Buckingham: Congress must set airport runway deadlines
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press, 5/24/2001 19:31
© Copyright 2001 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing, Inc.

WASHINGTON (AP) Massachusetts Port Authority Executive Director Virginia
Buckingham told a House panel Thursday that unless Congress sets deadlines
to complete federal reviews, opponents could stall Logan Airport's proposed
new runway indefinitely.

Buckingham was among four airport officials from around the country who
testified before the Transportation Committee, which is studying new runways
as a solution to overcrowded airports.

''It seems to me the first step of streamlining any process is to make sure
it ends,'' Buckingham testified.

Massachusetts law includes a deadline for completion of state environmental
review, but the federal guidelines leave it open-ended. Legislation has been
introduced to require federal, state and local agencies to simultaneously
study environmental impacts, rather than one agency after the other.

''It will help take the politics out of the process,'' Buckingham said after
testifying.

The proposed Logan runway was first proposed in the 1970s. It faces fierce
neighborhood and political opposition. Among its opponents are Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and Rep. Joseph Moakley, D-South Boston.

Logan is the fifth most delay-prone airport in the country, according to the
Federal Aviation Administration.

A national focus on delays, Buckingham said, has helped ''change the dynamic
in Boston,'' where the proposed Logan runway has been under federal
environmental review since 1994.

''In the last six years, it's been a local political problem, held hostage
to the opposition of the mayor, the opposition of local congressional
leaders,'' she said.

Menino said he favors a more comprehensive solution, involving better use of
regional airports.

''The director of Massport once again doesn't understand the issue,'' Menino
said. ''We're not obstructionists. What do you do when the runway is at
capacity in six years? Build another one? What she wants is a Band-Aid
approach to a very serious transportation issue.''

Buckingham hopes the final environmental review process will be completed by
the fall, at which time they will try to lift a court injunction on
construction. The injunction was issued in the mid-1970s, when Massport
skipped environmental reviews altogether.

''Clearly no one can say we haven't done that this time, so I'm very
confident that we'll be able to lift the injunction and move forward,''
Buckingham said.

Massport's optimistic timetable is to have the new runway operational by the
end of 2003, although neighborhood and political opposition remains strong.

Buckingham also testified that congestion could be eased if Congress would
designate New England's airports as a single facility. That would allow
Massport to direct short-range, cargo and charter flights to regional
airports, which would ease Logan congestion, she said.

Federal law prevents public-use airports from regulating access to their
facilities, she said.

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