Quote of the Week

Some of the group's concerns more likely would be addressed by the Federal Aviation Administration, and that agency now is redesigning the air traffic patterns for the metropolitan area.

But Port Authority spokesman Marc Lavorgna said they've already answered the question of local input. He noted the letter from the environmental groups was a follow-up to a visit by Shorris to the area to speak with those groups and other groups and individuals.

"I don't think we can demonstrate any more commitment than having our top official making the trip up there," Lavorgna said. "We're very committed to having an open dialogue."

The airport still maintains a noise-complaint hot line, but spokeswoman Tanya Vanasse said the few complaints registered there — probably less than one a month — all deal with the 105th's planes and are referred there.

But it can't be said that the 105th hasn't tried to cut down on noise. Six years ago, they installed a $30 million flight simulator that ended the need for touch-and-go training flights.

Maureen Radl, co-chairwoman of Ulsterites Fight Overflight Noise, hopes someone listens to the concerns of her group and the other groups.

"The whole world is becoming more aware of environmental concerns," she said. "The airline industry needs to look at that as well. (Stewart) could be a model for airports in the rest of the country."

If the FAA’s final decision in August on the proposed flight plans for airports in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York includes flying over Delaware County communities, County Council will file a suit, according to council Chairman Andrew Reilly.

"(Council will) go to court and make the case that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act," Reilly said Wednesday. "Federal law only allows challenges to these plans under NEPA. We believe they (FAA) violated NEPA and we’re going to exercise our citizens’ rights to challenge their plan."

Reilly said similar plans have also been defeated in the past by political pressure.

He added he was extremely proud Tuesday night to be a Delaware Countian because of the huge turnout of about 2,000 people at the Holiday Inn in Essington to voice their opposition to the FAA’s preferred alternative.

Reilly called it "the biggest issue to face the county in 20 years."

"Our citizens sent a message not only to the FAA, but also to our elected federal officials who have the ability to derail this plan because we’re dealing with a federally funded agency," he said, adding that County Council had been virtually a lone voice in staunch opposition to the plan. "But now we have been joined on a bipartisan basis by other elected officials."

The bigger issue, he said, is that for the first time, the FAA conceded it is planning on 700,000 flights total departing and arriving annually out of Philadelphia International Airportby 2011.

"An estimated reduction in delay time of 289,000 minutes spread over 700,000 flights is approximately a savings of 24 seconds per flight," Reilly said. "And the question is: Is a reduction of 24 seconds per flight worth the damage that this will do to Delaware County communities?"

"They (FAA) have awakened a sleeping giant," said Tinicum Commissioners President Thomas Giancristoforo, who rallied residents to attend the meeting along with other elected officials.

"I didn’t see one person who was in favor of their proposals other than a pilot who lives in Tinicum, and he was representing the pilots association," he said.

"The residents of Tinicum and Delaware County deserve an apology for the way they (the FAA) ran the thing."

Giancristoforo said it was the largest public turnout on one issue he’s ever seen in his 17-year political career.

He commended U.S. Reps. Joe Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, and Rob Andrews, D-N.J., and state Reps. Ron Raymond, R-162, of Ridley Park, and Bryan Lentz, D-161, of Swarthmore, for their bipartisan stand on the issue.

Giancristoforo said he asked both Sestak and Andrews Tuesday not to fund the FAA project.

"I think the whole theory is that the FAA is the federal government and individuals think that the federal government can never be challenged or defeated," he said. "But in this case, I honestly feel we’re going to stop this proposal."

Sestak said Tuesday night’s meeting showed "a resounding loud voice of the public," which was disappointed by the facts that were missing from the FAA’s presentation.

He said Steve Kelley, FAA airspace redesign project manager, admitted he didn’t have all the answers.

Sestak said he wrote a letter to Kelley Wednesday morning and his boss regarding the project’s shortcomings. He also spoke with Andrews about their next steps.

All options to "stop this colossal mistake are going to be pursued," Sestak said, including litigation by County Council, legislation and the FAA reauthorization bill with regard to whether to proceed on various projects.

Sestak said he’s also asking the head of transportation to look at data on alternatives such as outlying underused airfields.

"We all need to work together in a bipartisan way in order to stop a redesign project that has little, if any, operational gain, but has a lot of significant negative impact on our citizens," he said.

Sestak said he told the FAA at the public meeting that while he served in the Navy as an admiral, millions were spent on determining the impact of noise on mammals at sea from sonar "so we know where to operate so we don’t impact their health and their breeding."

"Why does the FAA treat our citizens in Delaware County with less regard than we do dolphins or whales?" he said.

Sestak said the FAA in 2003 was given exclusive authority to determine the options for airspace redesign, and then noise abatement was removed from its scoping document on the Philadelphia airspace proposal.

Stephen Keeney, 52, of Ridley Park, a father of four children aged 16 to 33 with two granddaughters aged 6 and 4, said he attended Tuesday’s meeting and was impressed with the large turnout.

"Studies show that kids in school who live near airports, their education falls a year behind," he said.

The quality of life for the area is the important issue, Keeney said. "It’s your property, your quality of life, it’s very detrimental to the children’s learning process."

Keeney said he felt ignored by the FAA representatives at the meeting. "They had no real answers."




	ANDY REILLY ... Leading airport fight

Are noise levels taking off at Stewart International Airport?