[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59800-59801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20461]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and To 
Conduct Scoping Meetings for the Proposed Relocation of Runway 11R/29L 
and Associated Development at the Tucson International Airport in 
Tucson, AZ

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION:  Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and to conduct scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) will be prepared to assess the potential impacts of the proposed 
relocation of Runway 11R/29L and associated development at Tucson 
International Airport. To ensure that all significant issues related to 
the proposed action are identified, one (1) public scoping meeting and 
one (1) governmental agency scoping meeting will be held.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Simmons, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, Western-Pacific 
Region, Airports Division, P.O. Box 92007, Los Angeles, California 
90009-2007. Telephone: (310) 725-3614. Any scoping comments and 
suggestions regarding the EIS must be submitted to the address above 
and must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 
December 15, 2005.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for addressing 
specific improvements at Tucson International Airport. The (EIS) will 
be prepared in accordance with the procedures described in FAA Order 
5050.4A, Airport Environmental Handbook, and FAA Order 1050.1E, 
Environment Impacts: Policies and Procedures. The Tucson Airport 
Authority, the owner of Tucson International Airport proposes the 
following development as identified in the 2004 Tucson International 
Airport Master Plan: Relocate Runway 11R/29L, 450 feet to the 
southwest, creating a centerline to centerline separation of 1,156 feet 
between the existing Runway 11L29R and the relocated Runway 11R/29L. 
The length of the relocated Runway 11R/29L will be 11,000 feet long by 
150 feet wide. The development will also include the extension of 
existing Taxiways A-6 and A-17, and provisions for acute angled ``high 
speed'' exits at Taxiways A-11, A-13, and A-15; addition of new 
Taxiways A-16 and A-18; extension of Taxiway B, (which is currently 
marked as 11R/29L); relocation of the airport service road to 
accommodate the proposed runway relocation; and installation of an 
Instrument Landing System (ILS) in conjunction with the relocated 
runway, including a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System with 
Runway Alignment Indicator Lights (MALSR) in both directions. The 
Airport Master Plan Update identified the need to provide additional 
airfield capacity at the Airport to meet the projected levels of 
operational and passenger demand. Within the EIS, FAA proposed to 
consider a range of alternatives that could potentially meet the need 
for additional airport capacity in the Tucson metropolitan area 
including, but not limited to, the following:

[[Page 59801]]

    Alternative One--Sponsor's Proposed Action: Relocate Runway 11R/
29L, 450 feet to the southwest, creating a centerline separation of 
1,156 feet between the existing Runway 11L/29R and the relocated Runway 
11R/29L. The relocated Runway 11R/29L will be 11,000 feet long by 150 
feet wide. The relocation of Runway 11R/29L will include construction 
of a parallel and connecting taxiway system, and associated 
navigational aids.
    Alternative Two--Alternative Airfield Development at Tucson: 
Extending and upgrading the current general aviation Runway 11R/29L to 
an air carrier runway, maintaining a 700-foot centerline separation 
between the current air carrier Runway 11L/29R and the extended and 
upgraded runway 11R/29L, and
    Alternative 3--Relocating and upgrading the general aviation Runway 
11R/29L, to an air carrier runway, 2,500 feet south of Runway 11L/29R 
and converting the current runway 11R/29L to a parallel taxiway that 
would serve both runways, and
    Alternative 4--Relocating and upgrading the general aviation Runway 
11R/29L to an air carrier runway, 1,156 feet south of Runway 11L/29R, 
and converting the runway to a parallel taxiway that would serve both 
runways. This alternative incorporates a localizer directional aide 
(LDA) approach.
    These airfield development alternatives identified under 
Alternative 2, 3 and four would likely include several of the support 
features of Alternative One, including taxiway improvements and 
associated navigational aids. The specific details of the alternative 
airfield development at Tucson International Airport will be refined 
following the scoping process during the preparation of the EIS.
    Alternative Five--Use of Other Existing Airports: The possible use 
of other existing area airports including, but not limited to, Ryan 
Airfield and Marana Regional Airport will be evaluated.
    Alternative Six--Use of Other Modes of Transportation: Use of 
intercity bus line, rail, and automobile transportation will be 
evaluated.
    Alternative Seven--No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, 
the existing airport would remain unchanged. Runway 11R/29L would 
remain in its current configuration.
    Comments and suggestions are invited from Federal, State and local 
agencies, and other interested parties to ensure that the full range of 
issues related to these proposed projects are addressed and all 
significant issues are identified. Written comments and suggestions may 
be mailed to the FAA informational contact listed above and must be 
received no later than 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, December 15, 
2005.
    Scoping Meetings: The FAA will hold one (1) public and one (1) 
governmental agency scoping meeting to solicit input from the public 
and various Federal, State and local agencies having jurisdiction or 
having specific expertise with respect to any environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed projects. The public scoping meeting will 
be held on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, in the Tucson Airport Authority 
Boardroom at 7005 South Plumer Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85706. The 
meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time 
(MST). A scoping meeting will be held specifically for governmental 
agencies on the same day at the same location from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
MST.

    Issued in Hawthorne, California on Tuesday, October 4, 2005.
Mark A. McClardy,
Manager, Airports Division, Western-Pacific, Region AWP-600.
[FR Doc. 05-20461 Filed 10-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M