U.S. Backs New Jet Runways to Ease Delays
The Bush administration, eager to ease airport delays, plans to speed construction of additional runways at major airports across the country by expediting reviews of their environmental impact.
The policy shift--certain to raise concerns among environmental groups over noise and air pollution--comes as the Federal Aviation Administration has concluded that more runways offer a quicker answer to air travel gridlock than the ongoing high-tech modernization of air traffic control computers.
The new approach, which has bipartisan support in Congress, will have implications for airport battles around the country, including disputes over expanding Los Angeles International Airport and building a new commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.
It can now take 10 years or more to get a new runway approved because of the lengthy process of obtaining federal and state environmental permits. A review last year by the General Accounting Office, the investigative agency of Congress, found that the time spent does not always translate into better protection for people and wildlife near airports.
Only six new runways were built during the 1990s, when airline departures increased by more than 25% to 8.6 million a year. In an example of how long such construction can take, a runway in Orlando, Fla., originally proposed in the early 1980s will open in 2003. According to the FAA, 30 additional runways are under discussion or in some stage of development at major airports. Meanwhile, the number of airline passengers is expected to grow 50% by 2010, from more than 600 million a year to more than 900 million.
Environmental activists said that any effort to rush environmental approvals would be harmful. “Streamlining is a code word for either truncating or waiving environmental laws and reducing or eliminating meaningful public participation,” said Marty Hayden, legislative director of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in Washington.
But Catherine M. Lang, the FAA’s head of airport planning, said in an interview that the agency does not intend to give environmental laws short shrift. “We have to reduce the delays in trying to bring new runways on line while still maintaining a balanced and protective view of the environment,” Lang said.
FAA Shifts Gears on High-Tech Role
Until recently, the FAA has stressed air traffic control modernization as the solution to delays. But Steven Brown, the FAA’s head of air traffic services, said that the agency now believes high-tech is not a panacea and that other answers must be pursued at the same time.
Brown said the FAA estimates that technology improvements in the pipeline would add three to five “operations”--takeoffs or landings--an hour at a typical major airport. By contrast, a new runway would allow 30 to 40 additional operations in the same time.
“Overall, runways produce the greatest amount of capacity compared to all other actions out there,” Brown acknowledged.
Those statistics are startling, said Darryl Jenkins, director of George Washington University’s aviation program. “Even if we were to have the most modern air traffic control system, we could not increase capacity significantly,” he said. “So runways are where we should be concentrating our efforts.”
The FAA’s Lang said that the agency is creating three special teams to help expedite construction of new runways at San Francisco, Cincinnati and Dulles International Airport near Washington. The Los Angeles expansion, which involves lengthening a major runway, will also be assigned additional FAA staff. Moreover, the agency plans to publish a how-to manual of success stories to help local governments reach compromises with environmental and community groups.
Members of Congress want to go further. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is considering legislation to limit lawsuits over new runways and airports. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) plans to introduce a bill that would place time limits on environmental reviews. And Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will “very likely” introduce legislation on the issue, according to a spokesman.
“The effort here is not to change the regulatory requirements, but to limit the time period in which they happen and in which appeals must occur,” Brownback said. “You can’t move people if you can’t land them on runways.”
Environmental Concern Is Raised
A key critic of the airline industry, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), agreed that accelerating construction of runways is a priority. “That’s a legitimate exercise,” Wyden said. But “I think you ought to try to do it without fouling the environment.”
New Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said at his confirmation hearings last week that he favors speeding construction of more runways and airports. The government should “try to do things to shorten the time span so we don’t go through [these kinds] of multiple planning requirements,” Mineta said in response to a senator’s question. He specifically recommended that state and federal environmental approvals be done at the same time, not sequentially.
The FAA cannot order construction of new airports or runways, which are a matter for local decision-makers. However, along with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the FAA oversees compliance of local plans with federal safety and environmental rules. Last year’s GAO study for Congress found many overlapping state and federal environmental requirements, as well as duplicative federal requirements under various laws.
Virginia Buckingham, director of Massport, which runs Boston’s Logan Airport, said that the multiple requirements set the stage for interminable local battles. Logan has been trying to get approval for a new commuter plane runway for five years. The state government supports it, but the city government does not.
Buckingham, who was also a member of the Bush transportation transition team, said that the runway issue was identified as a “key priority” for the new administration. “National leadership is really needed to break through the logjam,” Buckingham said.
Jim Ritchie, director of long-range planning for Los Angeles World Airports, said he is optimistic that Washington will be an ally in the expansion of LAX and other regional airports, such as Ontario and Palmdale.
“I’m excited about what I see coming out of the new administration, in addressing this on a national basis,” Ritchie said.
But Jerilyn Mendoza, a lawyer for Environmental Defense and a critic of the proposed $12-billion expansion of LAX, sees more ominous effects. “While none of us like airport gridlock, it would be a shame to have to compromise environmental quality in dense urban areas where most of the people are from low-income and minority groups,” she said.
In Orange County, supporters of a new airport at El Toro are upbeat about what they see as better prospects for approval under the Bush administration. The Board of Supervisors has approved spending more than $700,000 for Washington lobbyists on the matter.
The timetable for completing the federal environmental approvals for El Toro is more than four years behind schedule, but federal officials say the county is also behind on its own approvals. The county hopes to approve its review, required under state law, in September. Federal officials said that they expect to complete theirs in early 2002.
Beyond permit delays, El Toro faces political opposition and concerns about safety.
A Call for 1,000 New Air Controllers
Separately Wednesday, the main group representing the airline industry called on the Bush administration to speed up technological modernization of the air traffic control system and hire an additional 1,000 air traffic controllers.
The Air Transport Assn. said that satellite navigation--available in high-end automobiles--should be approved for use in commercial airliners within five years, instead of 10 as currently envisioned.
A system for airliners, however, has to meet much more rigorous standards than one for use in cars. The group recommended accelerating more than $4 billion in planned long-range spending to meet its more ambitious timetable.
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Times staff writer Jean O. Pasco in Orange County contributed to this story.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Airline Traffic Grows...
Departures in millions
1999: 8.6 million
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New runways at large hub airports, 1991-2000.
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Airport Year runways opened Las Vegas 1991 Detroit 1993 Salt Lake City 1995 Dallas-Fort Worth 1996 Philadelphia 1999 Phoenix 2000
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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Federal Aviation Administration
