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

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation8.2.3 Project Web Site and UpdatesA website was developed for the T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program and has been operational since 2003. Thewebsite provides the public with an overview of the project and an explanation of the NEPA process as well asproviding updates regarding public meetings and coordination. Following each public meeting notes and meetingpresentations are available online for interested parties who were unable to attend meetings in person. The websitealso allows members of the public to register to be included on the project mailing list.The website address is www.vhb.com/pvd/eis/ and can also be accessed via the T.F. Green Airport main website:www.pvdairport.com/.Additional information was sent to individuals on the T.F. Green Public Interested Parties Mailing List in the form ofUpdate Letters. Information included in 2006 and 2007 Update Letters provided the public with an update on thecurrent status of the project and next steps.8.3 Inter-Agency/Tribal Consultation and CoordinationAn initial Notice of Intent was published in 2002. Following the publication of a second Notice of Intent in theFederal Register on January 19, 2005, an agency scoping meeting was held on February 8, 2005. The agencyscoping meeting was attended by representatives from the following federal and state agencies:• EPA • USFWS • RIDOT• FHWA • USHUD • RIHPHC• FTA • NMFS • Office of the Governor• USACE • RIDEMRepresentatives of Congressman James Langevin’s office and the City of Warwick, as well as members of thepress corps, also attended the scoping meeting.The agency scoping meeting included a short presentation about the Airport Improvement Program and theNEPA process and provided meeting attendees with a handout explaining the scoping process. The NEPAhandout provided background information, the reason for the proposed action, possible alternatives beingconsidered, and an overview of the environmental process.After the second scoping meeting in February 2008, an agency scoping meeting was held with federal, state, andlocal agencies and other interested entities with jurisdiction by law or with special expertise on resources that theprogram may affect were invited to participate in the NEPA process as part of an Inter-Agency/TribalCoordination Group (the Coordination Group). The group was modeled after the streamlining recommendationsincluded in the Vision 100- Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, Pub. L. 108-176, 117 Stat. 2490 (2003). ThisAct directs the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to develop an expedited and coordinated environmental reviewprocess that provides for better coordination among all agencies concerned with the EIS, and in which allenvironmental review and approvals by federal, state, and local agencies are conducted concurrently.Chapter 8 - Coordination and Consultation 8-5 July 2011\\Mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH08_Consultation_JUL_2011.doc