Dear BC CAAN supporter:
We are writing you to share some current information pertaining to aviation pollution in general, and specific news concerning the local scene and Boulder County Citizens Against Aviation Noise. The subject of whether BC CAAN will continue as an organization is saved for the end of this letter. If the continuance of BC CAAN is important to you, please be sure to read the last part of this letter.
Keep in mind that while airplane noise seems extremely variable, with some days being better/worse than others there is, in fact, a well defined DIA aviation corridor over Boulder County. As with all "super highways", traffic will continue to increase unless the people say "NO"! The following is an update on aviation noise/pollution developments globally and locally, and suggestions pertaining to what citizens can do to protect their homes, communities, recreation and wilderness areas from the ever growing aviation assault.,
Global News:
U.S. Citizen's Aviation Watch (US CAW) is a national organization that serves as an "umbrella" for many local anti aviation pollution groups across the country. US CAW is also a resource and information center on aviation pollution issues around the world. For those online, check in with http://www.noise.org/groups/us caw/activity.htm. Daily updates are available via e mail. To be put on the US CAW/Aviation Watch email list, contact Jack Saporito at: jsaporito@aol.com. It is through US CAW (not local or national media) that we learn about aviation pollution related news, such as:
* The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that while total air pollution from automobiles and many major industries has stabilized or decreased with time, aircraft continue to emit more and more ground level ozone precursors (volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides) 350 million pounds during landing and take offs at U.S. airports alone, as measured in 1993. This is more than twice the amount measured in 1970. According to a recent report from United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes, aircraft emissions contribute more than half the global warming potential than that contributed by road vehicles. Aviation business is booming, airports want to expand, and no assessments of the global environmental impact of this industry are occurring. In contrast, the automobile and fuel industries were forced to create cleaner engines and fuels and they did it!
* The US aviation industry continues to receive huge taxpayer supported boosts! Recent legislation includes: the Federal Aviation Administration Re Authorization Act, and the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century. Both of these Acts lavishly support the seemingly endless unchecked growth of all airports, ranging in size from small airports such as Jeffco to BIG ones like DIA! Little pertaining to the study, monitoring and control of polluting by products of aviation is addressed in these bills. Incredibly, in the wake of recent near collisions in the air and on the ground the "High Density Rule" that limits the degree of traffic "packing" at major airports, may be abandoned as the airlines continue to devise ways to maximize profits.
* Health data from Seattle, Washington, indicate the incidence of brain cancer and other serous health problems gets progressively higher closer to the SeaTac Airport. The Washington Department of Health states: "...to understand why all cancer is elevated around the SeaTac Airport requires additional analysis."
* Aircraft deicing chemicals are highly toxic and their use is largely unregulated. No airport effectively controls their release into the environment, and most airports continue to be sources of serous water pollution in their surrounding areas. Fish and wildlife have been poisoned, people have been sickened and entire communities have had their drinking water contaminated. Few airports have been prosecuted because the state agencies have primary enforcement authority for the Clean Water Act, instead of the EPA, and practically all state authorities have deliberately left the law unenforced against airports because it would be "bad for the economy."
* The airlines have a December 31st deadline for either hush kitting their old, noisy Stage 2 aircraft or replacing them with new, quieter Stage 3 aircraft. DIA's Noise Abatement Office concedes that a hush kit does very little to reduce the noise of these older airplanes. Our noise level measurements have confirmed that a hush kitted stage 2 jet is at least twice as loud as a stage 3! And we're not alone in rejecting these noisy aircraft! The European Union doesn't want hush kitted stage 2 jets entering their countries and attempted to ban them! The U.S. threatened economic sanctions and the issue has been tabled for now.
Local News:
* Marianne Reichert and Dickey Lee Hullinghorst from the Boulder County Commissioners' office met with Mike McKee, Noise Abatement Officer at DIA on August 10th. Results of this meeting confirmed that the number of noisy hush kitted Stage 2 aircraft flying over Boulder County everyday has increased as much as 10 times compared to one year ago!
Three positive results of this meeting: the Noise Abatement Office will now accept faxed noise complaint logs from citizens (see next section); and McKee plans to send a letter to the airlines requesting a voluntary re routing of hush kitted stage 2 aircraft. Lastly, representatives from the DIA Noise Abatement Office are willing to meet with interested groups either in their office or at a meeting place in Boulder (see next section). The Commissioners and the Noise Abatement Office are responding to the growing number of citizen complaints, and we thank them!
* Our Congressman Mark Udall recently confirmed that he is following up on legislation introduced last year by Congressman David Skaggs that will force the FAA to address aviation noise pollution issues in Colorado. Udall is a co sponsor of the Silent Skies Act that promotes continued improvements in aviation noise measurement and control. Thank you Congressman Udall!
