791 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 161.5 

U.S.C. App. 2153, 2154, 2155, and 2156). It 
prescribes: 

(a) Notice requirements and proce-

dures for airport operators imple-
menting Stage 3 aircraft noise and ac-
cess restrictions pursuant to agree-
ments between airport operators and 
aircraft operators; 

(b) Analysis and notice requirements 

for airport operators proposing Stage 2 
aircraft noise and access restrictions; 

(c) Notice, review, and approval re-

quirements for airport operators pro-
posing Stage 3 aircraft noise and access 
restrictions; and 

(d) Procedures for Federal Aviation 

Administration reevaluation of agree-
ments containing restrictions on Stage 
3 aircraft operations and of aircraft 
noise and access restrictions affecting 
Stage 3 aircraft operations imposed by 
airport operators. 

§ 161.3 Applicability. 

(a) This part applies to airports im-

posing restrictions on Stage 2 aircraft 
operations proposed after October 1, 
1990, and to airports imposing restric-
tions on Stage 3 aircraft operations 
that became effective after October 1, 
1990. 

(b) This part also applies to airports 

enacting amendments to airport noise 
and access restrictions in effect on Oc-
tober 1, 1990, but amended after that 
date, where the amendment reduces or 
limits aircraft operations or affects 
aircraft safety. 

(c) The notice, review, and approval 

requirements set forth in this part 
apply to all airports imposing noise or 
access restrictions as defined in § 161.5 
of this part. 

§ 161.5 Definitions. 

For the purposes of this part, the fol-

lowing definitions apply: 

Agreement 

means a document in writ-

ing signed by the airport operator; 
those aircraft operators currently oper-
ating at the airport that would be af-
fected by the noise or access restric-
tion; and all affected new entrants 
planning to provide new air service 
within 180 days of the effective date of 
the restriction that have submitted to 
the airport operator a plan of oper-
ations and notice of agreement to the 
restriction. 

Aircraft operator, 

for purposes of this 

part, means any owner of an aircraft 
that operates the aircraft, i.e., uses, 
causes to use, or authorizes the use of 
the aircraft; or in the case of a leased 
aircraft, any lessee that operates the 
aircraft pursuant to a lease. As used in 
this part, aircraft operator also means 
any representative of the aircraft 
owner, or in the case of a leased air-
craft, any representative of the lessee 
empowered to enter into agreements 
with the airport operator regarding use 
of the airport by an aircraft. 

Airport 

means any area of land or 

water, including any heliport, that is 
used or intended to be used for the 
landing and takeoff of aircraft, and any 
appurtenant areas that are used or in-
tended to be used for airport buildings 
or other airport facilities or rights-of- 
way, together with all airport build-
ings and facilities located thereon. 

Airport noise study area 

means that 

area surrounding the airport within 
the noise contour selected by the appli-
cant for study and must include the 
noise contours required to be developed 
for noise exposure maps specified in 14 
CFR part 150. 

Airport operator 

means the airport 

proprietor. 

Aviation user class 

means the fol-

lowing categories of aircraft operators: 
air carriers operating under parts 121 
or 129 of this chapter; commuters and 
other carriers operating under part 135 
of this chapter; general aviation, mili-
tary, or government operations. 

Day-night average sound level (DNL) 

means the 24-hour average sound level, 
in decibels, for the period from mid-
night to midnight, obtained after the 
addition of ten decibels to sound levels 
for the periods between midnight and 7 
a.m., and between 10 p.m. and mid-
night, local time, as defined in 14 CFR 
part 150. (The scientific notation for 
DNL is L

dn

). 

Noise or access restrictions 

means re-

strictions (including but not limited to 
provisions of ordinances and leases) af-
fecting access or noise that affect the 
operations of Stage 2 or Stage 3 air-
craft, such as limits on the noise gen-
erated on either a single-event or cu-
mulative basis; a limit, direct or indi-
rect, on the total number of Stage 2 or 
Stage 3 aircraft operations; a noise 

792 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 161.7 

budget or noise allocation program 
that includes Stage 2 or Stage 3 air-
craft; a restriction imposing limits on 
hours of operations; a program of air-
port-use charges that has the direct or 
indirect effect of controlling airport 
noise; and any other limit on Stage 2 
or Stage 3 aircraft that has the effect 
of controlling airport noise. This defi-
nition does not include peak-period 
pricing programs where the objective is 
to align the number of aircraft oper-
ations with airport capacity. 

