Idaho: FAA suspends approval process necessary for new Blaine County Airport

Boise: Department of Transportation, The State of Idaho has issuedthe following press release:

The Federal Aviation Administration has dealt a blow to the decade-long project of replacing the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.

A letter to Friedman Memorial Airport Manager Rick Baird, dated August 22, from Donna Taylor, manager of the Airports Division of the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region office in Seattle, stated the FAA has "decided to suspend indefinitely any further work on the (Draft Environmental Impact Statement)."

The FAA has expressed concerns about sage grouse habitat. The letter states the decision is due to "increased anticipated costs of the project and potential impacts to wildlife."

"We are concerned that this project may not be affordable for either the FAA or the local community. Considering uncertainties about our FAA grant program and the limited availability of local funds, we are unable to foresee sufficient federal funding that we believe wouldbe needed to build a replacement airport," it says.

The discussion on replacing Friedman Memorial Airport has been going on for almost 10 years. The FAA initiated the plan after it determined the facility doesn't comply with federal safety standards surrounding the handling of certain large aircraft. The airport is servicedcommercially by SkyWest Airlines and Horizon Air and is also used privately.

The EIS would have addressed the impacts of building an airport ontwo potential sites (one located east of state HWY 75, north of the Lincoln County line and the other near the border of Blaine and Camascounties). According to the FAA, about $6 million has been spent on various EIS efforts, including weather monitoring, tribal consultation, and field studies on wetlands, endangered and threatened species, cultural and archaeological resources, farmlands, water resources, and air quality analysis.

The cost of building the airport has risen since the EIS process began in 2006. The original estimate for the replacement facility was about $107,345,000. The FAA's release indicates estimates have increased to $285 million for Site 10A, near the Lincoln-Blaine county border, and $314 million for Site 12, near the Blaine-Camas county border. The higher costs are attributed to inflation and "better cost data based on actual, not hypothetical sites."

In June, the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority asked the federalgovernment for 50 percent of construction costs, or more than $162 million.

All 16 sites originally identified in a 2006 Site Selection and Feasibility Study will likely be revisited, said Friedman Airport Authority Board Member and Hailey City Councilman Don Keirn. Another option is expanding the airport in use now. It is jointly operated by the city and the county.

"We have to find out what our options are and what is going on," Keirn said. "I would imagine this sends us back to the drawing board."

Keirn is meeting with FAA officials and the airport authority board September 13.

For further information please visit: http://apps.itd.idaho.gov/