CHARLES E. SCHUMER DEMOCRATIC LEADER United States Senate November 16, 2018 Daniel K. Elwell Acting Administrator Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20591 Dear Acting Administrator Elwell: Consistent with the express intent of recently-passed, bi-partisan legislation concerning the assessment of helicopter routes on Long Island, I write to strongly urge the FAA to conduct a full public hearing for the impacted communities. The intent of the legislation was crystal clear. It states: “Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment . .. the Administrator shall hold a public hearing in the communities impacted by the regulations . .. to solicit feedback with respect to the regulations (emphasis added).” Following a bipartisan effort, FLR. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 became law October 5, 2018. Alongside Senator Gillibrand and Representative Zeldin, we included See. 182, which mandated a public hearing in communities impacted by existing helicopter regulations to solicit feedback from affected communities. This includes feedback on the route’s efficacy as it pertains to noise, enforcement of flight standards, and availability of alternative or supplemental routes to reduce the noise impact, potentially including an all-water route around Orient Point for the North Shore and a route over the Atlantic Ocean for the South Shore, The FAA’s current implementation of Sec. 182 is insufficient and has not delivered a hearing for impacted communities to publicly provide their testimony to the FAA in an open forum. It is my strong feeling that the FAA must comply with the law as written and hold a public hearing before an FAA panel that adequately allows the impacted communities and other stakeholders to submit meaningful testimony. Since H.R. 302’s passage, the FAA has offered three workshop-style public meetings. It is my understanding that these meetings were designed to facilitate a substantive dialogue with community members and the FAA around the impact of the route, however the workshops have failed to provide the opportunity for public testimony at a hearing and left some communities dissatisfied. To address this, the FAA should promptly schedule a public hearing at a time and a place that will maximize participation from Long Island’s communities. ‘As I have expressed many times to the FAA in the past, I continue to support an all-water North Shore helicopter route that includes an extension of the current route around Orient Point and Shelter Island, as well as an all-water route on the South Shore. Further, [ encourage the FAA tocomplete the necessary studies and noise modeling to move forward in reviewing the alternative and supplemental routes as mandated by Sec. 182. ‘Thank you for your consideration and attention to this important matter. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact my staff, Sincerely, Che Se Charles E, Schumer United States Senator