"Utah airport on replacement fast track"

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Airport on fast track
FAA speeds up timetable for replacement facility
By HILLARY GUBLER OSNESS
The St. George (UT) Daily Spectrum


ST. GEORGE -- A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration
announced Tuesday in St. George that the city's replacement airport will
be put on the federal fast track. 

The replacement airport is one of six projects on the fast track, which
is expected to speed up environmental assessments and permit reviews. As
a result, the completion date for the airport is more likely to stay on
track for opening by the end of 2010. More in-depth environmental
studies had delayed the project by a couple of years. 

Last year, 13 projects were put on the original fast-track list, and of
the 13, four projects have completed the environmental review process,
said Woodie Woodward, FAA associate administrator of airports. 

"These projects weren't chosen because they were easy," Woodward said.
"We looked for projects that had tough issues that the federal
government needed to work through." 

The "tough issues" for the St. George replacement airport, which was
approved in January 2001, stems from delays concerning the environmental
impact of the project. St. George city staff conducted an environmental
assessment process after the airport's initial approval. However, the
FAA ordered the city to work through an environmental impact statement
because a court ruled the initial original environmental analysis did
not give an adequate examination of potential noise issues surrounding
the airport. 

"This (environmental study) is the bottleneck right now," said Mark
Johnson, a consultant working on the environmental study. 

The EIS noise impact portion -- which covers Zion National Park, local
communities and surrounding wilderness areas -- is about 40 percent
complete, Johnson said. 

Johnson said he anticipates holding a public information meeting in
November and hopes to have an official draft by spring 2005. His goal is
to have a public hearing on the document by late spring 2005. 

The fast track, Johnson said, will ensure that the federal agencies will
give the project high priority and streamline the decisions based on the
EIS results. 

David Ulane, St. George airport manager, said he expects final EIS
approval by November 2005 and then to receive FAA approval by mid-2006.
After approval, St. George staff can start negotiating land acquisition
and work on a formal design for the 1,400-acre project. 

Ulane said he is excited to have the airport on the fast track because
of the benefits the new airport will bring to the community, including
more hanger and ramp space, as well as a longer runway that will
accommodate larger planes and jet service. 

The ability to accommodate larger planes means more flights coming in
and out of St. George, benefiting both industry and personal travel. 

"To put it simply," Woodward said. "St. George Municipal Airport has no
room to grow safely. And in this case, physical constraints are economic
constraints." 

However, if the environmental study uncovers more issues, there is a
possibility the airport will not be constructed at the proposed
location, which would result in another delay.

Attached Photo:

Federal Aviation Administration Associate Administrator of Airports
Woodie Woodward talks about the recent announcement of the fast-track
status of the replacement St. George Airport on Tuesday following a
press conference at the current St. George Airport.

woodie.jpg