Dear Friends, 

The City of Palo Alto has sent an email, with a deadline of July 7, 2023 to submit comments to the City’s Airport Manager about the FAA’s Noise Policy Review solicitation 2023 - 09113, and regarding a July 17th meeting “to gain updates and connect with City staff and San Francisco International Airport staff” about SFO’s GBAS landing system. We are writing to the City to express that the City’s July 7th deadline for comments to the FAA which cuts into the July 4th weekend could be more flexible. The Federal register solicitation due on 7/31 is a big topic; it would be better to have a City draft to review first. And, due to the City’s Airport Manager being the City’s point of contact, we want to stress that resident comments should not be used to greenwash airports and aviation, when the City responds to the FAA. 

CALL TO ACTION! 

Please send an email with subject line: “STOP AVIATION GREENWASHING '' to Andrew Swanson, Palo Alto Airport Manager at andrew.swanson@cityofpaloalto.org with a copy to Representative Anna Eshoo at CA18AEima@mail.house.gov and feel free to include any or all of the below comments:  

• Please give the public an opportunity to review the City’s Draft response to FR 2023 - 09113 -before the City submits final comments to the FAA. 
• The City needs to distinguish comments that the City may receive from airport users which are increasingly greenwashing the aviation pollution problem, from concerns about unaccountable airport management on environmental costs.
• Any use of “green,” “clean,” “quiet,” “quieter,” or other environmental claims are inappropriate as long as the FAA is failing to accurately report aviation noise and air pollution levels; not setting appropriate standards to reduce impacts, and allowing the industry to self-regulate. 
• Residents have long objected to the FAA airport grants that promote aviation growth because they preclude, penalize, and prevent cities which own airports from addressing aviation pollution. This use of taxpayer money to subsidize aviation while ignoring aviation noise pollution is unacceptable. 
• Airport Improvement Grants declare airports, which are industrial-evel pollution facilities, and the FAA virtually free of responsibility. This is inconsistent with responsible government or responsible use of taxpayer investments. 
• The FAA and Congress are LATE to supporting nighttime curfews and funding to adequately reduce, abate and mitigate aviation pollution. Other countries have outpaced the US in being competitive in aviation, while imposing curfews and more aggressive standards for aviation noise. 

We will be sharing Sky Posse’s Preliminary Draft Response to the FAA’s solicitation that is due 7/31 with you, with time to incorporate your feedback and suggestions about our draft. It will include an Executive Summary, a review of the FAA’s framing paper for the solicitation; and responses to the 11 specific questions from the agency. Lastly, we will send a brief update about the SFO GBAS project prior to the July 17th meeting and encourage all to attend.  

Thank you and have a great Fourth of July!