PANAMA CITY - BAY COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RECEIVES FINAL FEDERAL PERMIT NEEDED FOR AIRPORT RELOCATION
Airport Relocation Project Enters Construction Phase
Panama City, Florida - (August 16, 2007) - The Panama City - Bay
County International Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority)
announced today that its airport relocation project is entering the
construction phase now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued the
final necessary federal permit, completing the permitting process. The new
airport will be located in western Bay County north of County Road 388 and
east of State Road 79 on land being donated by The St. Joe Company (NYSE:
JOE).
“With the permitting process now complete, we have entered the construction
phase of the project,” said Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill. “We
intend to move expeditiously to a groundbreaking.”
“The receipt of this permit marks yet another major milestone in the decade
long effort to bring better air service to Bay County and all of Northwest
Florida,” said Tannehill. “We have moved a giant step closer to providing
this community the opportunity for better air service and more competitive
fares; the opportunity to attract new business, industry and jobs to our
region; and the opportunity to protect West Bay and preserve tens of
thousands of acres for public use and enjoyment.”
Under the terms of the Section 404 permit, The St. Joe Company
is providing a conservation easement on 9,609 acres for the mitigation of
airport construction impacts. The land, located southeast of the airport
site, will become part of the West Bay Preservation Area. This easement
will become permanent upon the commencement of construction of the airport.
St. Joe is also donating 4,000 acres for the new airport site.
All Major State and Federal Permits for Airport Relocation Now in Hand
“We have now completed both the state and federal permitting process, and we
have honored our commitment to protect and enhance West Bay as part of the
airport relocation process,” said Tannehill.
Previously, the Airport Authority had received all necessary permits from
the state of Florida, selected a project construction manager and secured
financial commitments from the state of Florida and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). The Airport Authority has received bids for the first
phase of airport construction and will select a contractor shortly. In
addition, the Airport Authority is working to complete negotiations for the
sale of the existing airport.
Rigorous Process Ensured Net Environmental Benefit
In evaluating the Airport Authority’s permit application, the USACE was
required to consider 1) what cumulative impacts the project would have on
the environment if the permits were approved, and 2) if practicable
alternatives that would impact fewer wetlands exist.
In issuing the Section 404 permit, the USACE concurred with the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) analysis. In its analysis,
FDEP cited a number of net ecosystem benefits that will result from the
project, including:
* The conservation and permanent protection of significant contiguous
portions of the West Bay region, including bay shoreline, wetlands, streams,
uplands and the overall watershed;
* A wetlands function lift significantly in excess of that needed to
compensate for functional losses (impacts);
* A mitigation plan that significantly exceeds both state and federal
requirements for all possible current and future impacts; and
* An effort to restore a large contiguous tract of uplands and
wetlands to approximate historical conditions more suitable for dependent
species native to the area.
Environmental Protection is a Key Benefit of Airport Relocation
“Local environmental groups and the State of Florida opposed expansion of
the current airport in the mid-1990s because of the threat it presented to
the St. Andrews Bay system,” said Tannehill. “They sought to create a
‘win-win’ plan for the future by protecting the bay and relocating the
airport. Their objective became the Airport Authority’s objective. And by
working together, West Bay, one of the most pristine bays in Florida, will
have important permanent protections in place to ensure future generations
will be able to enjoy it, as we have.”
Dozens of public meetings and many hours of dedicated work by local
citizens, local and national environmentalists, the Bay County Commission
and the State of Florida produced the West Bay Area Sector Plan, one of the
largest land plans of its kind in the United States. During the years of
planning, the Florida Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, the Bay Environmental
Study Team (BEST), 1000 Friends of Florida and Florida Wildlife Federation
and other local environmental leaders and organizations participated in
creating a plan and policies for the sector plan that will protect the water
quality, habitat and scenic beauty of West Bay forever.
In addition to the sector planning process, the Airport Authority entered
into an Ecosystem Management Agreement (EMA) with the FDEP. The EMA
includes a comprehensive mitigation plan for the environmental impacts of
the relocation and construction the airport.
The EMA was reached using Florida’s innovative Ecosystem Team Permitting
approach, a process whereby environmental impacts associated with the
airport relocation were avoided or minimized, and a comprehensive mitigation
plan was developed through consensus building between the Airport Authority,
regulators, and other stakeholders, including local environmental
organizations.
The ecological portion of the mitigation plan is also the result of an
interagency comprehensive regional planning effort in which the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, Northwest Florida Water Management
District, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, The St. Joe Company
and the Airport Authority participated.
Relocation of the Panama City - Bay County International Airport
The Airport Authority is nearing completion of a ten-year process to
relocate the Panama City - Bay County airport. In the late 1980s, the
Airport Authority began an effort to address significant deficiencies at the
existing airport, including non-standard runway safety areas. When local
environmentalists and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
objected to extending the existing runway system into Goose Bayou, a
particularly environmentally sensitive part of St. Andrews Bay, the Airport
Authority began considering relocating the airport.
After completion of a feasibility study in 2000 and a site selection study
in 2001, the Airport Authority identified a new site for the airport in
northwestern Bay County (West Bay) on land owned by The St. Joe Company.
Following the FAA’s selection of the site, the Airport Authority partnered
with the State of Florida, Bay County and St. Joe in an innovative planning
process authorized by Florida law known as “optional sector planning.” The
process included numerous public meetings, data gathering, analysis and
visioning for the future. The plan was approved by Bay County and the
State of Florida in 2002 and detailed specific area plans were also approved
in 2003.
The sector plan incorporates approximately 78,000 acres and of particular
significance is that the boundary of the plan includes an entire bay system
(West Bay) thereby allowing unprecedented planning to protect an entire
watershed. The purpose of the plan was to ensure that appropriate land uses
were placed near the airport and that appropriate environmental protection
measures were built into the plan. The plan is conceptual and guides future
development and conservation.
One of the most innovative elements of the plan, in addition to the airport
and economic development provisions, is the proposed West Bay Preservation
Area. The West Bay Preservation Area was designed by local and state
environmental leaders to preserve the health and habitat of West Bay
forever. This watershed scale plan will preserve approximately 41,000 acres
and, when fully implemented, will provide for habitat corridors, open space
and stream protection.
Simplified, the objective of the West Bay Preservation Area is to maintain
West Bay in its present, pristine state forever. Its vision, especially
when compared to the development that has occurred on Florida’s other bay
front lands, holds the potential to be one of the most significant
conservation measures in Florida history. The plan has won statewide praise
including the “2007 Promising Practices Award” from the Council for
Sustainable Florida.
In 2004, the FAA began preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
considering two-dozen alternatives for addressing the deficiencies at the
existing airport. In May 2006 the FAA issued its Final Environmental Impact
Statement, identifying relocation to the West Bay Site as its Preferred
Alternative. In September 2006, the FAA issued its Record of Decision
recommending and approving relocation of the Panama City airport to the
proposed site in West Bay. There is currently a judicial challenge to the
FAA’s ROD; however, the ROD remains in force.
Popularity: 18%
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 3:18 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.