Airport
Authority Receives Final State Permits for Relocation of
the Panama City - Bay County International Airport
Tuesday December 5, 3:54 pm ET
PANAMA
CITY, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Panama City-Bay County
Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) announced
today that it had received the final State of Florida permits
necessary to move forward with the relocation of the Panama
City-Bay County International Airport. Issuance of the state
permit clears the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to issue a Section 404 permit, the final permit necessary
before construction of the new airport can begin.
All
challenge periods for the State of Florida permits have
expired, and the issuance of these permits concludes the
state permitting process.
The
state permits were issued as part of an Ecosystem Management
Agreement (EMA) between the Airport Authority and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection. The EMA includes
a comprehensive mitigation plan for environmental impacts
of the relocation and construction of the Panama City-Bay
County International Airport.
The
EMA was reached using Florida's innovative Ecosystem Team
Permitting (ETP) approach, a process whereby environmental
impacts associated with the airport relocation were avoided
or minimized, and a comprehensive mitigation plan was developed
through consensus building between the Airport Authority,
regulators, and other stakeholders, including local environmental
organizations.
According
to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the
ETP process resulted in a number of net ecosystem benefits
as a result of the airport relocation, including:
* The conservation and permanent protection of significant
contiguous portions of the West Bay region, including bay
shoreline, wetlands, streams, uplands and the overall watershed;
* A wetlands function lift significantly in excess of that
needed to compensate for functional losses (impacts);
* A mitigation plan that significantly exceeds both state
and federal requirements for all possible current and future
impacts, and
* An effort to restore a large contiguous tract of uplands
and wetlands to approximate historical conditions more suitable
for dependent species native to the area.
Last
week The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE - News) recorded a conservation
easement for 9,609 acres in the West Bay Sector, providing
the mitigation land agreed to in the EMA. The easement becomes
permanent upon commencement of construction of the new airport.
It fulfills a major commitment JOE made in a land donation
agreement with Airport Authority.
"Receiving
the state permits represents another major milestone in
the effort to relocate our airport," said Airport Authority
chairman Joseph Tannehill. "We are one step closer
to making our new airport a reality and one step closer
to realizing this community's vision for an airport that
meets all federal safety and design standards while providing
us a platform to compete for better, more competitive air
service."
The
Airport Authority has been working for more than ten years
to address deficiencies at the current airport site. In
1998 the Airport Authority abandoned an effort to extend
the existing runway system into Goose Bayou because of strong
local environmental opposition. In 1999 the Airport Authority
began focusing on relocation as an option after the St.
Joe Company, the county's largest private landowner, agreed
to work with the Airport Authority to identify a suitable
site for relocation.
In
May 2006, after more than five years of study, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) issued its Final Environmental
Impact Statement selecting relocation to the West Bay site
as its Preferred Alternative for addressing the deficiencies
at the current airport site. In September 2006 the FAA issued
its Record of Decision approving relocation to West Bay.
"There
are obvious aviation-related benefits in relocating the
airport to West Bay," said Tannehill. "But there
are environmental and economic development benefits too.
Relocation of the airport is the catalyst for the creation
of the West Bay Preservation Area. Ultimately, tens of thousands
of acres that will be permanently protected, including miles
of West Bay shoreline."
"We
are very proud that the mitigation plan for the airport
goes above and beyond what is required by law," said
Tannehill. "We have worked closely with dozens of local
environmentalists to ensure that significant long-term environmental
benefits will result from this relocation."
"If
we continue to work together as a community and a region,
I am confident that we can use this new airport as a tremendous
economic development platform to attract high-quality, high-wage
jobs to Bay County," said Tannehill.
"We
continue to make tremendous progress. If all goes according
to plan, we should be in a position to break ground on the
airport next year," said Tannehill.
Contact:
Panama
City - Bay County International Airport,
Panama City
Randy Curtis, Executive Director, 850-763-6751, ext 203
Source:
Panama City - Bay County International Airport
