The Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration has a requirement for a contractor that will support the research, engineering, analysis, and policy efforts of the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy, Office of Airports Planning and Environmental Division, and the Air Traffic Organization’s (ATO).

The FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy (AEE) develops, recommends, coordinates and implements national aviation policy relating to environmental and energy matters. They conduct analyses and studies of aircraft and airport operations, air traffic procedures, and airspace to develop programs with the potential for reducing adverse impacts on the environment while maintaining the efficiency and capacity of the National Airspace System (NAS). They also coordinate with other agencies to develop and implement aviation-related environmental and energy policies, goals, and priorities. The Airport Planning and Environmental Division (APP-400) provides guidance and assistance to airports in implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other Federal environmental laws and regulations. They maintain Order 5050.4B, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions, and The Desk Reference for Airport Actions. 1.

The Office of Modeling and Simulation (AJP-D) within the Air Traffic Organization’s NextGen and Operations Planning Service Unit (ATO-P) develops and maintains a variety of computer models of the National Airspace System (NAS); uses these models to estimate the future performance of the NAS, to perform NextGen design trade-offs, and to facilitate the portfolio analysis of NextGen investments; and assists program offices and others within the ATO who are applying computer models for cost-benefit, concept development, and performance analysis. The ATO’s Environmental Policy Group within Mission Support Services (AJV-114) develops environmental policy and standards and provides technical advice to the ATO, FAA Headquarters, Service Areas, and Field Offices as they relate to air traffic procedures and airspace design. They maintain Chapter 32, Environmental Matters, of Order7400.2, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters.

• POLICY DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
  • The Contractor must provide technical support for policy development, in particular AEE’s efforts at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), including attendance at CAEP and CAEP Working Group meetings as required. This support includes technical input to support the implementation of international policies, such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) into domestic outcomes. Support must include, but not be limited to:
    • Provide support to CAEP Modelling and Databases Group (MDG) and CAEP Working Groups on tasks related to environmental and economic modeling. This includes efforts such as the ICAO CORSIA CO2 Estimation and Reporting Tool (CERT) and other emissions and costing models used in CORSIA as well as other noise, emissions, and costing models used by ICAO
    • Provide research, information, and data to help examine viable technical recommendations to be implemented in support of CORSIA including support analyses on costs and demands for offsetting and CORSIA Eligible Fuel use under CORSIA.
    •  Support efforts related to a long-term aspirational goal for international aviation CO2 emissions. This includes development and interpretation of integrated scenarios for aviation emissions and contributing to deliverables related to this effort.
    • Support implementation of CORSIA in the United States through continued development of the U.S. reporting system and implementation of CORSIA, including continuing to support the process of data gap filling and order of magnitude checks for Emissions Reports pursuant to requirements in Annex 16, Volume IV

  EMISSIONS AND THEIR IMPACTS

  • The Contractor must assist in conducting measurements of aircraft engine emissions and assist in advancing the understanding of the environmental impacts of these emissions on air quality, the ozone layer, and climate change. The Contractor is required to:
    • Develop effective measurement systems for gaseous and particulate matter emissions measurements from aircraft engines;
    • Conduct measurements and analysis of gaseous and particulate matter emissions from aircraft engines operating on conventional and alternative fuels;
    • Convey information from measurements and system development to improve emissions certification procedures and requirements; and
    • Conduct experiments and analyses to understand the impacts of aircraft emissions on air quality, the ozone layer, and climate change.

  NOISE AND THEIR IMPACTS

  • The Contractor must assist in conducting measurements and analyses of aircraft noise and assist in advancing the understanding of the environmental impacts of noise. The Contractor is required to:
    • Conduct measurements and analysis to support the development and implementation of noise certification procedures and requirements;
    • Conduct analyses to understand noise exposure using the Aviation Environmental Design Tool with a variety of metrics;
    • Conducting surveys to understand human perception to aircraft noise;
    • Conduct research to quantify the impact of noise on sleep, human health, and productivity; and
    • Evaluate the economic costs of noise exposure on society.

  MODELING AND ANALYSIS SUPPORT

  • The Contractor must perform a variety of complex qualitative, quantitative and environmental analyses tasks as well as undertake the design, development, enhancement and application of a broad range of simulation, model, and analysis tools. The Contractor is required to:
    • Develop, modify and apply simulations, models, and analysis tools to support evaluation of operational concepts and NAS changes;
    • Provide independent expertise in aeronautical engineering and NAS operations to support requirements as directed by the FAA that are identified by research laboratories such as MITRE Corporation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratories and provide technical recommendations of research laboratory projects;
    • Design, develop, and conduct environmental and operational analyses of aviation requirements, policies and strategies. This support must include, but not be limited to, analyses of environmental impacts and economic tradeoffs, cost benefit and investment analyses, studies on the impacts of proposed alternatives on airline schedules and airline policy changes, and assessments of the impacts of NAS modernization activities;
    • Design and develop new software applications to conduct NAS environmental, operational, and economic assessments. The Contractor must provide aeronautical engineering, air traffic control and operational expertise, and economic expertise to investigate candidate enhancements to improve model accuracy and relevance to aviation operations. The Contractor must support the maintenance and enhancement of models such as AEE’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), ATO’s Aviation Environmental Screening Tool (AEST), and AJP’s National Airspace Performance Analysis Capability (NASPAC), and conduct reviews of new Environmental Protection Agency-sanctioned emission and dispersion algorithms for inclusion in AEDT;
    • Design, develop, implement, and maintain computer databases for the storage and analysis of operational, environmental, and economic data. Design, develop, and implement software programs and processes for ingesting data into these databases, and for the analysis of these data;
    • Plan and conduct studies and analyses to support the development and enhancement of NAS operational, environmental, and economic models. For example, collect data from sources such as ASPM, ETMS, TFMS, PDARS, OAG, BTS, NTML, NCDC, etc. Use statistical analysis techniques such as exploratory data analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), hypothesis testing, and regression analysis on this data to discern patterns and to characterize the behavior of various NAS actors, processes, and systems. Use Geographical Information System (GIS) software to analyze flight tracks and their relation to airspace, political boundaries, population centers, etc.;
    • Plan and conduct studies on airport capacities using operational data and airport models such as TAAM, ACM, Runway Simulator, etc.;
    • Develop user documentation and training materials and provide user training for models and analysis tools as directed by the FAA;
    • Provide technical support to users of computer models, analysis tools, and information management systems to promote proper application and ensure accurate interpretation;
    • Planning and conducting technical environmental consequence studies for aviation noise, emissions, and fuel burn for airports and airspace projects using operational data and aviation environmental models such as AEDT;
    • Planning and conducting environmental impact studies for the domains of aviation noise, air quality, and climate, on scales ranging from a single airport to the globe, using operational data and aviation environmental impact models and;
    • Designing developing, and conducting environmental and operational impact and mitigation research.