Federal Aviation

Administration

Air Traffic Organization Environmental

Reviews

The Environmental Policy Team falls under the Airspace Policy and ATC Procedures
Group, handling environmental matters for Mission Support Services for ATO. The
team develops environmental policy, standards, and guidance and provides technical
advice to FAA headquarters, service areas, and field offices. The team also
represents Mission Support Services at meetings and conferences on environmental
activities that affect air traffic operations and the National Airspace System (NAS).

What's Happening Now

Open Notices Decisions

NOTICE:

FAA to Hold Virtual Public Workshops on Florida Metroplex (PDF)

NOTICE:

FAA Posts Draft EA for South-Central Florida

Metroplex
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has posted the Draft Environmental
Assessment (EA) for the South-Central Florida Metroplex project, the agency's
plan to modernize air traffic procedures for four major air carrier airports and 17
additional airports in the southern half of the state.

A 60-day public comment period for the Draft EA begins today and ends on July
10, 2020. The agency expects to issue an environmental determination in
September 2020, after it considers and reviews all substantive comments
received during the comment period. The public can review the Draft EA and
submit comments on this page.

The FAA will hold 12 virtual public workshops on the Draft EA during the first
two weeks of June. Residents can view the schedule and register to attend a
virtual workshop at Community Involvement South Central Florida. During the
workshops, the FAA will provide an overview of the Draft EA, and environmental
and air traffic control experts will be available to answer questions. Additional
information about the project, including previous public outreach activities, also
is posted on the webpage.
Many of the procedures for South-Central Florida are based on outdated
technology. While safe, these older procedures are less precise and efficient
than those based on satellite technology. The satellite-based routes proposed
for the South-Central Florida Metroplex project will enhance safety and
efficiency across the region.

The agency conducted the Draft EA in accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which requires the FAA to identify
and publicly disclose the potential environmental impacts of the proposed
procedures.

NOTICE: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Final

Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Denver Metroplex project. The entire
document can be found at:
http://www.metroplexenvironmental.com/denver_metroplex/denver_docs.html

Before the FAA makes a final decision on the project, the agency will hold a 32-
day public comment period beginning November 18, 2019. This will allow
people to comment on the changes made in the Final EA compared to the Draft
EA, and on any of the preliminary determinations under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act. The project would use cutting-edge satellite
navigation to move air traffic more safely and efficiently through the area.
Satellite-based routes would allow for more direct and efficient routing of aircraft
into and out of Denver and surrounding airports, enhancing aviation safety and
efficiency, and potentially reducing flight delays. The project also would expand
the number of entry and exit points into and out of the Denver airspace, by
segregating Denver arrival traffic from satellite airport traffic and creating
additional departure routes, similar to creating more on and off-ramps in the sky.
The project includes two major airports, Denver International Airport and
Centennial Airport, and three satellite airports – Rocky Mountain Metropolitan
Airport, Northern Colorado Regional Airport and Greeley-Weld County Airport.
Prior to issuing the Final EA, the FAA held a total of 24 public workshops in
2017 and in the spring of 2019, conducted approximately 78 briefings for
community groups, airport officials, and local, state and federal officials. The
agency also evaluated and responded to 518 public comments.

The public is invited to submit comments by mail, or via the web comment form
available online throughout the comment period.

Electronic copies of the Final EA and supporting materials, including all Section
106 materials, are available at:
http://www.metroplexenvironmental.com/denver_metroplex/denver_docs.html

Electronic versions of the Final EA have been sent to 78 libraries in the General
Study Area with a request to make the digital document available to patrons. A
complete list of libraries with electronic copies of the Final EA is available online
at the Project website.

NOTICE:
FAA Seeks Comments on Draft Environmental
Assessment for Las Vegas Metroplex Project
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking public comment on the
Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for the Las Vegas Metroplex
Project, which proposes to use cutting-edge satellite navigation to move air
traffic more efficiently through Southern Nevada.

The FAA released the project's Draft EA on Nov.18 for public review.
There will be a 32-day public comment period on the document from
Nov.18 through Dec. 20, 2019. The Draft EA can be found at:
http://www.metroplexenvironmental.com/las_metroplex/las_docs.html

The FAA proposes to address air traffic inefficiencies (PDF) by implementing new
routes that are more direct, automatically separated from each other, and have
efficient climb and descent profiles. The potential benefits of these routes
include reductions in pilot-controller communications, miles flown, fuel burn and
CO2 emissions. The project also includes new and replacement arrival and
departure routes for McCarran International Airport, Henderson Executive
Airport and North Las Vegas Airport. The Draft EA indicates the project would
not have any significant environmental impacts under federal environmental law.

The FAA will host five public workshops for the Draft EA between Monday, Dec.
9 and Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. The workshops will feature informational videos
and display boards that show existing and proposed routes and explain the
inefficiencies in the current system. FAA representatives will be available to
answer questions and demonstrate the Google Earth features. The workshops
will be open-house format, where people can attend any time during the posted
times to learn about the project. Free parking will be available at all locations.
The workshop dates and locations are as follows:

Dec. 9, 2019
5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Clark County Government Center – Pueblo Room
500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV 89155

Dec. 10, 2019

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
North Las Vegas Airport Grand Canyon Conference Room
2730 Airport Drive, North Las Vegas, NV 89032

Dec. 11, 2019

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Desert Breeze Community Center – Meeting Room
8275 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89147

Dec. 12, 2019

4:45 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
 Windmill Library – Meeting Room
7060 Windmill Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89113

Dec. 13, 2019

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Henderson Executive Airport North/South Meeting Room
3500 Executive Terminal Drive, Henderson, NV 89052

Comments may be submitted online at 9-las-metroplex-ea@faa.gov, or in

person at the public workshops, or by writing to:

Las Vegas Metroplex Draft EA Federal Aviation Administration, Western

Service Center-Operations Support Group
2200 S. 216th Street
Des Moines, WA 98198-6547

After evaluating and responding to all relevant and applicable public comments,
the FAA could adopt the entire proposal, adopt portions of it, or modify it.
Additional information about the project, including previous public outreach
activities, is available on the FAA's Las Vegas Community Involvement website.

The final Environmental Assessment for the Atlanta Metroplex Project is

available for review.

Environmental Reviews
The FAA's airspace redesign efforts are important to enhance capacity and meet the
demand for air travel, which is rebounding to levels experienced in 2000. Airspace
redesign efforts have played and will continue to play a critical role in enhancing
capacity, transitioning to more flexible routing, and reducing delays.
Learn more about Environmental Reviews »

Applicable Environmental Regulations & Policy

Regulations, orders, and guidance documents typically referenced for all project-
related environmental reviews.
Read more about Applicable Environmental Regulations & Policy »

Environmental Analysis Tools & Guidance

The Environmental Policy Team helps develop and ensure that the latest noise and air
quality impact evaluation tools are used in assessing environmental impacts of FAA's
airspace projects.
Learn more about Environmental Analysis Tools & Guidance »

Page last modified: August 14, 2020 10:35:15 PM EDT

This page was originally published at: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/environmental_issues/