By Jack Nicas

City officials are “seriously considering” taking legal action against the federal government after the number of planes flying over Somerville has tripled in the last two years, and according to city officials, the feds have turned a cold shoulder to local noise complaints.

City spokesman Tom Champion said the city could sue the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and potentially the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) in response to the increase in airplane noise over Somerville skies.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said attorney Peter Koff, the Cambridge representative on the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (CAC), has already filed suit against the FAA over Runway 33L, the runway responsible for all Somerville air traffic.

Wig Zamore, the CAC’s Somerville representative, said air traffic over Somerville tripled in 2007 following the introduction of Runway 14/32 at Logan. According to CAC data, takeoffs from Runway 33L accounted for 6.4 percent of all takeoffs prior to 2007. Once Runway 14/32 was introduced, that number skyrocketed to 24 percent, according to Massport.

Zamore said the increase was the result of a three-way model, where runways 27 and 32 would handle most arrivals and 33L most takeoffs. Richard Walsh, spokesman for Massport, said the use of Runway 33L is up to the FAA, but is often determined by weather, specifically wind conditions; however, Champion disagrees: ‚ÄúThe statistics just don’t bear out that the wind patterns have changed so much that they’re sending out 300 percent more operations over Somerville than they used to.‚Äù

Peters said wind is the determining factor for runway usage and that the FAA has “to use the runways available to [them].” He said the three-fold increase from 2006 to 2007 on 33L was a result of “persistent wind conditions.”

Champion said the FAA’s runway configuration fostered the increased usage. ‚ÄúIf you look at what’s happened since [Runway 14/32] opened, it’s clear the FAA is making an operational decision to send a lot more aircrafts over Somerville. Logan operated for years without that traffic, so presumably it would be possible to operate the airport safely and efficiently without sending aircrafts in those numbers over Somerville.‚Äù

The FAA, in conjunction with Massport and the CAC, is in the fifth year of a six-year study called the Boston Logan Airport Noise Study (BLANS), which looks to reduce noise impact from Logan flights. In the first phase of the study, the CAC introduced one flight concept to abate noise over Somerville: planes would be required to make turns, which create more noise, farther down Mystic River near Wellington Station and at a higher altitude.

Champion said this could create “modest impact, but not substantial relief,” because the real problem is runway assignments and configurations. He said the city has exhausted all attempts to get the FAA to acknowledge this, but to no avail. The FAA refuses to speak with Somerville outside of BLANS, the study cannot involve any runway configurations, and the FAA refuses to discuss any runway configurations or assignments in general, he said.

‚ÄúAs long as the FAA is adamant that they won’t even look at this issue or sit down and talk with us,‚Äù he said, ‚Äúthen the odds are pretty good that we’ll have to take some sort of legal action.‚Äù

State Rep. Denise Provost, State Senator Patricia Jehlen and the Board of Aldermen have all contacted the FAA as well. Provost suggested an extension past Wellington and an increase of 2,000 feet in altitude for the turnaround point. Jehlen called for portable noise monitoring devices for affected neighborhoods, such as Winter Hill. And the Board of Aldermen passed an order requesting a ‚Äúrespite‚Äù policy to alleviate residents’ sleep deprivation. The FAA responded to all three in a letter that said, ‚ÄúYour letter and comments will be made part of the record and considered accordingly.‚Äù

Jenny Shallenberger, a Mead Street resident, said with the exception of the early morning hours, flights are a constant above her house. As a music teacher, the noise is disrupting her life. ‚ÄúI teach students at home,‚Äù she said, ‚Äúand I have to stop talking or playing when the airplanes go over in order to complete what I’m doing.‚Äù

She said the planes wake her up most mornings around 5:30 a.m.

Champion said the city’s next step is consulting with neighboring communities to see if joint action is possible. ‚ÄúThen based off the kind of response we receive, we’ll formulate an appropriate plan for how best to proceed legally.‚Äù He said action could be taken ‚Äúin a matter of months.‚Äù

Zamore said the city’s density makes its skies a bad place for regular air traffic. He said, ‚ÄúIf there’s anywhere that’ll have an impact if you fly jets over it, it’s here.‚Äù