Financial implications of the proposed act on protection from aviation noise

Due to differing estimates of the level of investment required by airport operators, the BMU, in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW), set up a group of experts under the moderation and organisation of the Öko-Institut e.V. in order to avoid burdening the further negotiations on the BMU's "Draft Act to Improve Protection against Aircraft Noise in the Vicinity of Aerodromes" of 22 June 2004 with the uncertainties of the financial consequences of the draft law. The working group was made up of experts from affected groups: These included the Working Group of German Commercial Airports, the Federal Association Against Aircraft Noise, the Federal Environment Agency, the BMVBW and the BMU.

The central aim of the working group was to use a jointly agreed methodological approach to estimate the costs of the draft legislation for commercial airports and landing sites used for civil aviation as uniformly as possible. Over the course of three months, the group developed a series of common premises and input parameters and, based on these, estimated the cost consequences for appropriate noise protection and compensation for the impairment of outdoor living areas for the affected residential units in the vicinity of the airports. Where necessary, the working group has provided a meaningful interpretation of the draft law. It also developed a series of recommendations on the draft and the structure of the subordinate legislation.