S.Amdt. 4599

SA 4599. Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. Specter, and Mr. Biden) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2881, to amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal years 2008 through 2011, to improve aviation safety and capacity, to provide stable funding for the national aviation system, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 134, between lines 7 and 8, insert the following:

(d) Noise Mitigation Study.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall--

(1) conduct a study of the current laws and regulations governing the evaluation and mitigation of airport noise;

(2) identify ways to improve the reporting and mitigation of noise impacts from airports, including--

(A) using the 65 DNL (Day/Night Noise Level) as the threshold for Federal noise abatement programs and

(B) determining whether frequent spikes in noise level above 65 decibels should be tracked and mitigated, even if such mitigation results in an average noise level below 65 DNL; and

(3) not later than September 30, 2009, submit a report to Congress that describes--

(A) the current process for evaluating airport noise impacts on surrounding communities;

(B) possible alternatives to the existing process and benchmarks; and

(C) the implications of adopting such alternatives.