We support a thriving Sonoma County Airport (STS).
We also chose to live in West Sonoma County for its tranquility,
away from the bustling noise of city life.
For decades the peaceful environment here has been a source of comfort and relaxation for residents
and a livelihood for businesses whose clientele come for the relaxation this environment provides. 
However, recent procedural changes have created a concentrated noise burden that has shattered this serenity, undermined our peace of mind, and violated principles of fairness, environmental justice, and legal federal requirements.

What Happened?
In early 2024, the FAA implemented the RRHED ONE departure route at the Sonoma County Airport (STS) without community input or an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Nearly every plane was shifted onto one narrow flight corridor — directly over Occidental, Camp Meeker, Bodega, Valley Ford, Graton, Sebastopol, Forestville, Northwest Santa Rosa, Monte Rio and Guerneville.

What used to be a shared, dispersed noise pattern has become a single nonstop highway of jets over the same homes and businesses, every day and often early in the morning and late at night.

This isn’t fair — and it isn’t legal.

The FAA preferentially selects the new RREHD1 route  over the safe and efficient CHRLY8 departure route, claiming it would cause “no significant impact” but our local noise monitors now show:
1. Loudness levels above federal thresholds
2. Repeated low-altitude overflights
3. Sleep disruption
4. Declining quality of life
5. Stress on families, children, and pets
6. Disruption of the peaceful ambience on which tourist businesses depend.
Federal courts have already ruled that when the FAA concentrates flight paths like this, they must conduct a full environmental review and consider alternatives. That never happened here.

What we are calling for:

1.  The FAA to immediately cease issuance of the illegally approved departure route, RRHED1 until proper fact based National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reports are conducted and that results be submitted to the affected communities for approval. 
Discontinue denying the established CHRLY8 departure for flights that request it.
Direct Oakland Center (ZOA) to ensure consistent issuance of the quieter and more efficient CHRLY8 in keeping with FAA protocols so no single community carries all the noise burden. 

2. A fact-based Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of RRHED1 using our actual noise data — not outdated computer models — that will be presented to our community for approval.

We support the airport — but not at the cost of our health, and peace of mind.
No community should be forced to bear all the noise while others remain unaffected.

Together, we can protect our neighborhoods and restore the balance between aviation and community well being.

WEST SONOMA COUNTY JET NOISE PROTEST: FAQs
 
What is the issue with jet noise over West Sonoma County?
On January 1, 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a new southbound departure route for aircraft leaving Sonoma County Airport (STS), known as RREHD1. The FAA did not complete an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). These reviews are essential for assessing noise, environmental impacts, emissions, and community health.

Why should residents care?
Without community engagement, the FAA shifted the long-standing southbound route CHRLY8 to RREHD1, routing nearly all southbound flights over a narrow corridor of West Sonoma County. Residents had no opportunity to raise concerns, discuss alternatives, or consider equitable noise distribution. This lack of transparency and public process could affect any community in the county—and should concern all residents.
CHRLY8—the primary route for decades—remains the most direct and fuel-efficient path. It follows the Highway 101 corridor, where freeway noise helps buffer jet noise. This route also provides greater flexibility to disperse departing flights from STS, spreading the noise across a broader area rather than the current RREHD1, where the noise is concentrated along a narrow path over the same West Sonoma County communities.

Isn’t this just a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) issue?
No. Labeling this issue as “NIMBY” misrepresents the core concern. The FAA imposed a major quality-of-life change without public engagement, based on generalized computer modeling. It did not conduct an environmental review or exploration of alternatives. Most residents raising concerns about RREHD1 support responsible air travel and airport growth; they simply expect changes to be made fairly, transparently, and with community input.

 Shouldn’t all Sonoma County residents share the burden of jet noise?
Yes. Many residents believe noise impacts should be shared. However, the FAA did not distribute noise more broadly because it shifted virtually all southbound flights to RREHD1, even though CHRLY8 remained operational. 
This was a unilateral transfer of impact, not shared responsibility.

(Graph provided by FAA)

How have noise complaints changed since RREHD1 was implemented?
STS’s November 4, 2025, memo to the FAA reported a dramatic increase in complaints from communities newly affected by RREHD1:

•  October 1–8, 2023: 26 complaint
•  October 1–8, 2025: 1,142 complaints

This is a 4,000% increase. Prior data and resident reports indicate CHRLY8 generated far fewer noise impacts.

Total complaints from all Sonoma County, when CHRLY8 was being used regularly, were dramatically fewer over a 9 month period than after RREHD1 was implemented.

•  January to September 2023 noise complaints were 743.
•  January to September 2025 noise complaints were 17,720.
                   (Information provided by Sonoma County Airport Commission reports)

 Who ordered the development of RREHD1?
It remains unclear. Multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have been filed seeking documentation on who initiated and approved the new route. Responses are pending.

What are public officials and the airport doing?
Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Congressman Jared Huffman, and STS all support reinstating CHRLY8 until the FAA completes a proper environmental review of RREHD1.

 What is the Coalition?
The Coalition is a growing group of West Sonoma County residents urging the FAA to return to the existing CHRLY8 route until the required NEPA review of RREHD1 is completed. 

Please sign this petition to demand the FAA and Sonoma County restore fairness,
follow environmental law, and bring back safe,
community-friendly flight paths.