[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9554-9555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4838]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
on the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) 
Facility

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft Environmental Impact.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released a Draft 
Environment Impact Statement (DEIS) for the consolidation and 
construction of a new Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility 
in the Baltimore-Washington area. The proposed action is to consolidate 
four stand-alone TRACONs located in 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 new Potomac Consolidated TRACON 
(PCT) would be located at a site in Northern Virgina. The preferred 
site is at the former Vint Hill Farms and Station near Warrenton, VA.
    FAA is preparing a tiered Environmental Impact Statement. This DEIS 
is the first tier and addresses physical consolidation of the four 
TRACONs as well as building location and construction. Physical TRACON 
consolidation does not mandate airspace changes. A subsequent tier, or 
tiers, will be prepared at a later date to assess the potential impacts 
resulting from air traffic control procedural changes made possible by 
the proposed PCT, as these issues become ripe for decision.
    Copies of the DEIS are available for a review at major libraries in 
the study area. A summary of the DEIS can be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.faa.gov/ats/potomac.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted until April 12, 
1999. Written comments may be sent to: FAA Potomac TRACON Project, c/o 
Mr. Fred Bankert, PRC Inc., 12005 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 
20191-3423. Oral or written comments may also be delivered at a public 
hearing that will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on March 
25, 1999. The hearing will be at Stonewall Jackson Senior High School. 
The school is located behind Manassas Mall, off Business Route 234, at 
8820 Rixlew Lane, Manassas, VA 20109.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Joseph Champley, Project Support 
Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, (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 generally beyond 5 miles and 
within 50 miles of the host airport

[[Page 9555]]

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 vareity 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 Baltimore-Washington area.
    A range of alternatives are considered in the DEIS including 
replacement or refurbishment of three of the four existing TRACONs, 
partial consolidation, No Action and full consolidation. Analysis of 
alternatives determined that only full consolidation meets the Purpose 
and Need of the proposed action. The full consolidation alternative 
would not cause significant environmental impact in any of the 23 
impact categories assessed.

    Dated: February 19, 1999 in Washington, DC.
John Mayrhofer,
Director, TRACON Development Program.
[FR Doc. 99-4838 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M