[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58672-58673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23618]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for Atlantic City International Airport, NJ

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for airport layout plan approval and Federal funding at 
Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is given that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
has prepared and released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for improvement projects at Atlantic City International Airport. The 
DEIS addresses a proposal by the South Jersey Transportation Authority 
(SJTA) to construct the new or expanded facilities needed to continued 
operating the airport in a safe, efficient, and more productive manner. 
The airport is located in an ecologically sensitive area, and a variety 
of natural resources could be adversely affected if the proposed 
projects are implemented. Accordingly, the DEIS analyzes, evaluates, 
and discloses the potentially significant environmental impacts 
associated with reasonable alternatives, including the alternative of 
taking no action. The public is invited to comment on the DEIS during 
the 45-day comment period as well as to attend a public hearing, which 
will be schedule shortly.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS will be accepted for 45 days following the 
date that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its 
Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register, which should be 
on or after September 16th, 2002; the comment due date would then be 
Monday, October 28th, 2002. However, the FAA will notify all parties on 
the project mailing list of the exact dates that comments will be 
accepted. Future notification regarding the public hearing date, 
expected in mid-October 2002, will be provided through public notices, 
local news media releases, and/or mailings. These notifications will be 
provided at least 15 days in advance of the public hearing and 30 days 
in advance of the deadline for submitting comments.
    The FAA asks that comments on the DEIS be as specific as possible, 
including references to page numbers, chapters, or appendices. Comments 
that include suggested changes, sources, or methodologies are more 
helpful. Comments containing only opinions or preferences will not 
receive a formal response; however, they will be considered and 
included as part of the decision-making process.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS should be sent to the FAA's 
Project Manager, Daisy Mather, Federal Aviation Administration, Eastern 
Region Airports Division, AEA-610, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434 
(or alternatively by e-mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SJTA has completed a master plan, an 
airport layout plan, and an environmental assessment (EA) for future 
development projects at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY). 
Based on the EA and the related agency comments, the FAA determined 
that the proposed improvements had the potential to cause significant 
adverse impacts to the environment and that a DEIS should be prepared.
    A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was published in the 
Federal Register [FR Doc. 00-24935]. Scoping meetings were held with 
the public as well as with regulatory agencies that were involved in 
the EA process. Scoping identified the following environmental impact 
categories as being significant issues or concerns; noise, secondary 
and induced impacts, air quality, water resources, biotic communities, 
threatened and endangered species, wetlands, hazardous waste, and 
cumulative effects.
    The proposal involves four near-term development projects. The SJTA 
has requested that FAA take environmental action on these projects' 
therefore, they are ripe for decision. They include terminal area 
development, auxiliary area development, hotel-conference center 
construction, and Runway 13-31 instrument landing system (ILS) upgrade. 
Because there are several environmental concerns associated with the 
proposed projects, certain mitigation measures have been incorporated 
early on in an effort to provide solutions to potential environmental 
impacts. The proposed mitigation projects include, but are not limited 
to, a mitigation and management plan for grassland habitat and a storm 
water management plan. For each of these near-term projects, the FAA's 
preferred alternative is identified, as is the environmentally-
preferred alternative, which are the same for all but one project.
    Major aspects of the terminal area development project are terminal 
building improvements and construction of new gates; construction of a 
public parking garage, rental car maintenance facility, airline cargo 
warehouses, general aviation hangars, and a deicing apron; and 
implementation of grassland mitigation and management projects and 
storm water best management practices. Five different locations on the 
airport were identified as candidate sites for terminal area 
development, but four of these were dismissed as being unreasonable 
because they failed to accomplish the project objectives, or they 
resulted in greater environmental harm, or both. Accordingly, two 
alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: The Build Alternative and the 
No-Action Alternative.
    The Build Alternative has the potential to benefit the airport and 
the local economy in terms of job creation and economic growth. Water 
resources would also benefit by implementing the storm water best 
management practices and by a having an engineered facility to control 
the runoff of deicing and anti-icing agents. However, the Build 
Alternative requires 58 acres of open space to be developed, resulting 
in a loss of 49 acres of grassland and nine acres of upland forest. 
Almost all of the affected grassland is classified as critical habitat 
for two state-listed threatened and endangered bird species--the upland 
sandpiper and the grasshopper sparrow. To compensate for the loss, the 
Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation and Management Plan 
has been prepared, which demonstrates that sufficient suitable habitat 
could be created and managed in the northwest quadrant of the airport 
so that there would be no net loss in

