FAA Still Considering Jonesboro for New Airport

Feb. 2 -- JONESBORO, Me. -- Federal Aviation Administration officials said Thursday that Jonesboro has not been removed from the list of potential sites for a regional airport in Washington County, despite heavy consideration being given to at least two other locations.

John Silva, manager of environmental programs in the airport division of the FAA's New England region, said statements that Jonesboro's proposed site was off the table "are categorically not true."

Silva said any new sites identified will be compared with the "preferred site" in Jonesboro before any final decision is made.

Silva said Jonesport residents presented a lot of good, technical comments at a public hearing last fall.

"The people took a lot of time and effort, including PowerPoint presentations. They were very well-spoken," Silva said.

After that meeting, Silva said the siting team held one meeting and a teleconference. The committee consists of representatives from the Maine Department of Transportation; FAA; Washington County Council of Governments; Edwards and Kelsey, the project engineers; and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., the group that conducted the environmental assessment.

The group concluded that not enough consideration had been given to a former backscatter radar site in Columbia Falls.

"It is as flat as a pancake and surrounded by hundreds of acres of blueberry barrens," Silva said. "It's a fantastic site." The site has not been deactivated by the U.S. Air Force, he said, but is considered "mothballed. It is not being used on a regular basis."

The site is one of two backscatter sites installed in Maine during the Cold War. The second is in Moscow in Somerset County.

"There are still lots of unanswered questions about this location," he said. "We need to study it more."

The team also felt they were limiting potential sites by looking only at those already accessible by an existing road.

"The vast majority of land in Washington County does not have road access," he said. "There are lots of good sites if we are willing to go three to four miles off the road."

Silva said the consulting team is being asked to look more systematically at potential sites, regardless of road access. The team also wants to take a look at another potential site adjacent to the proposed site in Jonesboro.

Silva said the next step in the process is to secure a grant that will supplement the site selection and environmental assessment.

"That will take a few months and during that time we will ask the consulting team to put together an analysis and time line."

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