The Airport Noise Settlement has been APPROVED!

Minneapolis Approves

Airport Settlement

$127 million Agreement Provides Airport Noise Protection for 9,560 Metro Homes

Oct. 16, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) –Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today signed the unanimous City Council action to approve a proposed settlement that will provide significant and meaningful relief from airport noise pollution for residents in the cities of Minneapolis, Richfield and Eagan.

“More than 9,000 residents, most who live in Minneapolis, will now get significant protection from airport noise pollution,” Mayor Rybak said. “That was part of the original deal for expanding the airport more than a decade ago. When that promise was broken, we stood up for our citizens and today we delivered for those people who have waited too long for justice.”

“This forever changes the relationship between an airport and its surrounding neighborhoods that were ignored for too long,” Rybak added. “The airport is critically important to this city and state and we want it to succeed, but that success needs to be accomplished in partnership with the people and neighborhoods most affected.”

The settlement stems from an airport noise lawsuit brought in 2005 against the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) by the three cities and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. The $127 million settlement provides $100 million more in noise relief than the MAC originally offered and is nearly double the amount in a proposed settlement of a separate class action lawsuit.

“This settlement has been a long time in the making and provides significant noise relief for the residents of South Minneapolis,” said City Council Member Scott Benson (Ward 11). “As with any compromise, it is acceptable but not fully satisfactory to either side. While not everyone who was promised full relief will receive it, this settlement provides more homes with more benefits sooner than any other alternative.”

“This isn’t about putting money into people’s pockets,” said City Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy (Ward 12). “This money will be invested into Minneapolis’ housing stock, which is an essential part of the city’s infrastructure. Sheltering the most affected residents from airport noise will stabilize parts of the community, and in the process will benefit the city as whole.”

Richfield and Eagan will consider the settlement at their respective city council meetings tonight. Mayor Rybak said that he looks forward to working with leaders in all three cities to communicate the impact of this settlement for the affected residents.

If approved by all three cities, the settlement also requires that three conditions be met:

Judge Stephen Aldrich must approve the proposed consent decree.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) must sign off on the settlement no later than November 30, 2007.
Plaintiffs in the separate airport noise class action suit must structure the terms of their settlement in a manner consistent with the cities’ lawsuit, and this must occur within 90 days of the issuance of the judge’s consent decree.


The proposed settlement agreement between the cities and the MAC offers significant noise relief to airport neighbors. Specifically, the settlement calls for the MAC to:

Provide noise protection to homes in the 63-65+ DNL (day/night noise level) in the 2007 noise contour. There are around 450 homes in this DNL eligible to receive a 5 decibel noise reduction package. To reduce jet noise by 5 decibels inside a home, noise mitigation may involve air conditioning, wall insulation, new windows and doors, roof baffles, furnace, ductwork, etc. This work would occur between November 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

Install central air conditioning in one, two and three-family homes in the 60-62 DNL noise contour created in 2007 if they do not have air conditioning. These homes would also receive insulation and other noise mitigation improvements up to a value of $4,000 from a pre-established menu of possible improvements. Households in this noise contour that already have air conditioning would be allowed to select from a pre-established menu of improvements up to a value of $14,000. The noise protection menu to be established in the future would likely include items such as insulation, sealing and caulking, acoustical windows, etc. This work would be done between December 1, 2008 and December 1, 2012. This noise contour encompasses more than 5,340 eligible homes.

Install permanent, through-the-wall air conditioning units and acoustical air conditioning covers in apartment and condominium buildings in the 60-64 DNL noise contour. Roughly 1,930 units are located within this 2007 noise contour. This work would be done between December 1, 2008 and December 1, 2010.

Provide an estimated $6 million to cover the costs of noise mitigation work for homes located between the 2007 and 2005 60 DNL noise contours. This could include up to 1,835 homes. Reimbursement would only be provided for work done after the date of the settlement, not for past noise abatement improvements.

The noise mitigation work outlined in the settlement includes an inflation factor to cover rising costs for future work over the next five years. Additional terms of the settlement agreement call for MAC to pay $2.25 million to the plaintiffs for reimbursement of attorney’s costs.