[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58672-58673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23618]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for Atlantic City International Airport, NJ
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for airport layout plan approval and Federal funding at
Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey.
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SUMMARY: Notice is given that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
has prepared and released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
for improvement projects at Atlantic City International Airport. The
DEIS addresses a proposal by the South Jersey Transportation Authority
(SJTA) to construct the new or expanded facilities needed to continued
operating the airport in a safe, efficient, and more productive manner.
The airport is located in an ecologically sensitive area, and a variety
of natural resources could be adversely affected if the proposed
projects are implemented. Accordingly, the DEIS analyzes, evaluates,
and discloses the potentially significant environmental impacts
associated with reasonable alternatives, including the alternative of
taking no action. The public is invited to comment on the DEIS during
the 45-day comment period as well as to attend a public hearing, which
will be schedule shortly.
DATES: Comments on the DEIS will be accepted for 45 days following the
date that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its
Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register, which should be
on or after September 16th, 2002; the comment due date would then be
Monday, October 28th, 2002. However, the FAA will notify all parties on
the project mailing list of the exact dates that comments will be
accepted. Future notification regarding the public hearing date,
expected in mid-October 2002, will be provided through public notices,
local news media releases, and/or mailings. These notifications will be
provided at least 15 days in advance of the public hearing and 30 days
in advance of the deadline for submitting comments.
The FAA asks that comments on the DEIS be as specific as possible,
including references to page numbers, chapters, or appendices. Comments
that include suggested changes, sources, or methodologies are more
helpful. Comments containing only opinions or preferences will not
receive a formal response; however, they will be considered and
included as part of the decision-making process.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS should be sent to the FAA's
Project Manager, Daisy Mather, Federal Aviation Administration, Eastern
Region Airports Division, AEA-610, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434
(or alternatively by e-mail: [email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SJTA has completed a master plan, an
airport layout plan, and an environmental assessment (EA) for future
development projects at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY).
Based on the EA and the related agency comments, the FAA determined
that the proposed improvements had the potential to cause significant
adverse impacts to the environment and that a DEIS should be prepared.
A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was published in the
Federal Register [FR Doc. 00-24935]. Scoping meetings were held with
the public as well as with regulatory agencies that were involved in
the EA process. Scoping identified the following environmental impact
categories as being significant issues or concerns; noise, secondary
and induced impacts, air quality, water resources, biotic communities,
threatened and endangered species, wetlands, hazardous waste, and
cumulative effects.
The proposal involves four near-term development projects. The SJTA
has requested that FAA take environmental action on these projects'
therefore, they are ripe for decision. They include terminal area
development, auxiliary area development, hotel-conference center
construction, and Runway 13-31 instrument landing system (ILS) upgrade.
Because there are several environmental concerns associated with the
proposed projects, certain mitigation measures have been incorporated
early on in an effort to provide solutions to potential environmental
impacts. The proposed mitigation projects include, but are not limited
to, a mitigation and management plan for grassland habitat and a storm
water management plan. For each of these near-term projects, the FAA's
preferred alternative is identified, as is the environmentally-
preferred alternative, which are the same for all but one project.
Major aspects of the terminal area development project are terminal
building improvements and construction of new gates; construction of a
public parking garage, rental car maintenance facility, airline cargo
warehouses, general aviation hangars, and a deicing apron; and
implementation of grassland mitigation and management projects and
storm water best management practices. Five different locations on the
airport were identified as candidate sites for terminal area
development, but four of these were dismissed as being unreasonable
because they failed to accomplish the project objectives, or they
resulted in greater environmental harm, or both. Accordingly, two
alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: The Build Alternative and the
No-Action Alternative.
The Build Alternative has the potential to benefit the airport and
the local economy in terms of job creation and economic growth. Water
resources would also benefit by implementing the storm water best
management practices and by a having an engineered facility to control
the runoff of deicing and anti-icing agents. However, the Build
Alternative requires 58 acres of open space to be developed, resulting
in a loss of 49 acres of grassland and nine acres of upland forest.
Almost all of the affected grassland is classified as critical habitat
for two state-listed threatened and endangered bird species--the upland
sandpiper and the grasshopper sparrow. To compensate for the loss, the
Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation and Management Plan
has been prepared, which demonstrates that sufficient suitable habitat
could be created and managed in the northwest quadrant of the airport
so that there would be no net loss in
[[Page 58673]]
grassland habitat value on the airport. The No-Action Alternative fails
to meet the project's objectives. Therefore, the FAA proposes to
implement the Build Alternative, with mitigation measures that reduce
adverse environmental impacts to the extent practicable.
