think that this is really an issue for New Milford, Brookfield, Danbury, Ridgefield, etc.... IT ISN'T.....
It might be an issue for Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc.....
When they came to New Milford asking for money to join the "alliance," I spoke very loudly against it. First of all, the altitude that planes will fly over New Milford is high enough that most people won't even notice it. Secondly, they based the "entry fee" on the town's size, rather than their proximity to the issue....
Fortunately, Town Council did not vote in favor of joining.....They would've thrown the money right out the window.....This is a losing battle that New Milford doesn't even belong in.....

Not to worry. By the time they institute this redesign, several airlines will be out of business. American Airlines has fewer flights and just parked over 10% of their fleet. High fuel prices and higher fares are going to reduce the air traffic.

Sharpshooter wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually the Town Council passed the motion to spend 85K on the first pass. It was only when the Finance Board stepped in and vetoed it that the folley of the Council became apparent and enough people complained so that the Town Council backed off. Kudos again to the Finance Board.

Yes....you are correct....I was on the Board of Finance when the Town Council sent us that nonsense...Fortunately, we didn't have to play any partisan politics with this one...

After we squashed it, I personally went and spoke to the Town Council about it, and amazingly, they "saw the light..."....Well, most of them anyway.....Treehugger Lundgren drank a bit too much of the alliance's Kool-Aid....Then again, she never cared about wasting taxpayers' money anyway.....

And of course, since the Town Council can't actually take a stand on anything, they didn't actually vote against it....Instead, they tabled it...

MURPHY RULZ wrote:

<quoted text>
I didn't know New Canaan, Stamford or Darien were in Murphy's district?
Seems someone just hates Murphy and is looking for an excuse to attack him.

Obviously you are as informed as Congressman Murphy on this subject .Danbury ,New Fairfield ,Sherman and New Milford are in his district and he did nothing to warn them .Danbury has spent tremendous amounts of money on legal fees so far .New Milford will see a big increase in noise ,but they did not have the money to join the fight .

Get rid of Shays--a real big phony.

MURPHY MIA wrote:

<quoted text>
Obviously you are as informed as Congressman Murphy on this subject .Danbury ,New Fairfield ,Sherman and New Milford are in his district and he did nothing to warn them .Danbury has spent tremendous amounts of money on legal fees so far .New Milford will see a big increase in noise ,but they did not have the money to join the fight .

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about.....New Milford will see NO INCREASE in noise....(besides the nonsense that comes out of MaryJane Lundgren's mouth).......

Unfortunately Mr Question Everything from North Carolina is incorrect in his assessment to the situation. New Milford will see a sizable increase in Noise if this plan is implemented. Today New Milford and Sherman see few if any La Guardia Arrivals. After implementation, they will see some portion of 550 arrivals a day - using the North Arrival Gate into 22.

The La Guardia routing changes took place after the Draft EIS was issued by the FAA as a 'mitigated solution' to noise in New York and other parts of CT. The routes were pushed from New York to Connecticut after the Draft Impact statement was made. The Final Impact Statement released by the FAA included no valid study on the "mitigated Routes'.
When you read the EIS from the FAA, it looks like there is no impact because their study is invalid- with no study points in new Milford and other areas who are now slated to receive all La Guardia north arrivals.

All these towns are fighting the FAA to stop what they are doing until they get a valid impact study. That is all they are doing. Any position in favor of having the FAA violate due process and environmental law is questionable. The FAA cannot make sweeping changes without studying impacts and producing ethical mitigation techniques.

As I stated before, I am personally connected to Sherman and New Milford and I want to make sure that they receive an environmental Impact Statement and have an opportunity to mitigate any changes before these changes are implemented and made permanent.

Aviation emissions cause cancer and asthma and aircraft noise has it's own health risk and social impact. This is why the FAA is required by law to study the impacts, involve impacted parties and mitigate the bad effects before making sweeping changes.

I wish Mr Question Everything was right that Sherman and New Milford won't be impacted, but this is not the case.

Please do have a look at the research to understand the facts so that you can be well informed on the issue.

best
Heather
OurAirspace.org

Heather Wolf wrote:

Unfortunately Mr Question Everything from North Carolina is incorrect in his assessment to the situation. New Milford will see a sizable increase in Noise if this plan is implemented. Today New Milford and Sherman see few if any La Guardia Arrivals. After implementation, they will see some portion of 550 arrivals a day - using the North Arrival Gate into 22.
The La Guardia routing changes took place after the Draft EIS was issued by the FAA as a 'mitigated solution' to noise in New York and other parts of CT. The routes were pushed from New York to Connecticut after the Draft Impact statement was made. The Final Impact Statement released by the FAA included no valid study on the "mitigated Routes'.
When you read the EIS from the FAA, it looks like there is no impact because their study is invalid- with no study points in new Milford and other areas who are now slated to receive all La Guardia north arrivals.
All these towns are fighting the FAA to stop what they are doing until they get a valid impact study. That is all they are doing. Any position in favor of having the FAA violate due process and environmental law is questionable. The FAA cannot make sweeping changes without studying impacts and producing ethical mitigation techniques.
As I stated before, I am personally connected to Sherman and New Milford and I want to make sure that they receive an environmental Impact Statement and have an opportunity to mitigate any changes before these changes are implemented and made permanent.
Aviation emissions cause cancer and asthma and aircraft noise has it's own health risk and social impact. This is why the FAA is required by law to study the impacts, involve impacted parties and mitigate the bad effects before making sweeping changes.
I wish Mr Question Everything was right that Sherman and New Milford won't be impacted, but this is not the case.
Please do have a look at the research to understand the facts so that you can be well informed on the issue.
best
Heather
OurAirspace.org

