Mon, Aug 29, 2011
Says FAA Did Not Consider Increased Traffic When Runway Was
Approved
A Seattle-based federal court of appeals has
struck down plans for a third runway at Hillsboro, OR, west of
Portland (KHIO). While the proponants of a new runway said it would
be a boon for aviation-related businesses at the airport, Judge
Betty Fletcher, writing for the majority, said the FAA and other
agencies "do not explain why this is so and do not refer to
anything in the record backing their contention. It strains
credulity to claim that increasing HIO's capacity significantly,
which in turn would decrease congestion and delay, would have no
bearing on the decision of flight schools, the military, emergency
medical services, and business and private owners over whether to
locate their aircraft at HIO or at other, considerably less busy,
GA airports in the area."
Courthouse News Service reports that the FAA said
adding a runway at KHIO would not incresase traffic at the GA
reliever airport. The agency backed up the statement with internal
forecasts which indiate that GA will grow at the airport whether
the runway is built or not, a fact cited by the court in its
ruling.
The Judge also indicated that a survey of pilots did not even
include a question about a new runway, asking instead about
restaurants or the availablity of rental cars when making a
decision about which airport to use, and the airport master plan
also does not mention a new runway.
The review came about as the result of a request from three
private citizens in the area, who said the FAA had not done its due
dilligence in assessing the need for a new runway.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Sandra Ikuta said the review
amounted to little more than "pointless paperwork." "It is
conventional wisdom among aviators that 'when the weight of the
paper equals the weight of the airplane, only then you can go
flying," she said in the dissent. "The majority confirms the truth
of this quotation: here a federal agency is trying to reduce
airport delays and the concomitant negative environmental effects
by commencing a project in anticipation of future growth, and the
majority sides with delay and air pollution by imposing pointless
paperwork on the agency before the necessary project can go
forward."
The matter now goes back to the FAA for "more study."
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