Major aspects of the auxiliary area development project are
construction of aircraft maintenance hangars, air-freight warehouses, a
parallel taxiway, an aircraft parking apron and connector taxiways, an
access roadway, auto parking areas; and implementation of the grassland
mitigation and management projects and storm water best management
practices. Three alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: two build
alternatives and the No-Action Alternatives Build Alternative 1
utilizes the northwest quadrant of the airport, while Build Alternative
2 utilizes the southwest quadrant. Build Alternative 1 causes the most
significant environmental impacts. It requires up to 70 acres of
grassland to develop, which would result in substantial habitat loss
and fragmentation, severely impacting several state-listed grassland
bird species. This alternative also conflicts with the SJTA's plan to
use the northwest quadrant of the airport for grassland mitigation and
management for all of the near-term projects, so mitigation for habitat
losses may not be feasible.
Build Alternative 2 would cause less environmental harm when
compared with Build Alternative 1. The Build Alternative site is
smaller and is centrally located amidst other developed areas. This
would reduce habitat loss to 39 acres of grassland and reduce
fragmentation, thereby minimizing the potential for adverse effects to
state-listed grassland bird species. To compensate for the impacts to
their habitat, the Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation
and Management Plan demonstrates that sufficient suitable habitat could
be created and managed in the northwest quadrant of the airport so that
there would be no net loss of grassland habitat value on the airport.
The No-Action Alternative fails to meet the project's objectives.
Therefore, the FAA proposes to implement Build Alternative 2, with
mitigation measures to minimize and compensate for adverse
environmental impacts to the extent practicable.
For the hotel/conference center project, major aspects of the
proposal include a two-to-three story building with 150 suites, lobby
and amenities, swimming pool, outbuildings, parking, and storm water
best management practices. Three alternatives are evaluated in the
DEIS; two build alternatives and the No-Action Alternative. The Build
Alternative 1 location is along Amelia Earhart Boulevard, and Build
Alternative 2 location is near the Airport Circle. Build Alternative 1
requires 10.5 acres of pine-oak forest to be cleared near a reported
Cooper's hawk nest site. It has not been determined for certain whether
this nesting territory is currently active, but it is being treated as
if it were. In contrast, Build Alternative 2 requires 13.5 acres of
pine-oak forest to be removed from two New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection (JNDEP) designated protected habitat zones--
one for the Cooper's hawk and the other for the barred owl. Although
these protected areas do not currently contain nest sites, they may
still provide suitable breeding habitat, and the NJDEP recommends that
such areas be set aside for habitat protection. The No-Action
Alternative fails to meet the project objectives. Although Build
Alternative 2 is considered to be the environmental preferred
alternative, Build Alternative 1, with mitigation measures to reduce
adverse environmental impacts to the extent practicable, is the FAA's
preferred alternative, because it better meets the project purpose and
need.
For the ILS upgrade, major aspects of the proposal include
installation of a glide slope antenna and a medium intensity approach
light system. Three alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: two build
alternatives and the No-Action Alternative. Build Alternative 1 would
involve installation of a new ILS on Runway 31. Build Alternative 2
would involve relocating the existing ILS from Runway 13 to Runway 31
and installing a new, upgraded ILS system on Runway 13. The potential
environmental impacts associated with the two build alternatives are
virtually the same. Build Alternative 2, which by definition includes
Build Alternative 1, has additional direct loss of biotic communities,
but the total is still less than one acre. The same is true for loss of
habitat for the grassland bird species upland sandpiper and grasshopper
sparrow: the loss of habitat would be less than one-third of an acre,
which would be compensated for under the Upland Sandpiper and
Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation and Management Plan. The No-Action
Alternative fails to meet the project objectives. Therefore, the FAA
proposes to implement Build Alternative 2.
In addition to the near-term projects ripe for decision, the DEIS
discusses four long-range projects that are not. Because the long-range
projects are not reasonably foreseeable, the FAA will not take an
environmental action on them at this time. Once they are ripe for
decision, however, additional environmental review and will be
necessary. The projects include construction of a direct airport access
roadway, extension of Runway 4-22, construction of high-speed taxiway
exists, and non-aviation related development along the White Horse
Pike. In response to scoping comments, these long-range projects are
included in the DEIS so that the agencies and the public have a clear
understanding of the entire airport development plan and the potential
environmental consequences associated with it.
Obtaining Copies of the DEIS: The complete Draft Environmental
Impact Statement is a very large document. It includes a 350-page
technical report and nine technical and administrative appendices.
Copies are available upon written request to Daisy Mather (see contact
information below). The first copy of each printed document is free.
Additional copies are available, but may be provided at a reduced cost.
Copies of the Executive Summary are free and available upon request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daisy Mather, Federal Aviation
Administration, Eastern Region Airports Division, AEA-610, 1 Aviation
Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434; telephone (718) 553-2511; fax (718) 995-5694,
or e-mail: [email protected].
Issued on September 10, 2002, in Jamaica, New York.
Sharon A. Daboin,
Acting Manager, Airports Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 02-23618 Filed 9-16-02; 8:45 am]
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