"FAA denies request to delay LAX modernization plan"

Friday, February 25, 2005

FAA denies request to delay airport modernization plan 
Five Democratic members of Congress had asked the agency to hold off ruling
on the plan until a panel hears appeals by county and city of El Segundo.
By Ian Gregor 
The Torrance (CA) Daily Breeze


Federal officials have rejected a request to delay the Los Angeles
International Airport modernization plan until all appeals of the
controversial proposal are heard.

Five Democratic members of Congress, including South Bay Reps. Jane Harman,
Maxine Waters and Juanita Millender-McDonald, had asked the Federal Aviation
Administration to hold off ruling on the plan until an obscure county panel
considers appeals of the project that were filed by Los Angeles County and
the city of El Segundo. 
 
FAA officials, however, decided this week that there is "no substantive
reason" to further delay a process that has taken 10 years and cost the city
of Los Angeles $130 million.

"Ten years and two council votes later, it's time to move forward with the
process," FAA spokesman Greg Martin said. "There are some critical safety
and airfield improvements we need to get moving on."

The FAA expects to issue its Record of Decision on the LAX plan next month,
Martin said. He stressed that the agency has not decided whether to approve
the plan. 

The FAA's decision to adhere to its initial timetable provoked an angry
response from Harman.

In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Harman said she
was "extremely disappointed" that the FAA is poised to rule on the entire
LAX modernization plan rather than limit its decision to a handful of
popular modernization projects. She implied that she and Mineta had
discussed the possibility of a limited FAA ruling, and urged the secretary
to instruct the agency to undertake such an action.

A City Council aide said local officials had discussed asking the FAA if it
could issue a decision only on the popular, or "consensus," projects. But
the aide said he didn't know if anyone had made a formal request to that
effect.

Robert Johnson, director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of
Transportation, said Mineta has a policy of not commenting on his
discussions with members of Congress.

"I'm not in a position to get into relating what was discussed during those
exchanges," Johnson said.

Another federal official, however, said the FAA can issue decisions only on
an entire plan it is presented with and not on portions of a plan. In the
case of LAX modernization, the Los Angeles City Council approved the entire
plan while limiting which projects can be built without additional rigorous
reviews.

"The FAA can't cherry-pick certain aspects" of a plan, said the official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Last December, the City Council decided that popular LAX modernization
projects -- including southern runway improvements and an on-airport rental
car facility -- can be built relatively soon. Controversial projects -- such
as the new entrance in the Manchester Square neighborhood 1½ miles east of
the airfield -- would have to undergo further studies and security analyses
before construction could begin.

Martin, the FAA spokesman, said the agency might perform additional reviews
of controversial projects that the City Council makes changes to in the
future.

The five members of Congress asked the FAA earlier this month to delay its
decision because the Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission may take
until May to rule on the appeals of the LAX plan. The appeals argue that the
plan is inconsistent with the county's airport noise and safety regulations.

Several lawsuits also have been filed challenging the plan's environmental
review.


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

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


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