[[Page 58673]]

grassland habitat value on the airport. The No-Action Alternative fails 
to meet the project's objectives. Therefore, the FAA proposes to 
implement the Build Alternative, with mitigation measures that reduce 
adverse environmental impacts to the extent practicable.
    Major aspects of the auxiliary area development project are 
construction of aircraft maintenance hangars, air-freight warehouses, a 
parallel taxiway, an aircraft parking apron and connector taxiways, an 
access roadway, auto parking areas; and implementation of the grassland 
mitigation and management projects and storm water best management 
practices. Three alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: two build 
alternatives and the No-Action Alternatives Build Alternative 1 
utilizes the northwest quadrant of the airport, while Build Alternative 
2 utilizes the southwest quadrant. Build Alternative 1 causes the most 
significant environmental impacts. It requires up to 70 acres of 
grassland to develop, which would result in substantial habitat loss 
and fragmentation, severely impacting several state-listed grassland 
bird species. This alternative also conflicts with the SJTA's plan to 
use the northwest quadrant of the airport for grassland mitigation and 
management for all of the near-term projects, so mitigation for habitat 
losses may not be feasible.
    Build Alternative 2 would cause less environmental harm when 
compared with Build Alternative 1. The Build Alternative site is 
smaller and is centrally located amidst other developed areas. This 
would reduce habitat loss to 39 acres of grassland and reduce 
fragmentation, thereby minimizing the potential for adverse effects to 
state-listed grassland bird species. To compensate for the impacts to 
their habitat, the Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation 
and Management Plan demonstrates that sufficient suitable habitat could 
be created and managed in the northwest quadrant of the airport so that 
there would be no net loss of grassland habitat value on the airport. 
The No-Action Alternative fails to meet the project's objectives. 
Therefore, the FAA proposes to implement Build Alternative 2, with 
mitigation measures to minimize and compensate for adverse 
environmental impacts to the extent practicable.
    For the hotel/conference center project, major aspects of the 
proposal include a two-to-three story building with 150 suites, lobby 
and amenities, swimming pool, outbuildings, parking, and storm water 
best management practices. Three alternatives are evaluated in the 
DEIS; two build alternatives and the No-Action Alternative. The Build 
Alternative 1 location is along Amelia Earhart Boulevard, and Build 
Alternative 2 location is near the Airport Circle. Build Alternative 1 
requires 10.5 acres of pine-oak forest to be cleared near a reported 
Cooper's hawk nest site. It has not been determined for certain whether 
this nesting territory is currently active, but it is being treated as 
if it were. In contrast, Build Alternative 2 requires 13.5 acres of 
pine-oak forest to be removed from two New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection (JNDEP) designated protected habitat zones--
one for the Cooper's hawk and the other for the barred owl. Although 
these protected areas do not currently contain nest sites, they may 
still provide suitable breeding habitat, and the NJDEP recommends that 
such areas be set aside for habitat protection. The No-Action 
Alternative fails to meet the project objectives. Although Build 
Alternative 2 is considered to be the environmental preferred 
alternative, Build Alternative 1, with mitigation measures to reduce 
adverse environmental impacts to the extent practicable, is the FAA's 
preferred alternative, because it better meets the project purpose and 
need.
    For the ILS upgrade, major aspects of the proposal include 
installation of a glide slope antenna and a medium intensity approach 
light system. Three alternatives are evaluated in the DEIS: two build 
alternatives and the No-Action Alternative. Build Alternative 1 would 
involve installation of a new ILS on Runway 31. Build Alternative 2 
would involve relocating the existing ILS from Runway 13 to Runway 31 
and installing a new, upgraded ILS system on Runway 13. The potential 
environmental impacts associated with the two build alternatives are 
virtually the same. Build Alternative 2, which by definition includes 
Build Alternative 1, has additional direct loss of biotic communities, 
but the total is still less than one acre. The same is true for loss of 
habitat for the grassland bird species upland sandpiper and grasshopper 
sparrow: the loss of habitat would be less than one-third of an acre, 
which would be compensated for under the Upland Sandpiper and 
Grasshopper Sparrow Mitigation and Management Plan. The No-Action 
Alternative fails to meet the project objectives. Therefore, the FAA 
proposes to implement Build Alternative 2.
    In addition to the near-term projects ripe for decision, the DEIS 
discusses four long-range projects that are not. Because the long-range 
projects are not reasonably foreseeable, the FAA will not take an 
environmental action on them at this time. Once they are ripe for 
decision, however, additional environmental review and will be 
necessary. The projects include construction of a direct airport access 
roadway, extension of Runway 4-22, construction of high-speed taxiway 
exists, and non-aviation related development along the White Horse 
Pike. In response to scoping comments, these long-range projects are 
included in the DEIS so that the agencies and the public have a clear 
understanding of the entire airport development plan and the potential 
environmental consequences associated with it.
    Obtaining Copies of the DEIS: The complete Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement is a very large document. It includes a 350-page 
technical report and nine technical and administrative appendices. 
Copies are available upon written request to Daisy Mather (see contact 
information below). The first copy of each printed document is free. 
Additional copies are available, but may be provided at a reduced cost. 
Copies of the Executive Summary are free and available upon request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daisy Mather, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Eastern Region Airports Division, AEA-610, 1 Aviation 
Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434; telephone (718) 553-2511; fax (718) 995-5694, 
or e-mail: [email protected].

    Issued on September 10, 2002, in Jamaica, New York.
Sharon A. Daboin,
Acting Manager, Airports Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 02-23618 Filed 9-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M