PUBLIC REVIEW, WORKSHOP SET FOR COMPLETED LAX PART 161 NOISE STUDY

(Los Angeles, California – October 25, 2012)  Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has completed its LAX Part 161 Study and is releasing the draft application for public review and comment.  The public review and comment period begins November 1 and ends December 17.  A public workshop will be held on November 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Flight Path Learning Center, 6661 West Imperial Highway, Los Angeles.

The draft application is the final work product of the Part 161 Study and includes documentation and support materials to justify approval of the proposed runway use restriction by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The LAX Part 161 Study is an attempt to restrict the easterly departure of all aircraft at Los AngelesInternationalAirport with certain limited exemptions, between midnight and 6:30 a.m. when the airport is in over-ocean operations, or when it is in westerly operation during these hours. This would reduce the nighttime noise burden for communities most affected by non-conforming easterly departures during this time.  The proposed restriction would not be in effect when LAX is in easterly operations.

The LAX Part 161 Study is a technical and legal document that will be submitted to the FAA in January requesting a waiver of the federal pre-emption and authorization to implement the proposed restriction.

The Notice of Proposed Restriction and the Part 161 application analysis report will be available for public review beginning November 1 at the following locations:

·         On-line at www.laxpart161.com/

·         LAWA Environmental Services Division at LAX – 7301 World Way West, Room 312, Los Angeles, CA, 90045, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

·         Inglewood Public Library – 101 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90301

·         County of Los Angeles Public Library – 4359 Lennox Blvd., Lennox, CA 90304 Mark Ridley Thomas Constituent Services Center - 8475 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA90044

·         Westchester – LoyolaVillage Branch Library, 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA90045

Interested persons wishing to comment on the LAX Part 161 Study may do so by one of the following methods:

·         Submit written comments at the public workshop on November 13

·         Submit written comments via the Online Comment Form of the LAX Part 161 web page http://www.laxpart161.com/en/Comments.cfm 

·         In writing to: Scott Tatro, Los AngelesWorldAirports, Environmental Services Division, 1 World Way, P.O. Box 92216, Los Angeles, CA90009-22216

·         Written comments by e-mail to laxpart161@lawa.org 

Once the application is submitted to the FAA, the FAA has 180 days to complete its review and approve or disapprove the application.  During the review period, FAA will open a public docket and accept written comments for a 45-day period.

If the application is approved, LAWA would initiate the ordinance approval process, which requires an environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act.  Upon completion of the analysis, the proposed ordinance would be submitted for approval to the Board of Airport Commissioners and then transmitted to the Los Angeles City Council for approval and ordinance enactment.

For further information regarding the LAX Part 161 Study, contact Scott Tatro, Environmental Services Division, at (424) 646-6499.