T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationFollowing the issuance of the DEIS in July 2010, the FAA monitored aviation activity and determined that actualand forecasted operations and passenger levels continued to decline at T.F. Green Airport. It then compared theDEIS aviation activity forecasts with the Draft 2010 TAF for reasonable consistency. This check was performeddue to the rapid changes in the aviation industry. The FAA determined that while the changes did not affect theproject purpose and need, the DEIS forecast was not within the percentage difference criteria. Rather thanresolve the differences FAA updated the forecast. 15 Therefore, the FEIS analysis was revised using a No-ActionAlternative forecast based on the Draft TAF (October 2010; see Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity) ,which was the latest forecast information available at the time the FEIS analysis was performed and was consideredto reflect the recent aviation trends. 16As described in Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity, recent and historical trends in the actualnumber of operations at T.F. Green Airport (based on FAA Air Traffic Control Tower data) suggest that theassumptions used in the 2010 FEIS No-Action Forecast (based on the 2010 Draft TAF) are reasonable and thatthe FEIS forecast remains within acceptable limits of the 2010 Draft TAF.Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity, outlines the forecasting assumptions, methodology, andresults. All adjustments to forecasts used in this EIS took into account variations in anticipated demand relativeto specific aircraft operators identified in the TAF (air carrier, scheduled air taxi, unscheduled air taxi, generalaviation, and military), as described further in Section 3.9.2, FEIS Impact Analysis. The 2010 FEIS No-ActionForecast shows that operations without the runway extension decreased. The 2010 FEIS Forecast for the No-Action Alternative serves as the base forecast for the FEIS environmental analysis. Added to this is theIncremental Build Alternative Forecast, which accounts for the additional operations and passengers anticipatedwith the proposed extension of Runway 5-23. The 2010 FEIS Total Build Alternative Forecast includes the base2010 FEIS No-Action Alternative Forecast and the Incremental Build Alternative Forecast.The forecasted flights associated with the runway extension remained as anticipated in the DEIS becausehistorical regional demand (from T.F. Green and Logan Airports) for West Coast service has remained relativelyconstant despite the recent economic downturn and its effect on passenger demand in general. Additionally, atthe time of the forecast update the FAA released a new version of FAA’s Integrated Noise Model (INM 7.0b). 17FAA’s INM is the preferred model for assessing the noise impacts of airport development and determining thesignificance of changes in exposure. Because of anticipated changes based on the revised forecast and a newversion of the model, the FAA determined it was prudent to revise analysis of relevant areas of environmentaland social resources and report on the new analysis in this FEIS.The FAA also considered other relevant changed conditions in the EIS analyses under the No-ActionAlternative and Alternatives B2 and B4. In addition, the on-Airport projects that were planned at the start of the15 FAA Order 5050.4B and the FAA Master Plan Advisory Circular 150/5070-6B, state that EIS forecasts should be reasonably consistent with the FAA’s TAF.This is defined as within 10 percent of the TAF for the 5-year analytical period and within 15% for the 10-year analytical period. Forecasts not meeting thesecriteria require consultation to resolve differences.16 The Final 2010 TAF became available during the latter stages of the FEIS analysis, and differed from the Draft 2010 with lower short-term forecasts.However, FAA evaluated the most recent aviation activity counts recorded by the Air Traffic Control Tower, which were consistent with the Draft 2010 TAF(see Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity).17 The latest version, INM version 7.0b, was used to produce DNL 75 dB, DNL 70 dB, DNL 65 dB, and DNL 60 dB contours as well as modeled levels atspecific noise sensitive sites for this analysis.Chapter 1 – Introduction and Background 1-7 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH01_Introduction_JUL_2011.doc