Minister silent on noisy planes

Environment minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk is under pressure to give his final verdict on several legal appeals which have been lodged against the construction of the King Shaka International Airport.

Most of the nine outstanding legal appeals are based on fears about unacceptable levels of noise pollution from jet aircraft. But with almost R5-million being spent every day on the R6,8-billion airport there seems to be virtually no prospect of Van Schalkwyk pulling the plug on the project at this stage.

Nevertheless, the La Mercy Airport Environmental Forum (which represents ratepayers and residents in several residential areas north of Durban) said its members were astonished that the minister had failed to fulfil his legal duty to make a final decision on their appeals.

Van Schalkwyk approved the airport subject to certain conditions in August 2007 after a mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA).

''EIA process was largely a politically driven rubber-stamping procedure.

However, the La Mercy forum lodged a legal appeal a month later along with eight other groups or individuals and his failure to respond has strengthened perceptions in several quarters that the EIA process was largely a politically driven rubber-stamping procedure.

Forum spokesperson Terry Bengis said on Wednesday that the noise-related preconditions set by the environmental affairs department were too loose and open to a variety of interpretations.

He said there were at least four different sets of noise control laws or regulations in South Africa, but it was not clear from the EIA whether there would be any legally binding measures to limit noise in residential areas to acceptable levels.

It had also become clear from a recent article by noise specialist consultant Michael van der Merwe that World Health Organisation noise control guidelines would be exceeded in several suburbs north of the city once the airport became operational.

To complicate the situation, the SA National Standards Authority had published maximum noise level standards but these had yet to be adopted by the eThekwini Municipality.

''residents hear actual noise events''

Bengis said another major concern was that noise levels predicted during the EIA study were based on mathematical and computer modelling predictions rather than actual noise measurements.

"Our objection was primarily based on the premise that residents hear actual noise events and no amount of modelling or averaging can take that away."

For example, actual noise measurements of 98dB had been recorded as far as 8km away from the present Durban International Airport, whereas WHO guidelines recommend a 55dB limit in residential areas and a stricter 45dB limit in the day and 35dB limit at night in rural residential areas.

A further concern was that because of the high humidity and temperatures in Durban during the summer months, it was likely that several airlines would choose to delay takeoffs until the cooler hours of the night.

Meanwhile, there is still no clarity from the eThekwini metro council on the future of up to 35 000 people in the vicinity of the new airport who will either have to move out or have their homes soundproofed because of predicted noise levels above 45dB.