"Critics find faults in Augusta, Georgia airports master plan"

Sunday, May 26, 2002

Critics find faults in airport master plan 
By Vicky Eckenrode 
The Augusta (GA) Chronicle


Final judgment of Augusta Regional Airport's master plan may rest with
the federal government, but that hasn't stopped critics from voicing
their opinions.

Some have balked at the price tag - $156 million for the plan's
implementation during the next 20 years.

Other critics of the airport's plan point to environmental concerns that
could prompt lawsuits, which could keep construction plans bogged down
in litigation for many years.

The airport's cost led local real estate developer Turner Simkins to
start an informal group to study the master plan.

"We were concerned that the (master plan's) consultant hadn't thought
everything through on these matters," said Mr. Simkins, who also sits on
the board for the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, which is
responsible for developing Phinizy Swamp.

Critics of the plan point to a less costly alternative nearly approved
two years ago. 

That plan, created by the aviation consulting firm The LPA Group Inc.,
called for building a new terminal in the same area as the current
facility and did not include any expansion of the current runways or the
construction of a new runway. The cost of the plan, which was proposed
by former Augusta Aviation Commission Chairman Ed Skinner, was $25
million.

The plan died when the 12-member aviation board split 5-5 over whether
to start the work. Board member Marcie Wilhelmi was absent and did not
vote, and incoming board member Shelia Paulk abstained.
 
Instead of approving that plan, the board decided it first needed a
master plan that would map out the airport's land and potential growth.

Although separate plans proposing changes to the airfield and the
terminal had been submitted before, Augusta had never sent a master plan
that focused on the entire airport to the FAA, officials there say.

The aviation board chose consulting company Black & Veatch to create the
master plan. That plan has cost $780,229 so far, of which the Federal
Aviation Administration paid 90 percent.

The plan that Black & Veatch came back with last summer was vastly
different from the LPA proposal.

It calls for building a midfield terminal, with a new parking area and
new entrance roads, at a cost of $50.4 million. The plan also recommends
eliminating the existing cross runway, buying additional land, and
adding a 6,000-foot parallel runway.

Most Southeast airports similar in size to Augusta Regional do not have
parallel runways. Those with intersecting runways - such as Augusta's -
include Columbia; Savannah; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and
Montgomery, Ala.

Mark Wnuk, the executive assistant to the Montgomery Airport Authority,
said the city's airport has a long primary runway used for commercial
traffic intersected by a shorter runway for general aviation planes. A
parallel configuration has been mentioned before, he said, because it
would increase capacity and leave a runway open in case maintenance work
or an incident closed the primary runway.

"It's been considered to do a parallel runway, but the cost is really
prohibitive at this time," he said.

Augusta Regional officials say they will start with replacing outdated
facilities by building a new terminal and reconfiguring the airfield.
That portion of work - Phase I - is estimated to cost $92 million. They
say Phases II and III - the long-term expansion - would occur only when
they're needed in the future.

Proponents of the $25 million LPA plan from two years ago say its
implementation would cost even less now because of improvements done in
recent years, including changes to the airport's parking lots.

Supporters say the plan addresses the airport's need to replace the
dilapidated terminal at a more reasonable price.

Mr. Simkins hasn't endorsed either plan yet.

"We've studied the plans, and we just have some questions that we're
hoping they (master plan consultants) can answer," he said.

He favors building a terminal in the same location as the current one if
it would expedite the process.

He said he is concerned that pairing the midfield terminal with a new
runway that would extend into wetlands would bog construction down for
years because of strict environmental laws.

Sam Booher, the state chairman of the environmental group Sierra Club,
contends getting permits to build in wetlands could take years. He also
foresees numerous legal hassles.

"Filling in 600 and some acres of wetlands is not going to be an easy
process, and I can't imagine it happening - it would astound me," Mr.
Booher said. "There'll probably be a line of people lined up to file the
public interest lawsuit."

Gene Eidson, the director of science for the Southeastern Natural
Sciences Academy, said he intends to monitor the next step in the master
plan - an environmental assessment.

"My interest with the airport is to make sure that when the study is
done, that the study is very complete," he said.

The environmental assessment, which will include studying air and water
quality and any potential impact from building in wetlands, would start
once the FAA approves the airport's layout plan.

While Mr. Eidson said he wants to work with the airport in an advisory
role during the environmental study, he made his opinion about the
project clear.

"We're really in opposition to any encroachment into the swamp," he said
about Phinizy Swamp, the 1,100-acre nature park that includes drainage
systems, public walking trails and endangered wildlife.

The park is also the site for the city's wastewater treatment cells,
which filter impurities from treated sewage through constructed marshes
behind the Messerly Wastewater Plant.

"If they approached a more modest project and a runway that would not
impact the swamp we would certainly want to work with them," Mr. Eidson
said. "I think there's a compromise there somewhere."

Airport Director Ken Kraemer said it was too premature to say what
changes could be made to the plan as a result of the environmental
study.

But Jackie Maryak, the science academy's executive director, said her
group has discussed with airport officials compromises on the new runway
that would address Phinizy Swamp's concerns, including the possibility
of moving the landing strip away from the nature area completely.

In response to the rumblings, Ernie Sizemore, the chairman of the
Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce's Air Service Task Force, has begun
soliciting questions and suggestions others may have about the current
plan.

He said he will submit those to Mr. Kraemer.

Based on the airport's responses and their own studies, the task force
plans to develop a position statement.

Barry White, the president of the Augusta Metropolitan Convention and
Visitors Bureau, said his group is interested in developing a position
statement with the chamber's task force.

"Our focus primarily working with the airport is on moving (the airport)
forward and getting community support for that plan," Mr. Sizemore said.

Kathryn Solee, the airport's spokeswoman, said the first order of
business is to get the plan approved by the FAA, then tweaking can
begin.

"I think over coffee, brainstorming, the community is certainly
buzzing," she said. "Everybody has their idea of what it should be.

"Certainly, there are voices out there that would like it changed, but
we're not there yet."


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID8

*****************************************