| 11/16/2021 |
Clark County Board of Commissioners
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Agenda note: DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED:
1. Las Vegas Metroplex Briefing (11 pages), submitted by the Federal Aviation Administration
DISCUSSION: Following introduction of the item, the Board was addressed by Rosemary Vassiliadis, Director of Clark County Aviation, who introduced Tamara Swann and Jim Arrighi from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who presented the Las Vegas Metroplex airspace study.
Tamara Swann, Deputy Regional Administrator for the Western Pacific Region at the Federal Aviation Administration, advised that the Las Vegas Metroplex is part of the modernization of the entire United States air transportation system; modernized the flow of air traffic, emphasized safety, increased efficiency, and improved environmental performance; introduced approximately 40 new satellite-based procedures; and delays included the government shut-down and COVID0-19 protocols.
Jim Arrighi, Airspace Modernization Team Manager and the National Metroplex Program Manager at the Federal Aviation Administration, presented an implementation overview; military air space surrounded the constrained air space; implemented standard instrument departure which was accurate and repeatable; fourteen standardization terminal arrival procedures provided an optimized fuel efficient descent and more fuel efficiency, quieter arrival procedures, provided connectivity to the runway, and incorporated five lower altitude runways; implemented the overlay of the Required Navigation Performance Procedure which was the first in the nation and improved arrival efficiency; discussed implementation challenges; airport databases; flight plan filing; assessed and corrected the incorrect implementation of procedures identified by community feedback; reviewed the post-implementation analysis; and evaluated the overall estimates of fuel burn improvement, distance savings, and decrease in time flown; recognition and awards for the Las Vegas Metroplex; and recognized the passing of Charles ‘Charlie’ Hall.
Commissioner Naft expressed concerns regarding the FAA policy of not discussing the details of the matter directly with impacted residents; the traffic overheard exceeds the promises made by the FAA at multiple public meetings and with County staff and stakeholders; the FAA neglected to notify residents and constituents that General Aviation (GA) aircraft included commercial aircraft and airbuses chartered by groups, including sports teams, which produced the same impact on residents and the environment as commercial flights, and which has continued to increase in intensity.
In response to Commissioner Naft, Jim Arrighi advised that the Las Vegas Metroplex Project was closed, and reevaluation opportunities to request changes to procedures may be submitted through the regular FAA procedure development system; and further advised that the FAA meets with broad based community boards.
Discussion between the Board, Tamara Swann, and Jim Arrighi continued regarding the FAA’s policy to not meet with individual neighbors and homeowner associations due to a lack of resources, manpower, and the possibility that additional neighbors or homeowners may be left out of the discussions; public meetings were held to discuss neighbor’s concerns during the Metroplex Project; weather, specifically wind, impacting the use of specific runways and increasing incorrect usage issues; assessment of inappropriate use of the procedure; the FAA corrective action was to follow-up with the airline who requested the departure to confirm the request was operationally necessary or dictated by wind; the Las Vegas Metroplex project was implemented tenth across the nation; the Metroplex Project improved the efficiency of airspace in the Las Vegas area; the benefit of decreasing conflict across the runways, and to the air traffic tower, in comparison to the impact to the neighborhoods; the FAA will only meet with the community as a whole; and the impacted neighbors were involved and raised concerns from the beginning of the Metroplex Project. | |
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