Jack Saporito, (847) 506-0670
For Immediate Release:
Arlington Heights, IL — The Alliance of Residents Concerning O’Hare (AReCO) maintains that actions by the Federal Aviation Administration and the City of Chicago’s Department of Aviation have turned the law requiring an Environmental Impact Statement, the most important U.S. environmental law, into a sham and a farce.
AReCO is demanding that four government agencies, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the City of Chicago Department of Aviation along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency protect the environment and health of perhaps over 3 million Chicago area residents that are affected by O’Hare Airport and aircraft operations.
In
a recent letter to the heads of the agencies, AReCO asked them to personally
assure that they all fully and fairly meet the letter and the spirit of their
obligations to consider the environmental impacts of proposals to further
expand traffic at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. AReCO stated in the letter, “The $3.2 billion World Gateway Program to
significantly expand capacity, apparently proposes to trample upon the
environmental safeguards that federal law guarantees to all of the citizens of
this country.”
O'Hare
proposes to increase passenger boarding facilities by at least 25%, add new
parking facilities and expand people movers, all for the purpose of
"increasing numbers of passengers and larger aircraft more
efficiently." Clearly, expenditure
of $3.2 billion constitutes a major project.
That kind of expenditure should allow for dozens, if not hundreds, of
additional flights per day.
Airports are
like highways. Building them without
dealing with the consequential problems will cause them to become gridlocked
with more traffic and more problems.
More
passengers and more planes mean more noise, more pollution and more public
health problems. Noise and pollution
each have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.
Federal law
guarantees that the citizens of this country are entitled to a careful public
discussion of the environmental consequences of such an airport expansion
proposal.
So where is
the careful public discussion of the environmental consequences of the project?
Elsewhere in
the country, the FAA has treated new terminals, parking garages and other
infrastructure improvements as categorically excluded from any requirement for
a public review of environmental impacts.
The Federal
Aviation Administration regulates every aspect of commercial aviation. In most cases, the FAA actually funds
infrastructure development. Clearly,
O'Hare's plans necessarily rely upon approval, or even funding, by the FAA.
To the extent
that O'Hare and the FAA may suggest that spending $3.2 billion does not amount
to a major project, or that such an expansion does not threaten adverse impact on
the quality of the human environment, then those two agencies propose to turn
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 into a sham and a farce.
The fact that O’Hare Airport has not
had an environmental study since 1984 and that the dreams of escaping or
shortchanging the Environmental Impact Study requirements for this project,
give this airport, its management, the airlines and Mayor Daley a perception of
impropriety.
Jack Saporito, executive director of
AReCO states, “There are much better ways to lessen the delays and congestion
at the airport. An environmental study
would expose the serious problems and render these better alternatives, but the
airport expansionists want to avoid that.”
The United States Department of
Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Chicago’s O'Hare International
Airport, all fully and fairly need to meet the letter and the spirit of their
obligations to the law and the public, and consider the environmental
impacts of the
proposals to further expand traffic at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
The Alliance of Residents Concerning O’Hare (AReCO) is a local not-for-profit organization representing over 1200 individuals and families, living in 28 communities, including Chicago, that are affected by O’Hare Airport operations. AReCO’s membership is made up of individuals that include air traffic controllers, pilots and other O’Hare Airport employees; members of the business community, teachers, doctors and others concerned about noise, environmental, public health, safety and other quality of life problems.
AReCO
acknowledges that O’Hare is important, but also believes that more O’Hare
expansion is unreasonable. AReCO is
committed to achieving a balance between the environment and the economy and
protecting the health and safety of all our citizens.
Find out more
about AReCO and the issues on the Internet at:
www.areco.org
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Contacts: AReCO - Jack Saporito, (847) 506-0670
Chicago
DOA – (773) 686-3700
FAA – Public Affairs Office- (202) 267-3883
After Hours: (202) 267-3333
FAA Great
Lakes Public Affairs – (847) 294-7427
After Hours: (847) 294-7401 or (847) 294-8400
US-EPA – Public Affairs, (312)
353- 2000
US-EPA Regional Office – (312) 886-3000