L.R. Kimball

New Jersey State Licensing of Aeronautical Facilities

On Wednesday, December 12th, the New Jersey State Appellate Court made an important decision regarding the licensing of aeronautical facilities (airports, heliports & helistops) in New Jersey.  The decision upholds the power of the NJDOT Commissioner of Transportation to over-rule local governing bodies in regard to aeronautical facility licensing decisions.  This court case involved a helistop sought by Mr. Donald Trump in Colts Neck Township. In summary, Mr. Trump was denied a variance for the helistop by the Colts Neck Zoning Board of Adjustment. Other necessary approvals or permits were issued by the NJDOT, FAA & County.  The issue decided by the courts was, who has the final authority for the licensing of an aeronautical facility, the Commissioner of Transportation or local government?

 

At the NJ Superior Court level (this is the trial court in NJ) , Colts Neck Township prevailed.  On appeal to the NJ Appellate Court, the Superior Court decision was reversed and the Appellate Court found that it is the Commissioner of Transportation who has final authority under NJ law for the licensing of aeronautical facilities.  This authority, however, could only be excercised after paying "due attention to the lawful zoning provisions of local governments" and not acting in an unreasonable fashion so as to arbitrarily override important and legitimate local concerns.

 

This decision upholds and affirms the key elements of decades old prior case law (Garden State vs. Bay) wherein the Commissioner of Transportation was previously cited as the final authority to approve, or disapprove, the licensing of aeronautical facilities in NJ.

 

This is an important and very positive decision for aviation advocates and the owners/operators of aeronautical facilities.

 

A full copy of the official 17-page NJ Appellate Court decision can be downloaded from the following web address:  

 

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a3966-11.pdf

 

In closing, permit me to note that L.R. Kimball is a full-service solution provider with a diverse client base that includes public and private organizations; federal, state and local government agencies; as well as private industry organizations.  Since 1953, L.R. Kimball's continuous growth and success is the result of a talented work force, technical diversification, geographic expansion and an established reputation for delivering high-quality services.  Additionally, you should know that L.R. Kimball closely tracks and monitors project permitting, project financing, regulatory, statutory and case law changes that may impact our clients or their projects.  The L.R. Kimball webpage can be found at:

 

http://lrkimball.com/Index.aspx

 

If you have any questions or wish to learn more about L.R. Kimball, please feel free to call me at 609-638-9525.

 

Sincerely,

 

Thomas Thatcher AICP, PP, CFI

L.R. Kimball

Airports group staff member authors guidebook for airport preservation

L.R. Kimball’s Senior Research and Planning Manager, Tom Thatcher, has authored the Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 44, A Guidebook for the Preservation of Public Use Airports. The report was written following a study completed by L.R. Kimball to determine how airport infrastructure can remain open and has been published by Transportation Research Board. 

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are approximately 5,000 public-use airports in the United States. Many of which are in danger of closure, typically to make land available for alternative uses such as residential or commercial development. The purpose of the Guidebook is to help preserve America’s public use airport system. 

 ACRP Report 44 is a resource for all airport advocates, including state and local agencies, airport owners and operators, airport users, civic organizations and airport consultants. ACRP Report 44 shows airport advocates how to identify and organize to address the underlying causes for airport closures, including issues with airport funding, economics, community and environmental issues, and airport infrastructure issues. The report also addresses how to recognize airports with a growing risk of closure, and what measures can be taken to preserve America’s public-use airports.

 Thatcher says he is, “delighted that the joint interest and commitments of L.R. Kimball and the National Academy of Sciences gave me the opportunity to do the nation’s most definitive study on what puts public-use airports at risk of closure, and what actions can be taken by airport advocates to preserve America's public-use airports.”

Marcellus Shale - An Unexpected Windfall for Williamsport Regional Airport

Marcellus Shale is helping to fuel the future of development at the Williamsport Regional Airport located in north central Pennsylvania by accommodating companies that supply drilling support companies.

How? One company was looking for 25 acres on which to build a pipe yard to serve the industry and it needed a site near an airport, a railroad line and a highway. Williamsport Regional Airport was a perfect fit because it was bound on the north by a rail line, was located a half-mile from I-180 and offered a nearly 7,000 foot runway that would support the industry’s jets. Nice setup!

