| Last Stand
Opposes Filling of Salt Pond at Key West Airport
It's the filling of an 8-acre salt pond at Key West
International Airport that Last Stand opposes. We fully support
the Runway Safety Area project at the east end of the runway, using
Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), but the filling of the
"Duck Pond" at the west end is unacceptable. From the May 9
Keynoter: |
Last Stand objects to runway
By Alyson Crean acrean@keynoter.com
The Key West-based environment organization Last
Stand has objected to proposed safety extensions at one end of
Key West International Airport, saying the work would damage a
delicate natural balance.
“We reject the extension of filled area at the west end of the
runway into the Duck Pond,” the organization's board said in a
statement issued last week.
As part of a four-year-old plan to extend safety overruns at the
airport, composite materials would be added to each end of the
runway to bring the unique island tarmac closer to Federal
Aviation Administration standards.
Last Stand opposes the proposal for the west end of the runway
that would fill part of a five-acre salt pond, reconfiguring it
around the fill. The group says the delicate pond has a lower
salinity than the rest of the surrounding salt ponds and
provides rare habitat for migrating birds, an environment that
could not easily be recreated in the more than 20 acres of
planned mitigation.
Last Stand is not opposed to work on the other end of the
runway.
“The east end is by far the most dangerous,” the board said in
its official statement, “since 95 percent of the takeoffs and
landings occur in that direction.”
Airport Director Peter Horton says specially designed, sloped
gravel surfaces called Engineered Materials Arresting Systems
would provide a safety margin using less space than traditional
runway overruns.
Last Stand acknowledged the system would provide safety while
minimizing the environmental impact.
The proposed extension is in the public review process, and Last
Stand's objections are part of that review.
Overall, the project would run upward of $12 million, Horton
said. Most of that will be paid by the FAA; passenger fees will
pay the balance.
In its statement, Last Stand insists on more study if its
objection is ignored.
“More study would be needed on the severe impacts of filling a
salt pond and appropriate mitigation.” |
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