Draft EA - San Diego International Airport

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – PROPOSED RUNWAY 9 DISPLACED THRESHOLD
3. Affected Environment
The affected environment for the proposed relocated displaced threshold project encompasses those areas
that would be directly or indirectly affected by the Proposed Action if it is implemented. 1
This chapter
identifies the potentially affected geographic areas and documents existing conditions within those areas. In
accordance with FAA Orders 1050.1E and 5050.4B, those resources that could potentially be affected by the
Proposed Action are identified herein.
3.1 Identification and Description of Study Area
San Diego International Airport is located within the northwest portion of the downtown area within the city
of San Diego. The Airport is uniquely constrained by both natural and man-made boundaries (see
Figure 3-1). The Airport is bounded by U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego to the north,
Pacific Highway and Interstate 5 to the east, North Harbor Drive and San Diego Bay to the south, and the
Navy Boat Channel and Liberty Station to the west. Further east of the Airport, land rises to form the hillsides
of Uptown and Middletown.
Two study areas have been identified for the Sponsor’s Proposed Action. The Area of Potential Effect (APE)
demarks the boundary of physical disturbance for the Sponsor’s Proposed Action and the viable alternatives.
The APE is located on and adjacent to the end of Runway 9, primarily within the existing SDIA property except
for a portion on the western side of the Airport; the MALSR system for Runway 9 extends west off of Airport
property and into the Navy Boat Channel (see Figure 3-1).
An indirect Study Area has been defined to include those areas that could potentially be indirectly impacted
by the Proposed Action and viable alternatives. The indirect Study Area was identified based on the
Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) 65 decibel (dB) noise contour for the Airport 2 (see Figure 3-2).
Because the relocation of the Runway 9 displaced threshold may result in a shift of the CNEL 65 dB noise
contour, it was used to delineate the indirect Study Area.
1
2
The Proposed Action would not trigger a federal coastal zone certification of consistency (State of California, California Coastal
Commission, California Coastal Management Program, List of Federal Licenses and Permits Subject to Certification for Consistency).
The 2009 CNEL 65 dB noise contour from the San Diego International Airport Part 150 Update, Noise Exposure Maps (August 2009) was
utilized to delineate the indirect Study Area.
Draft EA
Affected Environment
[3-1]