L.R. Kimball helped the airport realize this opportunity by working closely with them to provide the air spacing of five different scenarios for the development, including the development itself, two buildings on the property, the pipeyard and the crane that would be used to construct the building.

We also helped to make the appropriate pen-and-ink changes in the airport layout plan and handled the environmental impact categorical-exclusion filing.

We send our congratulations to Williamsport for capitalizing on this opportunity. In the past two years, they’ve experienced 50-percent growth in general aviation traffic, almost all of it attributable to Shale drilling and the new development there is expected to pay big dividends in job growth. Almost 75 new well paying jobs for managers and yard workers will need to be filled locally.

A Federal Funding Update for the AEC Industry

>>> Guest post contributed by Chris Grady, Federal Analyst

On Friday, April 15, President Obama signed a compromise fiscal year 2011 continuing resolution bill, ending the long-running debate on federal funding for the remainder of the current budget year.

The compromise bill cuts $38.5 billion from Fiscal Year 2010 enacted levels, including significant cuts to infrastructure and in additional road and bridge investments from FY10.

The following highlights some areas of interest to the A/E/C industy:

Federal Highway Administration:
$41.1 billion for highways and bridges, which would be the same level of funding as the FY10 enacted level. The funding level includes a decrease of $650 million in additional road and bridge investments from FY10. It also rescinds $630 million in earmark funding that is over 13 years old and $2.5 billion from unobligated balances of highway contract authority. The TIGER Grant program would receive $528 million, $72 million below FY 10 enacted levels.

An Update on the FAA's Wildlife Hazard Initiative

As we reported last month in an earlier blog post, wildlife and the presence of hazardous attractants pose a serious threat to safe airport operations. 

In order for airports to garner a better understanding of wildlife activity, the FAA instituted formal evaluation processes including the completion of a Wildlife Hazard Assessment (WHA).

Historically, the FAA required Part 139 certificated airports to complete a WHA if a “triggering” event such as a wildlife strike or wildlife of any size or numbers were observed.  However, in 2009, the FAA initiated rulemaking which would require all Part 139 airports to complete a WHA regardless of a triggering event. The FAA plans to release the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later this year.

Additionally, late last month, the FAA’s Office of Airports further enforced their commitment to safe airport operations by announcing the initiation of a program encouraging General Aviation (GA) airports to conduct wildlife hazard assessments.  The FAA will support general aviation efforts by making Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding available for these assessments.

In fact, GA airports currently accepting AIP funds will be required to conduct a WHA if necessary.

The Exploration of Marcellus Shale - A Benchmark Special Edition

If you are a current, former client or colleague of L.R. Kimball, it's likely that you've seen a copy of Benchmark, a quarterly corporate magazine we have produced for nearly thirty years.

This quarter, we released a very special edition of Benchmark, The Exploration of Marcellus Shale.

Whether you are from one of the states that has natural gas trapped beneath it's surface or from another part of the country, it's likely that the Marcellus Shale deposit will impact you. 

By some estimates, this 500 trillion cubic feet natural gas supply could fuel up to 20 years of the nation's present gas consumption.

We invite you to download the special edition of Benchmark to learn more about the economic opportunities associated with Marcellus Shale, protecting our water resources, environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration and what it means for infrastructure.

The FAA's Wildlife Hazard Initiative: New Program Announced for General Aviation Airports

The bird strike that caused the USAir Flight 1549 emergency landing in the Hudson River in 2009 may seem like an uncommon occurrence, but the truth is that bird strikes and other wildlife hazards pose a major threat to airports.  In fact, since the Federal Aviation Authority made the National Wildlife Database public, there have been approximately 21,489 strike reports over the last three years.

In 2009, the FAA initiated a rulemaking making Wildlife Hazard Assessments mandatory for commercial service airports regardless of a triggering event.  Late last month, the FAA’s Office of Airports further enforced their commitment to bird strike prevention by initiating a program encouraging General Aviation airports to conduct wildlife hazard assessments. (Read the press release.)

To help fund these mitigation efforts, the FAA will support general aviation efforts by making Airport Improvement Programs grants available to conduct an assessment.