[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 17 (Friday, January 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3902-3903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-322]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Hold Scoping Meetings for Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West 
Palm Beach, FL

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and to hold one (1) public scoping meeting and one (1) Governmental and 
Public agency scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public it will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to address development of proposed airfield 
improvements at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm 
Beach, Florida. To ensure the

[[Page 3903]]

FAA identifies all significant issues related to the proposed action, 
the FAA will hold one (1) public scoping meeting and one (1) 
governmental and public agency scoping meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda McDowell, Environmental 
Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, Orlando Airports District 
Office, 5950 Hazeltine National Drive, Suite 400, Orlando, FL 32822, 
Phone (407) 812-6331 Ext. 130, Fax: (407) 812-6978, E-mail 
[email protected].
    Comments on the scope of the EIS should be submitted to the address 
above and must be received no later than March 27, 2007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBI is a commercial service airport located 
within Palm beach County, West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2005, PBI served 
seven million passengers and supported 166,000 aircraft operations. The 
airport sponsor requests FAA approval and funding for the following 
airfield improvements at PBI: relocate, lengthen, and widen Runway 9R-
27L, shorten Runway 13-31, construct associated taxiway improvements, 
and relocate the Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Radio Range (VOR) 
facility. Specifically, the airport sponsor proposes to relocate Runway 
9R-27L 100 feet south from its current location, lengthen the runway to 
8,000 feet, and widen the runway to 150 feet.
    The FAA will independently prepare an EIS to asses the impacts 
associated with the referenced proposed improvements at PBI. The 
alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS will include the No-Action 
alternative, and the Proposed Action Alternative and may also include 
other alternatives developed during the EIS process. The FAA will 
prepare the EIS in accordance with FAA Orders 1050.1E, Environmental 
Impacts: Policies and Procedures, and 5050.4B, National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions.
    Comments and suggestions are invited from Federal, state, and local 
agencies, and other interested parties to ensure that the full range of 
actions, alternatives, and impacts related to the proposed development 
are considered and that all significant issues are identified and 
disclosed. Written comments and suggestions concerning the scope of the 
EIS may be mailed to the FAA informational contact listed above and 
must be received no later than March 27, 2007. If, during development 
of the draft EIS, it is determined that the proposed project would not 
result in significant impacts, the FAA may terminate the EIS and 
complete the NEPA process using an Environmental Assessment.
    Public and Agency 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 which 
have jurisdiction by law or have specific expertise with respect to any 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed project. The public 
and governmental agency scoping meetings will be held February 27, 2007 
at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport, West Palm Beach, FL. The public 
meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The governmental agency 
scoping meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and is specifically 
for governmental agencies. Interested parties may confirm the meeting 
date and location with the FAA informational contact listed above.

    Issued in Orlando, Florida on January 19, 2007.
W. Dean Stringer,
Manager, Orlando Airports District Office, FAA, Southern Region.
[FR Doc. 07-322 Filed 1-25-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M