Stage 2 aircraft 

means an aircraft that 

has been shown to comply with the 
Stage 2 requirements under 14 CFR 
part 36. 

Stage 3 aircraft 

means an aircraft that 

has been shown to comply with the 
Stage 3 requirements under 14 CFR 
part 36. 

[Doc. No. 26432, 56 FR 48698, Sept. 25, 1991, as 
amended by Amdt. 161–2, 66 FR 21067, Apr. 27, 
2001] 

§ 161.7 Limitations. 

(a) Aircraft operational procedures 

that must be submitted for adoption by 
the FAA, such as preferential runway 
use, noise abatement approach and de-
parture procedures and profiles, and 
flight tracks, are not subject to this 
part. Other noise abatement proce-
dures, such as taxiing and engine 
runups, are not subject to this part un-
less the procedures imposed limit the 
total number of Stage 2 or Stage 3 air-
craft operations, or limit the hours of 
Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft operations, 
at the airport. 

(b) The notice, review, and approval 

requirements set forth in this part do 
not apply to airports with restrictions 
as specified in 49 U.S.C. App. 
2153(a)(2)(C): 

(1) A local action to enforce a nego-

tiated or executed airport aircraft 
noise or access agreement between the 
airport operator and the aircraft oper-
ator in effect on November 5, 1990. 

(2) A local action to enforce a nego-

tiated or executed airport aircraft 
noise or access restriction the airport 
operator and the aircraft operators 
agreed to before November 5, 1990. 

(3) An intergovernmental agreement 

including airport aircraft noise or ac-
cess restriction in effect on November 
5, 1990. 

(4) A subsequent amendment to an 

airport aircraft noise or access agree-
ment or restriction in effect on Novem-
ber 5, 1990, where the amendment does 
not reduce or limit aircraft operations 
or affect aircraft safety. 

(5) A restriction that was adopted by 

an airport operator on or before Octo-
ber 1, 1990, and that was stayed as of 
October 1, 1990, by a court order or as 
a result of litigation, if such restric-
tion, or a part thereof, is subsequently 
allowed by a court to take effect. 

(6) In any case in which a restriction 

described in paragraph (b)(5) of this 
section is either partially or totally 
disallowed by a court, any new restric-
tion imposed by an airport operator to 
replace such disallowed restriction, if 
such new restriction would not pro-
hibit aircraft operations in effect on 
November 5, 1990. 

(7) A local action that represents the 

adoption of the final portion of a pro-
gram of a staged airport aircraft noise 
or access restriction, where the initial 
portion of such program was adopted 
during calendar year 1988 and was in ef-
fect on November 5, 1990. 

(c) The notice, review, and approval 

requirements of subpart D of this part 
with regard to Stage 3 aircraft restric-
tions do not apply if the FAA has, prior 
to November 5, 1990, formed a working 
group (outside of the process estab-
lished by 14 CFR part 150) with a local 
airport operator to examine the noise 
impact of air traffic control procedure 
changes. In any case in which an agree-
ment relating to noise reductions at 
such airport is then entered into be-
tween the airport proprietor and an air 
carrier or air carrier constituting a 
majority of the air carrier users of 
such airport, the requirements of sub-
parts B and D of this part with respect 
to restrictions on Stage 3 aircraft oper-
ations do apply to local actions to en-
force such agreements. 

(d) Except to the extent required by 

the application of the provisions of the 
Act, nothing in this part eliminates, 
invalidates, or supersedes the fol-
lowing: 

(1) Existing law with respect to air-

port noise or access restrictions by 
local authorities; 

(2) Any proposed airport noise or ac-

cess regulation at a general aviation