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

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation3Alternatives Analysis3.1 IntroductionThis chapter describes the development, selection, and levels of screening of the range of alternativesconsidered to meet the Purpose and Need of the T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program, in accordance withFAA Order 1050.1E. It outlines the screening process used to identify which of those alternatives are reasonableand feasible and which should be eliminated from further evaluation or considered for further analysis. Thisscreening process is summarized in Section 3.2, Alternatives Screening Process, and discussed in detail inSections 3.3 through 3.8 of this chapter. Section 3.9, FEIS Analysis – Final Alternatives, the Preferred Alternative, andthe Environmentally Preferable Alternative, summarizes the environmental impacts of the alternatives thatemerged from the Level 1 through Level 6 screening process and describes the selection of the PreferredAlternative. More detailed description of the alternatives screening is included in DEIS Appendix E, AlternativesAnalysis, and a more detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of the proposed alternatives are included inChapter 5, Environmental Consequences. Sources cited in this chapter are provided in Chapter 11, References.The T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program contains various elements that are designed to meet thePurpose and Need, as defined in Chapter 2, Purpose and Need. Each program element addresses a specific safetyenhancement or efficiency enhancement need, and each program element could advance independently fromother program elements. The program elements were identified from a much larger project listing that wasdeveloped through the T.F. Green Airport Master Plan effort (2002 T.F. Green Master Plan Update and the2004 T.F. Green Master Plan Supplement) for the Airport’s projected 20-year facility requirements. The thoroughsix-level DEIS screening process narrowed the field of alternatives to two Build Alternatives (Alternatives B2and B4) and the no build or No-Action Alternative. The CEQ regulations that implement NEPA (40 CFR Parts1500-1508) state that the alternatives section is the heart of an EIS. 90 Those regulations and accompanyingguidance require that a federal decision-maker, in this case the FAA:• Develop and describe the range of alternatives capable of achieving the Purpose and Need (1505.1(e)),including alternatives not within the jurisdiction of the lead agency, and a No-Action Alternative(1502.14(d)); and90 Regulations for Implementing the Provisions of the NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 Council on Environmental Quality.Chapter 3 – Alternatives Analysis 3-1 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH03_Alternatives_JUL_2011.doc