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Bieter wants FAA to determine whether moving air traffic control to Utah will hurt Boise's air quality
By Cynthia Sewell - csewell@idahostatesman.com
Published: 12/15/09
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has renewed his call for the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct an environmental impact study before relocating TRACON air traffic controller facilities from Boise to Salt Lake City.
Bieter says there is evidence that relocating TRACON could have a negative environmental impact on Boise’s air quality.
In his Dec. 15 letter to the FAA, Bieter writes, “At the public meeting held in Boise on July 5, 2006, for example, testimony from experienced pilots made it clear that increased flight times and consumption of fuel, with resulting increased air pollutant emissions and other impacts, can be expected from the reduced flexibility and level of service associated with the transfer of the radar services to a city that is 300 miles distant from the Boise Airport.”
Last week, the Idaho Statesman reported the FAA plans to move Boise’s TRACON facilities to Salt Lake City within a year despite a request from Idaho’s congressional delegation to put the move on hold until an audit could verify the agency’s claim that moving the operation would save taxpayers $24 million over 25 years. According to Sen. Mike Crapo’s office, FAA figures already show landings and takeoff cost almost three times more in Salt Lake than in Boise.
This is the second time Bieter has requested the FAA conduct an environmental impact study before relocating the TRACON facilities.
The FAA, in response to Bieter's initial Oct. 16 request, said it is not required to conduct an environmental analysis. The FAA said it already has done a “thorough analysis” of relocating radar services from Boise to Salt Lake and determined the move “will not result in a negative impact on safety, capacity or capability for Boise; nor will it have an adverse impact on air quality or the environment,” FAA regional administrator Kathryn Vernon wrote in a Nov. 12 letter to Bieter.
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