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

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluationfacility improvement planning and development. Aviation activity forecasts were prepared for T.F. Green Airportas part of a strategic master planning process to guide anticipated development at the Airport. The forecast andsubsequent development of alternatives to address facility needs are initial steps in the planning process. Thesesteps are designed to allow RIAC to respond adequately with new efficiency-related facilities (e.g., automobileparking facilities) to be implemented when they are necessary as the anticipated aviation demand materializes,and not after the fact when demand already exceeds capacity, resulting in operating inefficiencies. Airport safetyprojects, such as those comprising part of the T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program, do not rely on existing orforecast aviation demand levels for justification. The need for airport safety-related projects is based on meetingFAA airport design standards.The original forecast of aviation activity developed for this EIS was based on realistic assumptions andmethodologies at the time it was developed in 2004. FAA Orders 5050.4B and 1050.1E require the use of the latestavailable planning information at the time the NEPA process starts. The FAA confirmed that the original EISforecast developed in 2004 was consistent with the latest published FAA Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) when theEIS process began in 2005. 32 The forecast was demand-oriented because it considered the availability of servicesfrom the Airport as well as the two other major airports serving the eastern New England region (Logan andManchester Airports), and the differences in ticket prices and services offered at the three airports. The forecastalso represented the aircraft operational demand and passenger demand with T.F. Green Airport’s currentfacilities. The forecast estimated that total passengers using T.F. Green Airport would increase from 5.5 million in2004 to approximately 9 million by 2020 (and 10.4 million by 2025). Aircraft operations were predicted to increasefrom 121,428 in 2004 to 152,275 by 2020 (and 164,035 by 2025).Since the aviation activity forecast was originally prepared in 2004, the national and global economic recessionoccurred in 2008-2009 and affected overall aviation demand. FAA Orders 5050.4B and 1050.1E require that thesponsor and FAA consider new information regarding national, regional or site specific aviation trends that couldaffect the project purpose and need developed for the EIS after the start of the NEPA process. Indicators of aviationtrends include the annual TAF for the airport, the FAA National Aerospace Forecast, regional-specific economictrends, regional airport system factors, and site-specific restraints to growth.In 2009, the FAA revised the DEIS analysis using a No-Action Alternative forecast consistent with the most recent FAATAF at that time (published in December 2008). 33 After the DEIS was issued in July 2010, actual (historical) andshort-term forecast aviation activity continued to decline. Therefore, the FAA revised the FEIS analysis using aNo-Action Alternative forecast based on the Draft 2010 TAF (October 2010; see Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast ofAviation Activity) , which was the latest forecast information available at the time the FEIS analysis was performed andwas considered to reflect the recent aviation trends. 34 The FEIS forecast is based on the 2010 Draft TAF plus anadditional ten percent for each aircraft operator category and is referred to as the 2010 FEIS No-Action Forecast.32 The Notice of Intent to Prepare and Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2005.33 The 2010 No-Action Alternative FEIS Forecast is within 10 percent of FAA TAF passenger forecast (see Appendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity).34 The 2010 Final 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 2010 Draft TAF (seeAppendix E.1, Updated Forecast of Aviation Activity).Chapter 2 – Purpose and Need 2-5 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH02_P&N_JUL_2011.doc