[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38224-38225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18859]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct
Scoping for a Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) Facility and
Associated Air Traffic Control (ATC) Procedural Changes in and Near the
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and conduct Scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration is issuing this notice to
advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be
prepared and considered for the consolidation and construction of a new
Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility in the Baltimore/
Washington area. There are four stand-alone TRACONs within the study
area located at Baltimore--Washington International Airport, Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport, and Washington Dulles International
Airport; and the FAA operated TRACON located at Andrews Air Force Base,
Maryland. The Federal Aviation Administration intends to prepare a
tiered Environmental Impact Statement. The first tier will address the
physical
[[Page 38225]]
consolidation of the four TRACONs as well as building siting and
construction. All reasonable building alternatives, including a no
build option, will be considered. This first tier will also evaluate,
at a programmatic level, potential airspace changes that could result
from a decision to consolidate; however, it will not address specific
changes to aircraft routes. A subsequent tier, or tiers, will be
prepared and considered at a later date to assess the potential impacts
resulting from air traffic control procedural changes associated with
the proposed consolidation of these facilities as these issues become
ripe for decision. All reasonable alternatives will be considered
including the no-change option. The airspace tier (2nd tier) will
evaluate alternatives to air traffic control routes and procedures
beyond the immediate airport area. Changes to existing take-off and/or
landing noise abatement procedures are not being considered. In order
to ensure that all significant issues pertaining to the proposed action
are identified, public scoping meetings will be held.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Joseph Champley, Project Support Specialist, Federal Aviation
Administration, Suite 400, 8201 Corporate Drive, Landover, Maryland
20785 (800) 762-9531. Email: joe.champley@faa.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A TRACON facility provides radar air traffic
control services to aircraft operating on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)
and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) procedures beyond 5 miles and generally
within 50 miles of the host airport at altitudes from the surface to
approximately 17,000 feet. These distances and altitudes may vary
depending on local conditions and infrastructural constraints such as
adequate radar and radio frequency coverage. The primary function of
the TRACON is to provide a variety of air traffic control services to
arrival, departure, and transient aircraft within its assigned
airspace. These services include aircraft separation, in flight traffic
advisories and navigational assistance. The four existing TRACON
facilities provide terminal radar air traffic control services to the
four major airports and a number of small reliever airports located
within the study area.
Current technologies exist that allow for the siting of TRACON
facilities away from an airport environment. This capability also
allows for the consolidation of facilities when it makes economic and
environmental sense. Three of the four facilities that are the subject
of this study are at or approaching their designed life-cycle and are
not able to accommodate expected increases in air traffic demand or
planned equipment modernization. The FAA recently performed a cost to
benefit analysis and found that the consolidation of these four TRACONs
was economically advantageous to the government and users of their
services.
In addition to the proposed infrastructural improvements, the FAA
will conduct an in depth analysis of the air traffic control
operational environment. The purpose is to determine what, if any, new
ATC procedures can be implemented that will take advantage of facility
consolidation, improved aircraft performance, and new and emerging ATC
technologies. These items will be addressed in the second tier of the
EIS.
The project study area is generally within a 75 miles radius of the
Georgetown Non-Directional Radio Beacon, a radio navigational aid
located new the Chain Bridge.
Public Scoping Meetings: To facilitate the receipt of comments on
the first tier, five public scoping meetings will be held. The meetings
will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. at the following
locations:
August 3, 1998 at Hillcrest Elementary School, 1500 Frederick Road,
Baltimore (Catonsville), MD 21228 (At the intersection of S. Rolling
Road (I-195 away from BWI) and Frederick Road)
August 4, 1998 at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St SW, Washington, DC
20024 (Between National Air and Space Museum and Dept. of
Transportation (intersection of C and 5th or 6th Street) near L'Enfant
Plaza Metro Station)
August 6, 1998 at Chantilly High School, 4201 Stringfellow Road,
Chantilly, VA 22033 (Off Stringfellow Road, Between Route 50 and Route
29)
August 10, 1998 at the Westpark (Holiday Inn) Hotel, 1900 North Fort
Myer Drive, Arlington, VA 22209 (Adjacent to Key Bridge in Arlington)
August 12, 1998 at the Colony South, 7401 Surratts Road, Clinton, MD
20748 (Near Andrews AFB, off Route 5 in Clinton, MD)
A separate meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. for Federal,
State, and local agency staff in accordance with NEPA coordination
requirements:
August 5, 1998 at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St SW, Washington, DC
20024 (Between National Air and Space Museum and Dept. of
Transportation (intersection of C and 5th or 6th Street) near L'Enfant
Plaza Metro Station)
The scoping period for this project formally begins with this
announcement. Scoping will conclude forty-five days after the date of
this announcement.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed
project are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments
and suggestions on the scope are invited from Federal, State, and local
agencies, and other interested parties.
Comments and suggestions may be sent to: FAA Potomac TRACON
Project, c/o Mr. Fred Bankert, PRC Inc., 12005 Sunrise Valley Drive,
Reston, VA 20191-3423. EMAIL: fred.bankert@faa.dot.gov
Dated: July 9, 1998.
Walter Kwiatek,
Acting Potomac Program Director.
[FR Doc. 98-18859 Filed 7-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
