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3.2
Aircraft noise
3.2.1 Legal
foundation
The Act on the Protection from Aircraft Noise (Gesetz zum Schutz gegen Fluglärm) (available in German) was established in 1971, that is three years before the Federal Immission Control Act. It constitutes an important legal basis for uniform aircraft noise protection measures on the national level. A legal provision became necessary due to the significant increase in jet aircrafts and air traffic. And prognoses predict a further increase in flights for the future.
Although the aircraft noise exposure of the population was seemingly reduced due to the use of noise-reduced aircraft engines, a drastic reduction of military air traffic, improved flight-control measures and other technological developments, the strong increase in flights and frequent night flights or flights at a marginal time of day have more and more sensitized the affected residents.
The Federal Government has amended the Act on the Protection from Aircraft Noise by the Act on the Improvement of the Protection from Aircraft Noise in the Surrounding of Airfields (Gesetz zur Verbesserung des Schutzes vor Fluglärm in der Umgebung von Flugplätzen) from 1 June 2007. The following improvements were the most
important:
-
separate aircraft noise assessment for daytime and nighttime
-
determination of lower protection zone limit values and a modified method of calculation
-
military airfields
Both the previous and the amended Aircraft Noise Act provide for a forward-looking development planning in the areas around airfields exposed to noise in order to prevent the emergence of noise conflicts. The act ensures constructional noise abatement measures and use restrictions in the surrounding of airfields.
Furthermore airfields are provided with essential legal and planning security as for their expansion.
According to § 4 of this act, noise protection areas shall be established by means of a statutory decree of the Land Government in question in the surrounding of airfields, among others for all commercial airports with scheduled airline services or charter air traffic as well as for all military airfields designated for the operation of aircrafts with jet
engines.
A distinction is made between the following airfields:
- new or substantially expanded civilian airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 1 and 2
- existing civilian airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 1 and 2
- new or substantially expanded military airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 3 and 4
- existing airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 3 and 4
According to § 2 para. 2, the noise protection area of an airfield shall be subdivided, according to the extent of the noise impact, into two protection zones for daytime and one protection zone for nighttime.
Protection zones shall encompass those areas in which the equivalent continuous sound pressure level LAeq caused by aircraft noise and, in the case of the nighttime protection zone, the maximum level LAmax caused by aircraft noise exceeds the values according to § 2 para. 2.
These values are determined in accordance with the annex to the present act, taking into account the type and extent of the foreseeable flight operations.
According to § 2 para. 2, the values for the protection zones are:
- for new or substantially expanded civilian airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 1 and 2
-
Daytime protection zone 1: LAeq Day
= 60 dB(A)
-
Daytime protection zone 2: LAeq Day
= 55 dB(A)
- Nighttime protection zone: until 31 December 2010
LAeq Night
= 53 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 x 57 dB(A)
from 1 January 2011
LAeq
Night
= 50 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 x 53 dB(A)
- for existing civilian airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 1 and 2
- Daytime protection zone 1:
LAeq Day = 65 dB(A)
-
Daytime protection zone
2: LAeq Day
= 60 dB(A)
-
Nighttime protection zone: LAeq Night
= 55 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 x 57 dB(A)
- for new or substantially expanded military airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 3 and 4
-
Daytime protection zone 1: LAeq Day
= 63 dB(A)
-
Daytime protection zone 2: LAeq Dayg
= 58 dB(A)
-
Nighttime protection zone: until 31 December 2010
LAeq Night
= 53 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 mal 57 dB(A)
from 1 January 2011
LAeq Night
= 50 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 mal 53 dB(A)
- for existing airfields within the meaning of § 4 para. 1 Nos. 3 and 4
- Daytime protection zone
1: LAeq Day = 68 dB(A)
- Daytime protection zone
2: LAeq Day
= 63 dB(A)
- Nighttime protection zone: LAeq Night
= 55 dB(A)
LAmax
= 6 mal 57 dB(A)
The objective of this new regulation is to protect people exposed to night flight noise from unhealthy sleeping disorders.
Noise protection for bedrooms is ensured if the aircraft noise exceeds an average sound level of 55 dB at night for existing airfields or if particularly noisy overflights occur regularly.
A clearly stricter value is applied to large expansion projects. The limit value is set at 53 dB until 2010 and from 1 January 2011 at 50 dB.
If a commercial airport is newly built or substantially expanded, the right to constructional noise reduction measures for dwellings begins as from an average sound level related to aircraft noise of 60 dB.
This value will also be binding for plan approval decisions for airfields in order to ensure clarity at an early stage as for the noise protection measures required in the context of expansion projects for all parties concerned. According to the previous Aircraft Noise Act from 1971, the right to constructional noise protection measures begins as from an aircraft noise level of more than 75 dB.
However, previous and new limit values cannot be compared as a new method of calculation is to be applied as from the revision of the act.
§ 5 of the act regulates building restrictions.
No hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent homes and similar facilities requiring equal protection shall be constructed in a noise protection area. The same shall apply to schools, children's nurseries und similar facilities requiring equal protection in the daytime protection zones of the noise protection area.
In daytime protection zone 1 and in the nighttime protection zone, no dwellings shall
be constructed to secure free spaces and prevent the emergence of noise conflicts. The amendment therefore also serves justified airline concerns.
In the context of noise abatement plans pursuant to§ 47d of the Federal Immission Control Act, the corresponding values of § 2 para. 2 of the Act on the Protection from Aircraft Noise are to be applied for airfields according to § 14 of this Act.
The statutory decree from November 1975 regulates that supersonic speeds are prohibited for civilian flights above Germany.
In the case of the construction or expansion of an airfield which requires a plan approval decision pursuant to § 8 of the Civil Aviation Act (Luftverkehrsgesetz), an environmental impact assessment pursuant to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungsgesetz) must be carried out as from 1990.
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