The FAA literally refuses to talk with city officials outside the context of their Boston-Logan Airport Noise Study (BLANS) Project -- and then only through our representative to the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (CAC). Conveniently for the FAA, however, the scope of that study specifically excludes the possibility of reducing noise through changes to runway configuration and utilization. Congressman Capuano and Senator Kerry are sympathetic and have raised the issue with the FAA, but they have to make the same calculation abou the expenditure of large amounts of political capital that Mayor Joe has had make about spending financial resources. Our local reps and senators can't do much, because Massport ultimately can hide behind the FAA shield whenever it wants. (As a practical matter, I think Massport wouldn't mind implementing a long-discussed but never deployed Preferential Runway Advisory System - PRAS - that would set and track formal standards for more equitably apportioning noise consistent with the requirements of safety and efficiency. But they can't do that unless the FAA plays ball.) If there had been a plausible path to a political solution rather than a legal one, the City would have preferred it for the very reasons you suggest. On the other hand, the threat of legal action is often what gets the political wheels turning. In this case, though, nothing has worked. (Caution: there used to be a nice online repository of information about BLANS and FAA policy at www.bostonoverflightnoisestudy.com but it's apparently been infected by nasty malware. Don't go there, 'kay?)
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Congressman Capuano and Senator Kerry are sympathetic and have raised the issue with the FAA, but they have to make the same calculation abou the expenditure of large amounts of political capital that Mayor Joe has had make about spending financial resources.
Our local reps and senators can't do much, because Massport ultimately can hide behind the FAA shield whenever it wants. (As a practical matter, I think Massport wouldn't mind implementing a long-discussed but never deployed Preferential Runway Advisory System - PRAS - that would set and track formal standards for more equitably apportioning noise consistent with the requirements of safety and efficiency. But they can't do that unless the FAA plays ball.)
If there had been a plausible path to a political solution rather than a legal one, the City would have preferred it for the very reasons you suggest.
On the other hand, the threat of legal action is often what gets the political wheels turning.
In this case, though, nothing has worked.
(Caution: there used to be a nice online repository of information about BLANS and FAA policy at www.bostonoverflightnoisestudy.com but it's apparently been infected by nasty malware. Don't go there, 'kay?)