Tuscaloosa's noise ordinance expressly exempts air traffic at the Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport (City Code Sec. 10.8-14(b)). Aircraft operational noise is controlled by federal law, which gives the United States exclusive sovereignty over the navigable airspace (49 U.S.C. 40103).
Aircraft noise is not regulated by Tuscaloosa's municipal noise code. Section 10.8-14(b) of the City Code expressly states that the article's prohibitions 'shall not apply to air traffic at the Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport.' This city exemption is consistent with controlling federal law: 49 U.S.C. 40103(a) provides that 'the United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States' and that a citizen has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace, which the Federal Aviation Administration regulates. The U.S. Supreme Court held in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, 411 U.S. 624 (1973), that federal law preempts state and local regulation of aircraft noise and flight operations. As a result, Tuscaloosa cannot use its noise ordinance to limit decibel levels from overflights, takeoffs or landings, and residents disturbed by aircraft noise are directed to the FAA and airport authority rather than to Tuscaloosa Police or Municipal Court. Land-use compatibility around airports in Alabama is addressed separately through the state's Airport Zoning law (Code of Alabama 1975, Title 4, Chapter 6), not the city noise code.
No municipal noise penalty applies to aircraft operational noise, because Section 10.8-14(b) exempts airport air traffic and federal law preempts local regulation. Ground noise unrelated to flight operations may still be addressed under Section 10.8-13.
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