Originally published September 16, 2006
FAA OKs Panama City airport
Decision paves the way for new facility

By Billy Bruce
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the way Friday for the relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport to West Bay - to the relief of city airport and state officials but the chagrin of environmentalists who believe the project is unjustified.

The FAA issued its Decision of Record (DOR) - the aviation agency's final regulatory step in approving the project's environmental impact statement. The Friday announcement cleared the way for the design and construction permitting process on the new airport to begin, said Randy Curtis, executive director of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport.

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The St. Joe Co. has agreed to donate 4,000 acres of the 78,000 acres it owns in West Bay, where the new airport will be located, once the project clears a few more hurdles, Curtis said.

"This decision makes the (relocation) project eligible for airport funding," Curtis said. "It's a very major milestone. It's a very major step."

Gov. Jeb Bush applauded the FAA's decision in a prepared statement.

"Relocating the airport expands economic development and tourism in the region and protects thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive lands in the Florida Panhandle," Bush said.

The Florida Department of Transportation has allocated $82.2 million toward the project for the next five years.

The existing airport property on 713 acres is for sale. Bidding will be opened Sept. 25, Curtis said.

"Market value of the airport in 2003 was between $50 million and $55 million, but we've experienced strong land value increases in our area," Curtis said. "We haven't yet determined the threshold for minimum bids."

The Natural Resources Defense Council issued a statement attacking the FAA decision as a taxpayers' boondoggle that will benefit the St. Joe Co., which expects the new airport to trigger development in the region, increasing the value of St. Joe lands.

"The FAA plan would fleece taxpayers to build an airport to nowhere," Melanie Shepherdson, an NRDC attorney, said in the statement. "Given that traffic at the current airport has dropped dramatically, there's no demand for this new one, which would destroy nearly 2,000 acres of wetlands that protect water quality and provide a buffer zone against storms."

Colleen M. Castille, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said the project includes creation of the West Bay Preservation Area, which will ensure the preservation of wildlife habitat, the watershed and the area's quality of life.

"The (DEP) has worked closely with the airport authority to protect the natural resources in the area," Castille's statement said.

Curtis countered the NRDC's claims by noting that the FAA's Decision of Record was reached after an extensive review process by local, state and federal government officials.

"The environmental impact statement is a foot tall," he said. "It's very thorough."

Florida's Great Northwest, a regional economic development organization serving 16 counties from Pensacola to Tallahassee, also applauded the FAA decision.

"The new airport will give northwest Florida a tremendous economic development platform and a competitive advantage over many of the regions with which we compete for job creation," said Al Wenstrand, director of the group.

Next steps for the new airport include design approvals of aviation facilities by the FAA and a dredge-and-fill permit process through the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps permit application most likely won't receive final consideration until the end of this year or early 2007, Curtis said.

Contact reporter Billy Bruce at (850) 599-2312 or bbruce@tallahassee.com.

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