Dear Editor, 

Jet aircraft noise from planes departing Denver International Airport (DIA) flying westbound over Nederland has increased by an estimated 30% over the past 5 years. As a resident and a member of a group of residents concerned about the increasing use of the low elevation “ZIMMR” westbound flight path from DIA, we are asking the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) to take immediate action to alleviate the significant impacts this is having on our property values and legal right to quiet enjoyment in our mountain community.

The implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “NextGen” program disproportionately concentrates low-flying jet aircraft over a handful of once-quiet mountain communities, such as Nederland. For a town that relies heavily on tourism and recreation, this is a serious issue. In the summer especially, we are being subjected to hundreds of flights per day, robbing residents and visitors of peace and quiet, both inside and outside.

For residents of and visitors to Nederland and the surrounding mountain communities, the increased use of the ZIMMR route has created several major problems: disruption of the quiet mountain environment; interference with outdoor recreation, conversation, sleep, and the peaceful enjoyment of homes and public spaces; harassment of wildlife and toxic emissions over environmentally sensitive areas; economic impacts on tourism, recreation, and possible decline in property values and residential desirability.

Rural communities over sixty miles from an airport should not be expected to bear a disproportionate share of the burden created by poorly reasoned federal policies meant to benefit the bottom line of airlines. Other communities across Colorado and the U.S. have also been unfairly targeted and have successfully fought the FAA to have flight paths more equally distributed.

In April, a few of us first presented this issue to the Nederland BOT, including a petition signed by 100 local residents. A few more presented at the recent July BOT meeting. The town has been asked to send a formal letter to DIA asking them to conduct a comprehensive environmental and community impact assessment of the ZIMMR flight path and to implement new routing strategies to distribute aircraft noise more equitably, rather than concentrating the majority of flights over one narrow corridor. Another suggestion is to establish time-of-day restrictions to reduce impacts during early morning and evening hours, as they are often the busiest times – when conga lines of up to 12 jets in a row will fly over Nederland in close succession.

Aviation is an important part of Colorado's economy and transportation system, but corporate profits should not be prioritized over the health, quality of life, and environmental integrity of mountain communities. We, the residents of Nederland, deserve a meaningful voice in decisions that affect the skies above our homes.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Schulte

Nederland