# Presentation: 313532

## Patrick Sullivan, P.E.
Federal Aviation Administration
ASO Environmental Workshop
August 5, 2004

Objective-present purpose of the draft guidance
Objective-present scope of the draft guidance
Objective-discuss practices and products of airport master planning 
Objective-discuss tools available for consideration of environmental factors  

**Federal Aviation Administration**
**ASO Environmental Workshop**
**August 5, 2004**
- Objective-present purpose of the draft guidance
- Objective-present scope of the draft guidance
- Objective-discuss practices and products of airport master planning
- Objective-discuss tools available for consideration of environmental factors

- CONSIDERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN AIRPORT MASTER PLANNING

## PURPOSE OF GUIDANCE

- Guidance presents practices that can be applied to airport master planning to make such planning and subsequent NEPA analysis more efficient
- A more efficient planning process may avoid the need to redo planning in NEPA, resulting in less delay in completion of needed development

## SCOPE OF GUIDANCE 

- Not intended to make master planning an additional NEPA process
- Is intended to ensure that supportable and consistent planning data and analysis are provided for use in environmental analysis
- Primarily intended for complex and controversial projects
- It may be useful for smaller projects

## STATUS 

- Preliminary draft guidance presented at:
- FAA recurrent environmental training-1/03
- FAA recurrent airport planning training 4/03
- ACC Summer Workshop 2003
- Circulated FAA regional office review 11/03 and 2/04
- FAA recurrent environmental training-4/04
- Guidance refined throughout coordination
- Draft final guidance is included as an appendix to the Airport Master Planning Advisory Circular.  AC to be circularized for industry comment soon

## COMPARISON OF FHWA AND FAA GRANTS PROGRAMS

- See matrix (handout)
- Airport planning and environmental analyses are discrete processes
- FAA is more actively involved in airport planning than FHWA is in HW planning
- Highway grant program is top down.  Airport grant program is bottom up
- Highway discretionary funds are limited

## TEXT PART I

- Practice and Process

##  PRACTICE AND PROCESS I

- TIMING OF AIRPORT PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
- Planning always precedes the NEPA process
- Start of NEPA defined
- Planning should be complete or nearly so when FAA starts NEPA.  The following should always be complete and documented prior to start of NEPA.
- Approved local forecasts-current and consistent
- Justification of the scope/timing of proposed development
- Identify/consider/document all reasonable planning alternatives

## PRACTICE AND PROCESS II

- FAA ROLE: AIRPORT MASTER PLANNING
- Primary planning responsibility-airport sponsor/consultant
- FAA: review and approval of local aviation forecasts
- FAA: review and approval of site selection studies
- FAA: review and approval of Airport Layout Plans, including completions of airspace studies-see APP-600 guidance
- FAA: review adequacy of planning alternative analysis for inclusion in NEPA analysis
- FAA:  review master plan work scope (if AIP/PFC $)
- FAA: ensure planned facilities are justified (if AIP/PFC $)

## PRACTICE AND PROCESS III

- EIS CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING
- Often necessary to conduct some engineering to make planning & environmental decisions
- Meet early to determine extent, schedule and parties
- Engineering limited to that necessary to:
- Define alternatives for analysis
- Assess aeronautical safety and utility
- Analyze environmental impacts
- Inform the public and resource agencies
- Identify potential environmental mitigation
- Define order of magnitude project costs

## PRACTICE AND PROCESS IV

- FACILITY REQUIREMENTS/PURPOSE AND NEED
- _Facility requirements_ (FR) is an airport master plan term.  It describes development required to meet needs
- Guidance recommends that FR clearly define the aviation problem and why airport needs to solve it
- _Purpose and Need_ is a term for a section of a NEPA document where the problem is addressed and requested federal action noted
- Guidance provides that FAA planners should ensure that FR analysis sufficient for defensible P and N

