FAA Report Says Joint Use of El Toro Base Is ‘Feasible’

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it would be “technically feasible” for commercial jetliners and military aircraft to share runways at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, but the FAA stopped short of recommending joint use of the facility.

Release of the long-awaited study was quickly followed by a response from military officials, who reiterated their long-held opposition to any such sharing.

“The Department of the Navy . . . is unequivocally opposed to joint use,” Navy and Marine officials said in a statement. “There is no new information provided in this study which would establish a basis to change that position.”

But Ken Delino, assistant city manager of Newport Beach, noted that the study raises the possibility of extending runways to allow short- and medium-range commercial aircraft to take off to the east. He said the study shows that joint use at El Toro is a “viable alternative.”

“The Marines may say ‘no’ now, but that doesn’t mean they are going to say ‘no’ later,” Delino said.

Opening up El Toro’s centrally located runways to commercial aviation has strong support in Newport Beach because many flights departing from John Wayne Airport fly over neighborhoods in the city. But Irvine officials adamantly oppose joint use because Irvine neighborhoods could be subjected to additional aircraft noise from commercial jetliners.

The issue remains alive because of the projected overcrowding of John Wayne, the county’s only major commercial airport. Demand is increasing for more commercial flights in and out of Orange County, one of the fastest growing regions in the nation.

The FAA report, delivered to the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation more than a month late Thursday, angered Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach.)

Referring to the heavy volume of legislation that cleared Congress at the end of last year, Badham said Democrats ordered the report by “sneaking a paragraph into 43 pounds of last-minute legislation” and were “sneaking around” again Thursday holding secret meetings to review the FAA study.

Badham, a staunch supporter of the military and a leading opponent of joint use of El Toro, said he “hit the roof” earlier this year when he learned that Michigan Rep. Robert Carr, a Democrat who represents a suburban Detroit district, had won authorization for the study of three military bases, including El Toro.

Assurance From Badham

Badham assured his constituents in Orange County that there would be no joint use of El Toro “for a long time.” He said the Marines and Navy are unequivocally opposed to sharing the facility.

“There is no new information provided in this study which would establish a basis to change that position,” Badham said. “While joint civil-military use of El Toro may be ‘technically feasible’ in theory, it is neither prudent nor practical from a military operational perspective. Clearly, the introduction of civilian aircraft at El Toro degrades the tactical training mission of the installation.”

In addition to the El Toro Marine facility, the study concludes that Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis and Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit could be jointly used by commercial and military aircraft.

A cover letter from the FAA says a proposal to jointly use Scott Air Force Base is “well advanced” and could be implemented in the next three to five years. The letter says joint use at Selfridge would be studied in detail.

Federal Role Seen

The letter by T. Allan McArtor, FAA administrator, says interest in joint use of El Toro “offers the federal government an opportunity to stimulate local, regional and state officials toward the partial solution of a serious problem that threatens to develop into a national crisis.”

Commercial passenger demand in the Los Angeles area will more than double in the next 25 years, the letter says, and unless timely action is taken, air access to the region will become a scarce and expensive commodity, seriously impeding air transportation and economic interaction with the rest of the nation.

A 1984 study of the possible joint use of 25 major air stations and bases done by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense did not recommend joint use for El Toro.

“We view this as a victory,” Col. Jack Wagner, who handles land use planning and encroachment issues for El Toro, said of the FAA report. “It has been studied many times before, and again there was no recommendation for joint use.”

He said the Marine Corps is convinced that joint use of the air station is clearly incompatible with its tactical mission.

“We are further convinced that when all the alternatives to solve the air transportation demands are examined by transportation professionals, joint use of El Toro will no longer be considered an answer,” Wagner said.

The study says 143 military aircraft are stationed at El Toro, accounting for 112,000 takeoffs or landings annually. But by 1993 the number of aircraft will increase to 192, with the addition of more F/A-18s and MV-22 Osprey--part airplane, part helicopter--which will replace the Marines’ aging fleet of CH-46 helicopters.

Delino, the Newport Beach official, said the study points out that runway 7-R could be extended up to 3,000 feet to allow unrestricted operations by short- and medium-haul aircraft. The significance of this, Delino said, is that smaller commercial airliners could take off to the east, avoiding neighborhoods in Irvine or Tustin.

But Wagner said that even with a longer runway the planes would be taking off with the prevailing winds, uphill and into the mountains, and would be restricted to one-third of their payloads.

“That’s not very economical,” he said.