FAA Releases Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed New Runways

FAA Releases Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed New Runways and Related Projects for Dulles Airport Public Hearings Scheduled Next Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Aviation Administration’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that addresses proposals for two new runways and related improvements at Washington Dulles International Airport is available for public review on the internet and at various locations throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The FAA will hold two combined open houses and public hearings on the draft impact statement in February. The open houses will provide extensive information about the proposed project, and the public hearings provide an opportunity for people to comment on the Draft EIS.

The first open house/public hearing will be held on Feb. 22 at Farmwell Station Middle School, 44281 Gloucester Parkway in Ashburn, VA. The open house runs from 5 to 8 p.m., and the public hearing runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

The second open house/ public hearing will be held the next night, Feb. 23, at Stone Middle School, 5500 Sully Park Drive in Centreville, VA, with an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. and the public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the airport operator, has proposed an additional north-south runway, a new east-west runway, and parallel and connector taxiways. The authority’s plan also calls for development of a third midfield concourse and navigational aids. Two alternatives to the proposed action and a no-build (or no-action) alternative are evaluated in the Draft EIS.

The Draft EIS addresses the potential impact of the proposed project and reasonable alternatives in the areas of noise and land use, air quality, wetlands, land acquisition, historic properties and surface transportation.

The Draft EIS does not offer any final decisions on the proposed Dulles project and does not propose any mitigation measures for the environmental issues studied. It is one of the steps in the FAA’s comprehensive analysis of the airport authority’s proposal and of various reasonable alternatives. After the FAA holds public hearings and reviews all comments, it will develop measures to mitigate the environmental impacts identified, based on whether the authority’s proposal or an alternative is selected. These would be described in the Final EIS and the Record of Decision that follows.

The public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement runs from Jan. 21 to March 7. The public may submit verbal and written comments during the public hearing or mail their comments to Brad Mehaffy, FAA Washington Airports District Office, 23723 Air Freight Lane, Suite 210, Dulles, VA 20166. Members of the public who require special assistance to attend or participate in the open house/public hearing process may call Janette Crumley at (757) 460-4183 at least 48 hours before either open house/public hearing.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is available for public review on the web at www.mwaa.com/dulles/EnvironmentalStudies /RunwaysEIS.htm.


http://www.faa.gov/apa/pr/pr.cfm?id=1913