RESOLUTION NO.  2007-28

EL DORADO HILLS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE INCLUSION OF THE COMMUNITY OF EL DORADO HILLS IN THE NEW ENVIORNMENTAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF THE MATHER AIRPORT OPERATIONS ON THE COMMUNITY OF EL DORADO HILLS

    WHEREAS, the El Dorado Hills Community Services District is a full-service Special District duly established by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisor’s Resolution 98-62. The District is responsible for providing parks, recreation programs, cable television, solid waste collection, CC&R enforcement services; and is charged with the overall enhancement of the quality of life of the residents of El Dorado Hills, and

    WHEREAS, the Sacramento County intends to expand the Mather Airport Air Cargo Operations, located in Sacramento County, California, to a major Pacific Rim Regional Cargo Hub, and

The Mather Airport Master Plan notes that the level of cargo traffic is primarily a function of our regional economy. (See excerpts 1, 2, and 3.)  It notes that the cargo hub option considered was for Mather as a Northern California regional sort hub, not a pacific rim transshipment hub. (See excerpt 4.) SCAS was directed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to continue current Mather non-hub cargo development and to analyze market potential for the regional sort hub role. (See excerpt 5.)

    WHEREAS, the expansion of the Mather Airport Air Cargo Operations will increase the number of low altitude aircraft flights over El Dorado County and neighboring communities, more specifically, the approximate 35,000 residents of the Community of El Dorado Hills, and

The area served by the El Dorado Hills CSD probably has about 35,000 residents. The area most generally considered to be El Dorado Hills is substantially that within the boundaries of the El Dorado Hills County Water District. This included 42,078 residents at the end of 2007, according to the District's 2007 Annual Report.

    WHEREAS, it has been projected the number of low altitude aircraft flights will increase to approximately 50 cargo aircraft overflights a day, predominantly between the hours of 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; resulting in approximately 15,000 aircraft overflights a year, and

The count of 50 air carrier cargo overflights per day is an incorrect projection, as is the citation of 15.000 overflights per year. The corresponding  correct numbers, based on the Mather Master Plan projections for total air carrier cargo operations and on the currently observed ratio of approach overflights to total operations, rounded to the nearest integer, are:
 See the Demand Forecast Summary Attachment for details.

    Whereas, this number of aircraft overflights will result in increased obtrusive noise, light and unhealthy air pollutions and an increased probability of a major catastrophic aircraft crash, and

Noise is the real issue. The others cited in this Whereas clause have at most tenuous significance in reality, and one of those factors tends to support use of the Mather ILS approach instead of discouraging it.

To date I have found no objective evidence that air carrier approaches to Mather produce "obtrusive noise" in El Dorado Hills, despite searching for such evidence intensively.  See the Attachment N, Noise Notes. For discussion of light, air pollution, and risk of a catastrophic crash see the Incidental Factors attachment.

Pollution is minimized by using approach paths which are as direct as possible at the end of each arrival's final enroute course. Diversion of arrivals from the east would tend to other approaches would tend to increase pollution, although the quantitative effect on pollution probably is not significant.
 
NTSB statistics for 2007 showed a rate of fatal accidents for air carrier operations (those subject to Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations) of 0.009 accidents per hundred thousand departures. This translates to a reasonable statistical expectation that Mather air carrier cargo operations would produre a fatal accident roughly every 50,000 to 150,000 years. In the FAA's record of fatal air carrier accidents for the past 5 years all accidents occurred on airport premises or within 1 mile of the airport. 3 of those 10 accidents did not involve flight, the fatalities were to ground personnel during ground operations. The crash of an Emery DC-8-71F freighter at Mather in 2000 was caused by a maintenance error that made the aircraft substantially uncontrollable after a control link jammed on elevator deflection to rotate the aircraft for takeoff. The location of the crash at Mather was a random event: Local accident risk in the future is statistically independent of its occurrence. As always in aviation, such accidents produce consequent attention to their causes and (where possible) implementation of measures to reduce risk of recurrence.

   WHEREAS, this number of aircraft overflights will result in the socioeconomic decline of the individual citizen’s residential and business property values, and

First, this assertion of impact is premised on 50 overflights per day. The number of actual overflights projected for 2021 through the high range forecast is 13 per day.

Second, it is not at all clear that 13 daily overflights producing an average maximum noise level of approximately 65 dB will result in declining property values. If CSD believe this you need to cite analytical evidence for that thesis, rather than stating it as an axiomatic assertion. What is your source?

    WHEREAS, these significant environmental impacts will result in the overall diminished individual and community sense of well-being, ultimately resulting in the decline of the over all quality-of-life of the residents of the Community of El Dorado Hills; and

Again, CSD needs to establish the factual basis for the premise of this inference. Based on all available evidence it is not clear that the premise of significant environmental impacts is true. See Attachment N.

    WHEREAS, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is currently in the process of developing an Environmental Impact Report on the Mather Airport Master Plan to determine the Mather Airport Operation’s environmental impacts and the necessary mitigation measures to minimize the identified environmental impacts, on the surrounding communities, and

    NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the El Dorado Hills Community Services District does hereby recognize the significance of the environmental impacts on the residents and businesses of El Dorado Hills by the Mather Airport Operations and, on their behalf, request that the El Dorado County Supervisors, Sacramento Airport System, and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors act immediately to mitigate the significant environmental impacts of the Mather Airport Operations on the community of El Dorado Hills by including the community of El Dorado Hills and the neighboring communities in the required new Environmental Impact Report study.

The suggested list of agencies omits the only agency with authority to regulate air traffic:  The Federal Aviation Administration.

Participation logically should include the City of Folsom, possibly through the El Dorado/Folsom JPA. However, it may be disregard the City of Folsom: Its city government chose to sue the agency (SCAS) that has in fact been the major contributor to managing jet noise. Progress needs to come from working cooperatively, not as adversaries. It is also not encouraging that Folsom's law suit was for a situation irrelevant to noise issues: This is good reason to seriously question the competence of Folsom's current city government. It could be counterproductive to include Folsom in work on this issue.

PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the Board of Directors of El Dorado Hills Community Services District on the 8th day of November, 2007 by the following vote of the Board:

AYES:    Brilliant, Masters, Rogozinski, Trapani, Vandegrift
NOES:     -
ABSENT:    -


                                          _____________________________                                     Laurence S. Brilliant
                                           President, Board of Directors
ATTEST:    


______________________________
Wayne A. Lowery, General Manager
Secretary to the Board of Directors