People interested in the Paulding County airport’s plans to commercialize and attract airline flights are getting their first opportunity to submit comments for a federal environmental review.
The Federal Aviation Administration is taking comments for 30 days on what to study in an environmental assessment for the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport's commercial operating certificate and related expansion — both critical pieces of the effort to create at least a small version of a long-discussed "second airport" for the region.
A public meeting will be held when a draft report is complete.
The chance to comment has been long awaited by residents who felt their concerns were not heard by the county and airport officials who announced plans for the Paulding airport commercialization last fall.
Paulding resident Sue Wilkins said plan critics are “excited about the opportunity to have their voices heard.”
The environmental assessment is required as part of a settlement of a legal challenge by residents including Wilkins. The aim is to evaluate potential environmental effects of the airport’s proposed expansion plan and the alternatives, including no expansion.
Paulding airport director Blake Swafford said the environmental assessment, to be done by consulting firm Michael Baker Corp., will include a traffic forecast and will be “very, very thorough … so a lot of the concerns that we’ve seen expressed by some constituents in the county should be addressed with this.”
Swafford estimates the environmental assessment will cost about $160,000. The FAA, the state and the county will each pay a portion, according to the FAA.
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