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City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424
Contact: Jennifer Bennerotte
Communications & Technology Services Director
Phone 952-833-9520 • Fax 952-826-0389 • www.EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Significant aviation noise changes delayed 18-24 months
Edina, Minn., Nov. 19, 2012 – City officials and dozens of Edina residents prevailed at a meeting of the
Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) earlier today when they asked the Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport (MSP) operators to delay action on proposed navigation changes over the community.
Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures are being considered by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) for implementation at MSP. Under the proposal considered today, the PBN procedures
would concentrate flights into less diffuse and more narrow bands coming into and departing the airport. The
result of this recommendation would be concentrated flights north and west of the Minnesota River over
southwest Minneapolis and Edina.
The FAA asked the MAC to give a letter of support of the proposed procedures. Since learning of the
proposal about two weeks ago, City of Edina leaders and residents have been urging MAC officials and
members of its Noise Oversight Committee to delay action until after those in Edina could be better
informed of the impacts. City Manager Scott Neal and Mayor Jim Hovland argued that the City of Edina was
not given the same opportunity to learn about the issue as other communities impacted by aviation noise,
such as Minneapolis, Richfield, Eagan, Mendota Heights and Apple Valley. The MAC engaged in outreach in
those communities, including meeting with City officials, holding public meetings and publishing notices in
local newspapers. MAC did not share information with City of Edina staff members until last week, after Neal
initiated contact with them.
The MAC approved the proposed navigational changes on departures and arrivals at MSP, except for arrivals
and departures on runways 30R and 30L, which are the two runways that impact Edina the most. The effect
of this decision is that the fears that residents had about significant changes in aviation noise will be delayed by
at least 18 to 24 months.
“During that time period, we will have time as a city government and as a community to engage with MAC
and FAA staff to learn about the issue and to impact it in the future,” Neal said after the meeting. “While
there is a strong likelihood that we will someday see navigation changes with these two runways in the future,
we should not merely accept that the proposals we are looking at today as the proposals we will necessarily
get in the future. We can impact this decision in the future. There are options.”
City staff will talk with MAC and FAA officials to begin talking about when and how the engagement process
can begin in Edina. The Edina City Council will likely talk about the matter at its Nov. 20 meeting.
To keep up to date on this issue, sign up for the “Aviation Noise” City Extra email distribution list at
www.EdinaMN.gov, or contact the City’s Community Development Department, 952-826-0369.
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