More than 1,000 Rockland residents gathered in Hillburn last night to protest a proposed plan that would bring hundreds of planes a day and more noise to the county. Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said the county might pursue legal action to require the Federal Aviation Administration to reopen the airspace project's environmental impact review.

According to the Journal News, the FAA is proposing to create a new flight path over Rockland to handle Newark Liberty International Airport arrivals. By 2011, an average of 300 to 400 flights a day could travel over the county, raising noise levels to 58 decibels in parts of Ramapo and Orangetown. The new air traffic would travel over Rockland more than seven months of year, and typically during the summer.

Residents voiced a range of concerns, including lower property values to a diminished quality of life. FAA officials insist the noise should not be enough to disturb a normal conversation.

Steve Kelley, program manager for the FAA's airspace redesign, said the FAA's final environmental impact statement will be delivered by Friday.