## PRACTICE AND PROCESS V

- ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS
- _Master plan_ is intended to identify alternatives that the FAA/sponsor can do to meet need
- MP not intended to establish a single alternative for NEPA evaluation, but may establish sponsor’s preferred alternative
- Alternatives that do not meet planning need, or are not feasible/prudent-dismiss and document
- _NEPA-_considers alternatives that are not in FAA/sponsor jurisdiction
- It is possible that NEPA will include alternatives not considered in planning (including modifications)

## PRACTICE AND PROCESS VI

-  CURRENCY OF AVIATION FORECASTS:
-  FAA reviews local forecasts for: application of acceptable _methodologies _and consistency with TAF
- FAA must approve forecasts to be used to support environmental, planning and BCA analyses and noise compatibility planning
- It is important that local aviation forecasts used in NEPA were recently approved by the FAA, and in this approval, the most recent _published_ TAF was used
- It is also important that the same forecasts be used throughout project formulation (BCA, NEPA, models)

**Notes:**
Work with DOD, EPA, TSA, 

## TEXT PART II

- Tools

## TOOLS Ia

- PLANNING TEAM
- Airport planners, environmental specialists, engineers
- Work together throughout project formulation-beginning of the master plan through NEPA and engineering (ensure mitigation built into design)

## TOOLS Ib

- PLANNING TEAM
- Role of Environmental Specialist in Planning
- Help determine adequacy of alternative analysis
- Assist in reviewing MP work scope
- Provide guidance on developing environmental overview
- Assist in developing and conducting public consultation
- Help in deciding that project justification is sufficient to develop a clear P and N

## TOOLS Ic

- PLANNING TEAM
- Role of Airport Planners in NEPA
- Review planning aspects of NEPA document for accuracy and consistency with airport planning, design standards, operational requirements, etc.
- Review the consistency of the local aviation forecasts used
- _Engineers_  should provide planning level cost estimates, and the utility (design and construction) of various alternatives

## TOOLS IIa

- OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
- Such an overview can help an airport sponsor judge the impact to resources of day-to-day decisions as well as longer-term strategies
- Level of detail based on the needs of the airport as determined by the sponsor after discussion with the master plan consultant and the FAA
- The overview is not intended to substitute for the “Affected Environment” of the NEPA document

## TOOLS IIb

- OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
- Overview should include readily available information, including the items that:
- Are known from prior environmental documents
- Are known from the expertise of environmental professionals
- Can be easily seen during a walking survey
- Are shown on maps of the airport area
- See attachment for checklist of inventory items

## TOOLS IIc

- OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
- The overview may provide the information to:
- Determine if additional alternatives are needed
- Define future environmental coordination and analysis for NEPA work scope development
- Properly understand anticipated costs of design and of NEPA mitigation and permitting so that AIP grants can be properly scoped

## TOOLS III

-  LOCAL PLANNING
- Intent of guidance is to improve consistency between community and airport planning
- Consultation allows airport sponsor to voice its interests in land use planning and surface access
- Local planners benefit by learning airport needs and how the airport promotes community access
- The airport sponsor should emphasize to local officials the importance of zoning for airport-compatible land use, including height limits

## TOOLS IV

- COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- Involve community early in master planning
- Include information on the proposed project, its aviation need (the problem), and possible alternative ways to address the need
- Strike a balance between soliciting meaningful public involvement and keeping the master plan process on track
- Develop a public consultation plan
- The guidance provides access to the FAA Community Involvement Manual web site

## TOOLS V

- NEPA DOCUMENTS OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES
- On airport development of the Army, Air Force, National Guard, Forest Service, FHWA
- Master plan should recognize such development ensuring that it is an appropriate use of the airport, and that FAA’s federal actions (e.g. ALP approval) are included in the lead agency’s NEPA document
- FAA’s environmental role would vary project by project-normally either joint lead or cooperating agency
- Other agencies need to be made aware of 4(f), noise

## QUESTIONS

- Patrick Sullivan
- Phone: 202-267-3707
- Email: _[patrick.sullivan@faa.gov](mailto:patrick.sullivan@faa.gov)_