UPDATE: 30 September 2011 from Leslie Grey FAA

Good morning,
 
 
I just wanted to give you a quick heads-up concerning progress on the
Kodiak Airport EIS.  FAA has completed our examination of the factors that
may constrain or influence runway safety area design for the north-south
(18/36) and east-west (07/25) runways at the airport.  We’ll provide much
more detail in the near future on how we conducted this review and
analysis, but for now I’ll note that factors considered included:
 
 
1) operational requirements such as aircraft use and approach and departure
procedures,
 
 
2) landing aids such as the Runway 36 VASI and the Runway 25 glide slope,
 
 
3) runway utilization patterns,
 
 
4) federal safety requirements for the design aircraft, and
 
 
5) opportunities to avoid or minimize environmental impacts.
 
 
As a result of this effort, we’ve established a range of alternatives that
will be subject to a full examination of environmental impacts in the EIS.
 
 
Our consultants are at this time preparing materials that will depict the
details of these new alternatives (and I emphasize “new,” because most of
them were not included in the Preliminary Draft EIS).  My plan is to
schedule meetings with all of you sometime in November, in Kodiak and
Anchorage, to present these new alternatives and explain the work behind
our decisions.  Due to continuing uncertainty over the 2012 budget for
FAA’s Airports Program, unfortunately I can’t yet confirm that meetings
will take place, let alone times and dates.  But I hope to get approval
sometime in the next week or so, and will then notify you all of the
relevant details.
 
 
In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call (271-5453) or write
(Leslie.Grey@faa.gov) if you have questions or comments or just want to
talk about the EIS.
 
 
Thanks very much,
 
Leslie A. Grey
Environmental Protection Specialist
FAA - Alaskan Region, Airports Division
907-271-5453