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

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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: [email protected].

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: [email protected]

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