[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18148-18149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7685]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Louis Armstrong New Orleans 
International Airport, New Orleans, LA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the 
FAA has revised the Purpose and Need for the Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) currently being prepared and considered for a proposed 
new air carrier runway and a taxiway conversion to a general aviation 
runway at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, New 
Orleans, Louisiana.
    The original purpose of the proposed new air carrier runway project 
was provided in a Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register on 
November 28, 2000, stating the existing north-south Runway 1/19 does 
not provide full instrument capabilities, nor is it feasible to expand 
the runway to meet design standards to provide these capabilities 
because of its proximity to Airport Access Road and the Interstate 10 
overpass. While the proposed runway is to provide the capacity to meet 
near-term forecast peak-period demands when the airport is experiencing 
low visibility, it would also provide capacity to meet longer-term 
demands during all

[[Page 18149]]

weather conditions. Some of the alternatives considered are the no 
action, north/south parallel to existing Runway 1/19, as well as an 8 
degree canted north/south alignment. Also included in the alternatives 
analysis will be the consideration of a proposed new Regional airport. 
The revised purpose and need for the proposed new air carrier runway is 
to provide the City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Aviation Board 
with the long-term option of taking steps necessary to protect a site 
for a new air carrier runway.
    The purpose and need for the taxiway conversion to a general 
aviation runway, as reported in the Federal Register on November 28, 
2000, has not changed. The conversion of the east-west Taxiway G to a 
runway is intended to serve general aviation (GA) aircraft using the 
recently constructed northside facilities, allowing air traffic 
controller separation of lower-speed GA aircraft from higher 
performance aircraft. The alternatives being considered are the no 
action; the proposed taxiway to runway conversion, and others that will 
be identified in the EIS study.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce M. Porter, Environmental 
Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest Regional Office, 
Fort Worth, Texas 76193-0640. Telephone (817) 222-5640.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA, in cooperation with the City of New 
Orleans and the New Orleans Aviation Board, will prepare an EIS for the 
proposed projects. The City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Aviation 
Board propose to construct a new air carrier runway, 8,000 ft. long and 
150 ft wide, and its associated taxiways when the operational forecasts 
at the airport demonstrate the need for such a runway. The conversion 
of an east/west taxiway into a parallel Visual Flight Rule general 
aviation runway, 6,731 ft long and 100 ft. wide, and construction of a 
new parallel taxiway; and redesignate the existing runway 6/24 to a 
taxiway is determined to be needed in the near-term. The FAA intends to 
provide notification of the revised purpose and need to the public, 
interested parties, and Federal, state, and local agencies through the 
EIS Web site, the EIS Newsletter, this revised NOI, and through notices 
placed in local newspapers. Any additional comments can be mailed to 
the attention of Joyce M. Porter at the above address.

    Issued on: March 23, 2004.
Naomi L. Saunders,
Manager, Airports Division.
[FR Doc. 04-7685 Filed 4-5-04; 8:45 am]
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