Busselton Margaret River Airport - Draft Noise Management Plan (2022)
Consultation has concluded
The City of Busselton has undertaken a review of Busselton Margaret River Airport Noise Management Plan (NMP) 2019 and a draft NMP (2022) was presented to Council on 8 December 2021 and endorsed for public comment.
The City of Busselton is inviting public comments to the draft Busselton Margaret River Airport Noise Management Plan (2022) commencing Tuesday 4th January 2022 closing on Friday 21st January 2022.
Submissions received will be considered by Council prior to a final, draft Noise Management Plan being provided to the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority.
Background
The City of Busselton implemented the first Busselton Margaret River Airport Noise Management Plan (NMP) in 2012. Since then, the City has undertaken a number of reviews in consultation with the community and sought approval from the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority (OEPA) to update the NMP.
As part of the BMRA Development Project which commenced in 2015/16, the City was required to perform a full review of the then NMP (2015) and proposed amendments that would allow for interstate and future international jet air services. Following community consultation and extensive consultation with the OEPA a full Public Environmental Review (PER) assessment was performed resulting in the draft NMP (2017). Following considerable engagement with the OEPA, the amended NMP was approved on 27 December 2018 (May 2018) in accordance with Ministerial Statement 1088 by the Minister for Environment; Disability Services. Subsequent to this a number of minor, non-material amendments were made to the NMP in early 2019, resulting in the current version of the NMP (version 2 January 2019).
Statement 1088 not only includes the conditions for managing noise emissions from the BMRA but also requirements for the review of the NMP, including a review within three months of each three year period, from the date of issue of the Statement. The review is to include, but not be limited to:
1) Noise monitoring results;
2) Noise amelioration assessments and/or implementation;
3) Number of complaints received and actions taken to resolve complaints;
4) Published flight paths to minimize impacts; and
5) The findings of the review to determine the effectiveness of the Busselton Margaret River Airport Noise Management Plan and whether amendments to the Plan are required.
The City of Busselton has undertaken a review of the BMRA NMP (2019) and proposing the following amendments;
NMP January 2019 | NMP Proposed Draft 2022 |
| ||
Chapter heading | Section heading | Chapter heading | Section heading | Comment |
1. Introduction and Background | Introduction | Includes objectives and information about aircraft noise | ||
Noise Context | Understanding Noise | Changed from “Description of noise and perceived nuisance” to “Definition of sound and noise” | ||
Structure of Document | Removed - Not needed | |||
Background | Removed – historical background to BRA and development project | |||
2. Principles and Statement of Intent | Objectives for BRA development | Removed – historical background to development project | ||
A Balanced Approach | Who is responsible for noise? | Removed – replaced with context to ICAO and organisations responsible for noise management | ||
Limitations | Removed – included in other sections throughout the document | |||
Statement of Intent | Removed - BMRA Strategic objectives are more aligned with Master Plan than NMP | |||
3. Management of operational Activities | Airport Operational Activities | |||
Aircraft Operations Classifications | Aircraft Type | Amended from Single engine aircraft under 1500kgs MTOW only to Single engine non-turbine aircraft only | ||
Flight Training Guidelines | Flight Training Guidelines | |||
Frequency & Type of Use | Flight Training | Instructor cumulative hours changed from 25hrs/week/instructor to 35hrs/week/instructor Added Ministerial Statement criteria for overflying wetlands | ||
Flying heights for Training operations | Removed as CASA guidelines on height restrictions over rural and urban areas are governed by CASA | |||
Aircraft Noise management | Removed – included in Who is responsible for Noise? | |||
Activities requiring City approval | Removed – duplication with Standard hours of operation | |||
Approval for Charter and RPT Operations | Removed – duplication of Standard Hours or Operation | |||
Approval for Flight Training or Licence Renewal Training | Removed – duplication of Standard Hours or Operations & Flight Training Guidelines | |||
4. Noise Complaints | Noise Complaints | Updated to reflect roles and responsibilities for aircraft noise complaints | ||
5. Noise Assessment & Monitoring | Noise Assessment & Monitoring | |||
Noise Monitoring | Noise Monitoring | Amended to remove duplication of text and table. | ||
Noise modelling | Noise Measurement | Updated to reflect current wording | ||
6. Noise Amelioration | Noise Amelioration | |||
Noise Context | Removed – covered in other chapters | |||
Noise reduction and Amelioration measures | Noise reduction and Amelioration measures | Updated to reflect current wording | ||
7. Land Use Planning | Removed - Land use planning is more aligned with Master Plan than NMP | |||
8. Communication & Consultation | Communication & Consultation | Updated were relevant | ||
9. Implementation & Review | Implementation & Review | Updated were relevant | ||
Compliance Framework | Compliance Framework | Updated to remove Land based activities and Activates in Airspace which are covered in other chapters | ||
