PLACERVILLE . INFO

By Cathy Locke - El Dorado County officials fear their constituents may not be well served by a settlement agreement between the city of Folsom and Sacramento County, so they've decided to chart their own course for dealing with aircraft noise and the proposed expansion of Mather Airport.

The Board of Supervisors last week directed the chief administrative officer to assemble a team to meet with Sacramento County Airport System representatives regarding the long-standing issue of noise created over El Dorado County neighborhoods by low-flying aircraft using Sacramento County airports.

The team also will be called on to prepare the county's response to the environmental impact report, expected to be released in coming months, for the Mather Airport master plan.

Supervisor Ron Briggs said planner Peter Maurer has been the county's liaison on the airport noise issues. But Briggs said he would like members of the county chief administrator's staff and the county counsel's office to be involved as well.

"I just want to empower the (chief administrative officer) to take charge and give us a report," he said.

The county has addressed the overflight issues through the El Dorado County-City of Folsom Joint Powers Authority.

But the supervisors declined to join Folsom in a lawsuit filed last year challenging the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors' decision to allow expansion of DHL Express facilities at Mather, though they applauded the move for getting Sacramento County's attention.

Since then, Folsom and Sacramento County have entered into a settlement agreement to develop noise abatement procedures and examine alternative flight paths for air cargo jets.

Briggs said alternatives that alleviate noise for Folsom residents may not resolve the problem in El Dorado County.

The supervisor said he had been told the flight path might be shifted south of Highway 50.

Board Chairman Rusty Dupray said such an alternative was tested in 2004 and halted because of complaints from residents south of the freeway.

Laura Gill, county chief administrator, said there has been talk of shifting the flight path to an area between White Rock Road and Jackson Highway, but ... read more