Environmental consultants from the firm AKRF gave a detailed accounting of the environmental review process now taking off at East Hampton Airport at the town board’s work session on Tuesday.
After having been rebuffed in court over its hotly contested gambit to briefly close the airport last spring and reopen it as a private facility with new restrictions, the town is now looking at theoretical impacts that such a move would have in the region.
The town’s plan, in part, was to use a prior-permission-required framework to reduce flight operations at the airport and to impose time limits or curfews on when planes might fly, limit the sorts of airplanes that could use the facility, and limit flights based on how noisy the aircraft are. It had planned to study the environmental impacts in “real time,” but a New York State Supreme Court justice first imposed a temporary restraining order prohibiting the change in May and in October ruled that the town could not impose any restrictions before first conducting an extensive environmental analysis required under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
Tuesday’s meeting was mostly about process — and impacts.Any actions undertaken by East Hampton to reduce or otherwise end flight services here would invariably ripple out to other regional airports in Montauk and Westhampton and a heliport in Southampton Village. And it might have the unintended consequences of adding vehicle traffic to the region’s roads if people were no longer able to fly into and out of East Hampton.
The town’s SEQRA process requires that environmental impacts that might face those other airports and landing areas also be taken into consideration.
Here’s how the process may play out going forward, according to a detailed PowerPoint presentation given to the board on Tuesday:
What’s called a generic environmental impact statement (G.E.I.S.) scoping document has been completed and may be presented at today’s regular board meeting. Public comments on this scoping document will be open through Jan. 27.
That document highlights the pluses and minuses of the facility, stating that “increased air traffic for decades to and from the town-owned airport has led to growing concerns in the community about noise, public health, safety, community character, environmental and climate change impacts. These impacts are not well-aligned with [the] town’s identity as a resort community and its commitment to being environmentally conscious and otherwise sustaining the quality of life and the quiet enjoyment of its rich natural, cultural, and scenic resources.”
It also notes that the airport “also provides positive values to the community including employment, economic and recreation opportunities as well as access for emergency, medical, and civilian services.”
In 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration offered a “re-envisioning” process for the airport, that “included presentations to the community, listening sessions, workshops with breakout groups and other outreach to various stakeholders to identify the range of opinions and positions regarding the future of the airport. These opinions ranged from support to close the airport at one end of the spectrum, to those that did not want to see any changes to airport operations.”
The draft scoping document notes that the town believes limiting flight operations “is the most appropriate action to address the community’s concerns, and the one that will be studied” as the “proposed action” in the generic environmental impact statement.
But it is also looking at other alternatives and their potential impacts, including ending airport operations altogether “when legally permissible.”
To that end, the draft scoping document accounts for possible changes to flight patterns and volume of air traffic at East Hampton Airport, Montauk Airport, Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, and the Southampton Heliport.
The scoping document also highlights prospective changes in land use and community character that might ensue from changes in the number of flights, reduced or additional noise, and reduced or additional traffic.
While comments are being gathered, a scoping session is scheduled during the regular town board meeting on Jan. 17. And as the process plays out, the town would issue a final draft G.E.I.S. by the end of March.
That document, according to Tuesday’s presentation to the board, would include information about changes in emissions, including greenhouse gases, “from changed flight and traffic patterns” and suggest alternatives, as required under SEQRA: Take no action, close East Hampton Airport, or come up with alternative restrictions.
The final draft G.E.I.S. will likely be completed by the spring. The town will then review and presumably accept its findings by next summer, and then another round of public comments and hearings would ensue.
A final environmental impact statement (F.E.I.S.) would be prepared next fall and a findings statement detailing environmental impacts and mitigation, along with setting forth the town board’s rationale for its final decision — whatever it might be — would be completed by the end of next year.
Given the rolling pushback to the town board from pro-airport forces, the flight from here to there may be a bit bumpy.
