[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38224-38225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18859]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct 
Scoping for a Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) Facility and 
Associated Air Traffic Control (ATC) Procedural Changes in and Near the 
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and conduct Scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration is issuing this notice to 
advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be 
prepared and considered for the consolidation and construction of a new 
Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility in the Baltimore/
Washington area. There are four stand-alone TRACONs within the study 
area located at Baltimore--Washington International Airport, Ronald 
Reagan Washington National Airport, and Washington Dulles International 
Airport; and the FAA operated TRACON located at Andrews Air Force Base, 
Maryland. The Federal Aviation Administration intends to prepare a 
tiered Environmental Impact Statement. The first tier will address the 
physical

[[Page 38225]]

consolidation of the four TRACONs as well as building siting and 
construction. All reasonable building alternatives, including a no 
build option, will be considered. This first tier will also evaluate, 
at a programmatic level, potential airspace changes that could result 
from a decision to consolidate; however, it will not address specific 
changes to aircraft routes. A subsequent tier, or tiers, will be 
prepared and considered at a later date to assess the potential impacts 
resulting from air traffic control procedural changes associated with 
the proposed consolidation of these facilities as these issues become 
ripe for decision. All reasonable alternatives will be considered 
including the no-change option. The airspace tier (2nd tier) will 
evaluate alternatives to air traffic control routes and procedures 
beyond the immediate airport area. Changes to existing take-off and/or 
landing noise abatement procedures are not being considered. In order 
to ensure that all significant issues pertaining to the proposed action 
are identified, public scoping meetings will be held.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Joseph Champley, Project Support Specialist, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Suite 400, 8201 Corporate Drive, Landover, Maryland 
20785 (800) 762-9531. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A TRACON facility provides radar air traffic 
control services to aircraft operating on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) 
and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) procedures beyond 5 miles and generally 
within 50 miles of the host airport at altitudes from the surface to 
approximately 17,000 feet. These distances and altitudes may vary 
depending on local conditions and infrastructural constraints such as 
adequate radar and radio frequency coverage. The primary function of 
the TRACON is to provide a variety of air traffic control services to 
arrival, departure, and transient aircraft within its assigned 
airspace. These services include aircraft separation, in flight traffic 
advisories and navigational assistance. The four existing TRACON 
facilities provide terminal radar air traffic control services to the 
four major airports and a number of small reliever airports located 
within the study area.
    Current technologies exist that allow for the siting of TRACON 
facilities away from an airport environment. This capability also 
allows for the consolidation of facilities when it makes economic and 
environmental sense. Three of the four facilities that are the subject 
of this study are at or approaching their designed life-cycle and are 
not able to accommodate expected increases in air traffic demand or 
planned equipment modernization. The FAA recently performed a cost to 
benefit analysis and found that the consolidation of these four TRACONs 
was economically advantageous to the government and users of their 
services.
    In addition to the proposed infrastructural improvements, the FAA 
will conduct an in depth analysis of the air traffic control 
operational environment. The purpose is to determine what, if any, new 
ATC procedures can be implemented that will take advantage of facility 
consolidation, improved aircraft performance, and new and emerging ATC 
technologies. These items will be addressed in the second tier of the 
EIS.
    The project study area is generally within a 75 miles radius of the 
Georgetown Non-Directional Radio Beacon, a radio navigational aid 
located new the Chain Bridge.
    Public Scoping Meetings: To facilitate the receipt of comments on 
the first tier, five public scoping meetings will be held. The meetings 
will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. at the following 
locations:

August 3, 1998 at Hillcrest Elementary School, 1500 Frederick Road, 
Baltimore (Catonsville), MD 21228 (At the intersection of S. Rolling 
Road (I-195 away from BWI) and Frederick Road)
August 4, 1998 at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St SW, Washington, DC 
20024 (Between National Air and Space Museum and Dept. of 
Transportation (intersection of C and 5th or 6th Street) near L'Enfant 
Plaza Metro Station)
August 6, 1998 at Chantilly High School, 4201 Stringfellow Road, 
Chantilly, VA 22033 (Off Stringfellow Road, Between Route 50 and Route 
29)
August 10, 1998 at the Westpark (Holiday Inn) Hotel, 1900 North Fort 
Myer Drive, Arlington, VA 22209 (Adjacent to Key Bridge in Arlington)
August 12, 1998 at the Colony South, 7401 Surratts Road, Clinton, MD 
20748 (Near Andrews AFB, off Route 5 in Clinton, MD)

    A separate meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. for Federal, 
State, and local agency staff in accordance with NEPA coordination 
requirements:

August 5, 1998 at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St SW, Washington, DC 
20024 (Between National Air and Space Museum and Dept. of 
Transportation (intersection of C and 5th or 6th Street) near L'Enfant 
Plaza Metro Station)

    The scoping period for this project formally begins with this 
announcement. Scoping will conclude forty-five days after the date of 
this announcement.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed 
project are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments 
and suggestions on the scope are invited from Federal, State, and local 
agencies, and other interested parties.
    Comments and suggestions may be sent to: FAA Potomac TRACON 
Project, c/o Mr. Fred Bankert, PRC Inc., 12005 Sunrise Valley Drive, 
Reston, VA 20191-3423. EMAIL: [email protected]

    Dated: July 9, 1998.
Walter Kwiatek,
Acting Potomac Program Director.
[FR Doc. 98-18859 Filed 7-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M