Mr. Question Everything from North Carolina is a former New Milford resident and member of the Board of Finance.....just moved away 3 months ago, so I'm VERY FAMILIAR with the issue.....

I'm also a private pilot.....

This ourairspace.org group that you represent is trying to scare residents into believing that it's an issue......IT IS NOT AN ISSUE......

Until you can tell people the altitude that the planes will be flying over New Milford, you should stop trying to frighten them.....You're using scare tactics to further your own cause.....

This might be an issue for southern Fairfield...Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, etc.....but you have some nerve asking the residents of New Milford to pay your overpriced lawyers...especially since you want them to pay based on the population of the town, rather than the proximity to the "problem."

Shame on you....

Several towns have hired experts in aviation and aerospace engineering in order to see the actual impacts in absence of a legitimate Impact Study. Their findings were at odds with the FAA's. The Independent experts showed a dramatic and noticeable increase in noise to several areas where the FAA showed "no Change" or "benefit." The study was deeply flawed.

Due to the complexity of the configuration of the airspace, communities will likely see lower altitude overflight. The relocated holding patterns for sequencing LGA North Arrivals will now be over these towns, much closer to the city. All En-route traffic must stay either above or below the sequenced traffic. All Regional traffic will need to stay below aircraft coming in for their final as well as the stacked and fanned departures from JFK and La Guardia.

The FAA is required by law to release flight altitude data to communities. They refused repeatedly to deliver this information sought through the Freedom of Information Act. This is why communities are left having to sue for this information. It is very unfortunate that towns need to sue a Federal Agency to receive information required under the law. Some of this data is however available realtime online. You can track flights through Passur.com and flightexplorer.com and flighttracker.com . Some of these programs allow you to track altitude and tail number. It is fascinating to watch.

The Redesign has become highly politicized. The fight over User Fees necessitates most pilots agree with AOPA's stance in support of the redesign. here's the deal- Pilots support the redesign - and in return we get a break on user fees. Several concepts of the redesign are fantastic and elegant. They do however need to be studied for impact.

I offer a unique and balanced point of view on this complex topic. I love to fly and I come from a long family of pilots. I grew up around airports. I am a member of 99rs, EAA and AOPA. I helped my father build an airplane. My mother is a pilot. My uncle is a commercial pilot. My Cousin is an Airforce Pilot. My aim is to make sure communities receive adequate study for airspace changes, and have a seat at the bargaining table.
My hope is that we will be successful and the towns will receive a valid impact study and due process will be followed. I do have hope.

August 31 the Government Accountability Office is releasing an audit on this project. The last audit in 2005 uncovered severe unaddressed problems.
SInce the redesign does not meaningfully address flight delay, and instead increases fuel burn, we are hoping that the FAA go back and study it and produce a plan which addresses flight delay and ethically mitigates noise while involving all impacted parties.

Last evening the Forum in Westport showed that Congressman Shays, Dick Blumenthal and Christopher Dodd are our strongest allies and are fighting for due process, safety and representation.

Heather Wolf wrote:

Several towns have hired experts in aviation and aerospace engineering in order to see the actual impacts in absence of a legitimate Impact Study. Their findings were at odds with the FAA's. The Independent experts showed a dramatic and noticeable increase in noise to several areas where the FAA showed "no Change" or "benefit." The study was deeply flawed.

Actually, the towns hired attorneys......The attorneys hired the "experts," who said exactly what the very high priced attorneys wanted them to say....

They're using scare tactics, like saying that the noise will "quadruple." Well, zero times four is still zero.....Quadrupling the sound of a pin dropping will equal the sound of four pins dropping......

Until they can be specific, they should stop scaring people. The attorneys just want to waste the taxpayers' money. Fortunately, the New Milford Town Council agrees........

AFSAP (Alliance for Strategic Airspace Planning) wants any town interested in joining to pay based on their population, rather than the proximity to the problem. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that airplanes have to descend to land...... The planes will be lower in towns closer to the airports, and higher as they're further away..... Why would a New Milford resident pay the same amount as a Greenwich resident, when the planes are going to be thousands of feet lower in Greenwich than New Milford?

Then, they're trying to create a scare around Danbury airport....That too is false. The traffic pattern altitude at Danbury is 1700 feet, and will not change......

Until you can tell the residents the exact altitudes that the planes will be flying over a given town, the taxpayers of that town should not support spending millions on lawyers.....

THE LAWYERS ARE THE ONLY ONES BENEFITTING FROM THIS.....