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

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluationa comment period ending no sooner than 45 days after issuance of the DEIS. As part of the CWA Section 404Permit, the USACE published a public notice and held a joint public hearing with FAA’s public hearing on theDEIS. The joint public hearing was held on August 17, 2010. The purpose of the public hearing was to providethe public with the opportunity to make comments and state opinions on the DEIS. Approximately 380 peopleattended the public hearing, which was held at the Community College of Rhode Island at the Knight Campusauditorium. Notification to the public prior to the public hearing was through newspaper advertisements,individual mailings, email notifications, internet postings on the project website and on a number of stategovernment websites, posters placed on community boards, and telephone calls.Throughout the EIS preparation process, the FAA held meetings with stakeholders such as communityorganizations, neighborhood groups, airport users, chambers of commerce, and non-governmentalorganizations. These meetings were held as one-on-one discussions as well as small group meetings to give thecommunity an opportunity to ask questions and provide input.Table 8-1EIS Public Outreach and ReviewMeeting Date TopicInitial Public Scoping Meeting July 25, 2002 EIS scope issuesPublic Scoping Meeting [EIS Restarted in 2005] February 8, 2005 EIS scope issuesPublic Workshop July 11, 2005 Identify noise monitoring locationsPublic Information Meeting (Warwick) October 19, 2005 Program Purpose and NeedPublic Information Meeting (Cranston) October 20, 2005 Program Purpose and NeedPublic Information Meeting (Warwick) March 22, 2006 Alternatives analysisPublic Information Meeting (Cranston) March 23, 2006 Alternatives analysisSmall Group Meetings (Warwick) November 14, 2007 Open discussion with residentsPublic Information Meeting (Warwick) June 14, 2007 Environmental consequencesPublic Information Meeting (Warwick) June 3, 2009 Review additional Alternative B4DEIS Notification July 16, 2010 Notification of availability of the DEIS published according toSection 6.4 of FAA Order 1050.1EDEIS Public Comment Period July 16, 2010 Beginning of 61 day public comment periodPublic Hearing August 17, 2010 Opportunity for public oral and written comment(Joint Hearing on DEIS and USACE Corps Permit)521 As noted, a public hearing is a formal process that needs to be offered during the public comment period to promote public involvement in the NEPAprocess. Public meetings, on the other hand, are informal meetings that can be offered as a means to update the public on project status and receiveinformal feedback.Chapter 8 - Coordination and Consultation 8-4 July 2011\\Mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH08_Consultation_JUL_2011.doc