Legal complaints fly over increased jet noise

Residents near Logan say more planes are flying over their homes than in the past. (MICHAEL DWYER/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Nine residents from East Boston, Charlestown, Chelsea, and Medford have filed a complaint in US District Court alleging that the Federal Aviation Administration has significantly increased air traffic on two key runway configurations at Logan Airport without first evaluating the potential environmental impact the traffic has on those living nearby. The "arbitrary and capricious" changes violate terms of a commitment the FAA made in 2002 to tightly control air traffic, they say.

Cambridge lawyer Peter L. Koff says the residents are seeking an injunction to halt operational changes they say have tripled the frequency of jets using runways 33L and 15R in the past year, according to a complaint he filed April 30. Residents are angry that, according to FAA data, the number of planes using runway 33L to take off from Logan jumped from a long-standing annual average of 6 percent of all flights to 19 percent last year, far more than the 12 percent bump projected by the administration when the runway known as 14/32 opened in late 2006. In January and February of this year, runway use of 33L climbed to 22.5 percent, the suit contends.

Approximately 400,000 flights arrived at and departed from Logan last year.

"It's completely different. Our impact has been ridiculous," said Roy A. Avellaneda, a Chelsea city councilor at large. "We're way above their projections."

"There's been a definite change in pattern," said John Kennard, who moved to a loft in Chelsea Square two years ago and said the noise is much worse than when he first arrived. Kennard said at first he would notice planes over his building once every other week. "At this point, it's a daily occurrence, starting at 5:30 a.m. and every minute or so after, a flight goes over. And where I am, they're still quite low. They fly right over my building."

Last fall, Koff and Wig Zamore of Somerville, who both sit on the Logan Airport community advisory committee, along with Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy, wrote to the FAA to express concerns over the increase in jet noise over their cities and to urge the administration to adhere to previously agreed upon runway use limits. In January, FAA Regional Administrator Amy L. Corbett responded, saying that while jet traffic on runway 33L was above previous averages, the volume did not violate any prior restrictions or agreements.

"The FAA is pretty big. Massport is pretty big, and I don't know who to specifically point the finger at," Zamore said. "But I do know that this noise was not fairly managed through any process that involved the public. And it's not supposed to be that way."

The group maintains the increased air traffic has brought far more noise to those living in Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Medford, and Somerville, and alleges the FAA has unlawfully added more planes over their communities before completing a federal- and state-mandated environmental review. The group wants the FAA to scale back jet traffic on runway 33L to match the 6 percent level until the noise study - now in the second of three phases - is completed.

The FAA declined to comment on the suit and on allegations of increased jet noise over the Boston area, said spokeswoman Arlene Salac, saying the agency does not discuss issues in litigation.

Runway 14/32 opened on Nov. 23, 2006, after years of protest over the future noise and jet fuel emissions over East Boston and other neighborhoods under Logan flight paths. The FAA said the new configuration was needed to help reduce delays and give air traffic control greater flexibility managing flights in and out of Logan, particularly during northwest wind conditions.

While the new 14/32 runway would likely increase flights using runway 33L, the FAA said, overall the distribution of planes over the city and surrounding areas would be more evenly dispersed, the complaint alleges.

Avellaneda said he believes the FAA decided to increase traffic on these runways not for safety or weather-related reasons, but to allow more planes to use the airport, and it did so without informing those in the affected communities.

US Representative Michael E. Capuano, who represents Somerville, Cambridge, and many Boston neighborhoods, including East Boston and Charlestown, said he is not satisfied with the FAA's explanation.

"I don't expect we'll see any changes until we see a new president," he said in a phone interview. "Until we get a new head at the FAA, I don't have a lot of hope that we're going to win this, but we have to try."

Katheleen Conti of the Globe staff contributed to this report.