We support US CAW's position that there should be a moratorium on all airport expansions and increases in the number of flights until there is permanent, meaningful relief for a large percentage of citizens affected by aviation pollution. To bring about such relief there must be a well defined research, development and regulatory process that includes objective and comprehensive studies assessing the aviation industry's serious deleterious affects on the public health and environment. New, cleaner, quieter aircraft must be designed along with accurate systems for measuring all of the polluting by products of aviation. And finally, a regulatory system for monitoring and controlling aviation pollution must be established, with the resources and authority to create and enforce permanent regulations that protect the environment and public health. The aviation industry must be held accountable for its contribution to the degradation of our air, water, soil and quality of life!
What can you do?
* Congressman Mark Udall is interested in the issues. Let him know how aviation pollution is changing life in Colorado, and ask him to support legislation that will make the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines more accountable for their toxic by products. Ask him to support legislation that will return the monitoring and regulation of aviation pollution to where it belongs, the Environmental Protection Agency. Ask him to introduce legislation banning all overflights (except for emergency aircraft) from Indian Peaks Wilderness. IPW is protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964 that defines "wilderness" as: "...undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable."
Representative Mark Udall
1333 West 120th Avenue
Westminster, CO 80234
Phone: 303 457 4500, FAX: 303 457 4504
http://www.house.gov/markudall
* Let your Boulder County Commissioners know how aviation noise pollution is affecting the quality of your life, and that you resent the fact that Boulder County was lied to in DIA's original Environmental Impact Statement which assures that the new airport would not result in more noise over the County If you are bothered by aviation while in our Indian Peaks Wilderness, let them know that this is a violation of the intention and spirit behind the Wilderness Act of 1964, and that they should pressure Congressman Udall to remedy the problem.
Ron Stewart, Jana Mendez, Paul Danish
Boulder County Commissioners
Box 471
Boulder, CO 80306
Phone: 303 441 3500, FAX: 303 441 4525
* Reporting singular noise "events" to the Noise Hotline (303 342 2380/1 800 417 2988) and faxing hand written logs to 303 342 2366 remain the only "official" methods for registering and documenting DIA noise complaints. Ask DIA's Aviation Director to have noise complaint data entered into a reliable database in a timely fashion and to send copies to the County Commissioners and Congressman Udall on a quarterly basis, and to citizens upon request. Also let DIA's administration and major hush kit users know that the airport and airlines do not benefit by having a reputation as the noisiest in the nation.
Bruce Baumgartner, Aviation Director
Denver International Airport
8500 Pena Blvd
Denver, CO 80249
Phone: 303 342 2200, FAX: 303 342 2215
Gerald Greenwald, CEO
United Airlines (75% of DIA traffic)
1200 East Algonquin Road
Elk Grove, IL 60007
Phone: 847 700 5826
Sam Addams, CEO
Frontier Airlines (10% of DIA traffic with mostly hush kitted jets)
12015 East 46th Avenue Suite 200
Denver, CO 80239
Phone: 303 371 7400
* Encourage your neighbors to contact their Congressman, County Commissioners and DIA Noise Hotline. The more calls received from different citizens and households the greater the impact! To set up a group meeting with the DIA Noise Abatement Office, contact Marianne Reichert at the Boulder County Commissioners Office (303 441 3500).
BC CAAN: As an organization, Boulder County Citizens Against Aviation Noise has been inactive and ineffective for a couple of years now, due to a lack of leadership and citizen involvement. We, and a few other citizens, have kept the issues alive as best we can by making calls, doing research, writing letters, sharing information on the Internet, etc. In order to continue as an effective organization, BC CAAN needs to reform under new leadership. If you would like to get involved in reforming BC CAAN, please leave us a message on the BC CAAN Info Line (303 415 3797), or email to oval@bouldenews.infi.net at your earliest convenience.
We have lots of ideas and information, and will work to support new leadership that can guide BC CAAN into the new millennium. If we don't receive sufficient response to this mailing by September 30th, we will assume that the public interest to continue BC CAAN does not exist at this time and the organization will formally end. If this occurs, we will do what we can to support the following objectives as members of the Preserve Unique Magnolia Association and U.S. Citizens Aviation Watch: return the monitoring and management of aviation pollution to the Environmental Protection Agency, revise sound measurement standards to more accurately reflect the real impact of noise pollution on people and wildlife, research and develop cleaner and quieter aircraft, and revise the process by which new airports are created and existing ones are expanded, to include accurate and binding environmental impact statements pertaining to the affected local communities.
Any monies remaining in the BC CAAN bank account (less than $1,000) will be devoted to documenting the impact of aviation pollution on Western Boulder County (including Indian Peaks Wilderness) and ongoing participation with US CAW on behalf of Boulder County Citizens.
Thank you for your interest and support. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Paula Hendricks
Norman Lederman
Scoff Reuman
Edward Wiegand
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