Community Noise Roundtable
Background
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA) has been owned and operated by Jefferson County since 1960, and the airport has grown along with the surrounding region. Recently, flight operations have recovered to levels last seen in the early 2000s and, prior to that, the 1970s. As a public-use airport operating in an urban environment, aircraft operations create noise impacts to areas surrounding the airport.
Community Noise Roundtable
The purpose of the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Community Noise Roundtable is to provide for and promote a regional, coordinated approach to collaborate on and address the noise impacts to the community surrounding the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. RMMACNR is a voluntary association of the Airport, neighboring communities, federal and state agencies and airport users created to collaboratively identify solutions to address community concerns regarding airport noise impacts surrounding Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. In a non-adversarial and collaborative open forum, RMMACNR seeks to:
- Identify the dimension of noise issues, discover possible mitigation actions, find opportunities for implementation of mitigation measures, and evaluate the effectiveness of the mitigation measures;
- Share up-to-date data in order to identify potential voluntary noise reduction opportunities;
- Identify potential operational changes to the Airport that would require federal approval;
- Build consensus around recommendations for noise reduction measures, whether voluntary or mandatory (understanding that mandatory measures require FAA approval);
- Review available data regarding noise reduction measures; and
- Review Airport development plans, operational changes and surrounding community development plans for associated noise impacts.
What Has Already Been Done
- Through 2021/2022, the RMMACNR focused on understanding the issues and regulations pertaining to RMMA airport and aircraft operations
- To review previous meeting materials, visit the CNR Meetings page and topics are sorted by month
- The FAQ and Resources tabs below also provide background information relevant to both the RMMACNR and the public
- RMMA always encourages pilots to fly quietly to the extent possible consistent with flight safety and the federal preemption of airspace
- RMMA published revised voluntary noise abatement procedures in late 2019
More Information
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About Us and Members
RMMACNR is a voluntary association of RMMA, neighboring communities, federal and state agencies and airport users.
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CNR Meetings
The Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Community Noise Roundtable (RMMACNR) is expected to meet monthly. The meetings will be broadcast to the public.
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Roundtable FAQs
Learn more about operations at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and how that factors into noise.
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Surrounding Region
Learn more about the area surrounding the RMMA.
- What can the RMMACNR do to keep airplanes from flying over my neighborhood?
- How busy is the airport? How is the level of activity at the airport measured?
- What are RMMA’s hours of operation?
- Why can’t planes take off in the “other” direction?
- Who do I call to complain about airplane noise?
- What noise abatement procedures are in effect?
- Is there a legal minimum altitude that airplanes can fly over residential areas?
Resources
See below for additional resources:
- Intergovernmental Agreement Establishing the RMMACNR
- RMMACNR 2022-2023 Work Program
- FAA Roundtable Fact Sheet
- Town of Superior/City of Louisville Airport Noise Study - Baseline Summary Report (by ABCx2)
- Town of Superior/City of Louisville Airport Noise Study - Strategy Recommendations (by ABCx2)
- Video regarding typical aircraft procedures in and around RMMA (by Bold Method)
- RMMA Traffic Patterns and Instrument Procedures (jpeg)
- A Guide to Understanding Airport Operations and Noise Story map (by the City of Louisville)
- Louisville-generated map of aircraft tracks