Regional airport to be subject of forum

A forum for public comment on the proposed site for the Downeast Regional Airport will be held on Tuesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. in Room 102 of the University of Maine at Machias Science Building. The public session is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's decision-making process. The possible site for the proposed regional airport "sits partially in Northfield and partially in Marshfield," says Machias Town Manager Betsy Fitzgerald. "My sense is that we don't need the whole parcel." She says she cannot comment at this time on the name of the property owner or the asking price of the property. "We haven't gotten as far as a price."

Ralph Nicosia-Rusin, FAA airport division capacity program manager, says of the public forum, "The whole point is to get public input. We have a preferred site, so now we're looking at community needs and the least amount of environmental damage." He acknowledges that no matter how many letters and public notices have gone out for all the previous steps, not everyone attends until "they see a headline."

The decision to create a new Machias-area airport is "not based on [increasing] customer traffic," Nicosia-Rusin explains. "It is based on linking the region to a national network of transportation links." The FAA transportation link plan, National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), has identified 3,400 existing and proposed airports that are significant to national air transportation. NPIAS sets entry-level criteria for standards that need to be included in airports in order for those airports to qualify for grants from the aviation trust fund.

Fitzgerald elaborates on the new airport's cost breakdown. "The FAA would pay 95%, the state of Maine and the town of Machias would each pay 2 1/2%." Of the proposed airport, she says, "We've progressed beyond single-engine planes. We aren't going to have 200 flights a day. They're absolutely right," she says of critics. But she notes that the FAA is concerned that between the Bar Harbor/Trenton and Princeton airports, fuel cannot be purchased. "There are no options," she says. "The FAA says that is not a good thing."

Robert Cossette, airport manager at the Bar Harbor/Trenton Airport, confirms that his airport provides both jet fuel and 100 low-lead fuel for piston-engine planes. The Princeton Airport can accommodate jets but has only 100 low-lead fuel available.

Eastport City Manager George "Bud" Finch says that the Eastport Municipal Airport is in the FAA funded and guided process of installing a fuel station that will provide both general aviation fuel and jet fuel. Customers will be able to use a fully automated self-serving credit service. "The installation is part of the city/state/FAA airport master plan and is funded 95% by federal funds, 2 1/2% by state funds and 2 1/2% by the Airport Association and user fees." Finch reports that the project has been completed through the bid process, with final paperwork awaiting approval from the Northeast FAA operations out of Boston. He notes that Eastport will join Princeton as the second airport in Washington County to supply aviation fuel. "Growth in use of the airport and requirements for fuel have been driven by growth in the private plane and jet sector who utilize the airport for a variety of reasons, including the ability to clear customs," he says.

Of the public input meeting scheduled for May 12, Fitzgerald says, "There are no decisions being made, it is purely informational." But she hopes that the public will come. "I'm concerned that there is more misinformation than information out there."