RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Chicago- O'Hare International Airport is one ofthe busiest commercial airports in the world, annually handling hundreds of thousands of aircraft operations involving tens of millions of passenger enplanements; and
WHEREAS, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport is a vital economic engine for the City of Chicago and the Chicago region, responsible for thousands of jobs across many sectors ofthe economy; and
WHEREAS, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport has been undergoing an expansive capital program known as the O'Hare Modernization Plan (OMP), a multi-billion dollar, intergovernmental effort to make airport operations safer and more efficient, while spurring considerable economic growth throughout the region; and
WHEREAS, the O'Hare Modernization Plan calls for the creation of additional runways and a complete transition ofthe entire airfield to a parallel runway configuration; and
WHEREAS, a new runway, 10C/28C, recently commissioned as part ofthe O'Hare Modernization Plan, has led to a significant increase in the number of evening arrivals on runway 27 Left, which has greatly impacted the quality of life in communities situated east of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Department of Aviation and the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission are tasked with implementing the Residential Sound Insulation Program (RSIP), a federally funded program to sound insulate qualifying residential homes and schools; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 3650 (Silent Skies Act), a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, would further limit the impact of the O'Hare Modernization Plan on the affected communities by amending title 49, United States Code, to prohibit the operation of certain aircraft not complying with the stage 4 noise standard, an internationally recognized certification aimed at reducing aircraft noise; and
WHEREAS, since 1997 the Chicago Department of Aviation has operated the Fly Quiet Program, which relies on the voluntary efforts of airlines to use designated noise abatement flight procedures to reduce the impact of aircraft noise resulting from operations at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport; and
WHEREAS, the ongoing modernization of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, its impact on nearby residents and the anticipated growth in airport usage all indicate the need to enact more stringent regulations and review long existing standards for the measurement, reduction and abatement of airport noise.
BE IT RESOLVED that the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, and such members of her staff as are knowledgeable about the O'Hare Modernization Program and noise abatement shall appear before the City Council Committee on Aviation to detail the department's efforts to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the surrounding population; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman ofthe City Council Committee on Aviation is requested to invite representatives ofthe Federal Aviation Agency to explain their role in determining flight paths and reducing airport noise and its impact; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman ofthe City Council Committee on Aviation may also invite representatives from the various airlines using Chicago-O'Hare International Airport to attend the hearing and discuss the aviation industry's ability to comply with the proposed regulations put forth in H.R. 3650 (Silent Skies Act) and their own efforts to reduce aircraft noise and its impact; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman ofthe City Council Committee on Aviation may also invite representatives of non-airline, non-governmental groups and agencies interested in the reduction of airport noise and its impact.
Alderman, 41st Ward
MARGARET LAURINO Alderman, 39th Ward