Summary: Council Bluffs, Iowa, is located directly across the river from Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, and is situated in the direct path of its runways.
The airport layout plan for the airfield was prepared prior to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) development of requirements for measurements of noise levels. Efforts to revise this plan in 1974 included measurements of noise levels based on a noise-measurement system advocated by FAA. An environmental impact study for relocation of the airfield's Missouri River levee was limited to the project's impact on the environment. FAA orders concerning compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act were not followed in regard to the levee project, and, as a result, interested and affected parties were denied the opportunity to provide input on subsequent projects to be allowed by relocation of the levee. Several noise abatement actions to reduce aircraft noise over Council Bluffs have been initiated, but perhaps more could be done. Lack of coordination and communication contributed to misunderstanding among all parties. Council Bluffs apparently was given no opportunity to participate until about May 1976, in discussions leading to changes in air traffic operations to reduce noise.
