BIDDEFORD — After more than an hour of discussion Tuesday, an application for a state Department of Environmental Protection permit for the Biddeford Municipal Airport was tabled by the City Council.
The council voted to hold a workshop on the issue prior to making a decision.
In the spring, the council voted to withdraw the site location permit that it had begun to file with the DEP.
The airport is in violation of DEP site location laws because more than three acres of the site is covered with pavement and other types of impervious surface.
When the three-acre mark is hit, the DEP requires a property owner to apply for a permit to mitigate drainage. But with a cost estimate from $750,000 to $800,000 to construct a storm water management system at the airport, councilors decided not to follow through with the application.
According to Bob Greene of the DEP, the airport has been in violation of the DEP regulation for some time, although the exact date is unclear. Because incremental development of the airport occurred, he said, no one was keeping a running tally of when the airport surpassed the three-acre mark.
It was not until a complaint was made to the DEP and investigators from that department visited the airport in 2006 that anyone realized the airport was in violation of DEP regulations.
Ripping up some of the impervious surface at the airport, to bring it under three acres, was suggested at prior council meetings as a way to avoid the need to implement costly storm water mitigation.
However, Airport Manager Tom Bryand said removing pavement or other impervious surface is not a workable solution.
The west apron section, identified as a potential area for pavement removal, is too small to bring the airport below the three-acre mark, he said.
In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration requires him to make safety improvements to the airport as listed in the airport master plan, said Bryand, which range from tree-cutting to extending runway six.
Without the DEP permit, “it stops everything from happening,” said Bryand.
Resident Wayne McBreairty questioned whether there were safety issues at the airport. He noted that numerous planes took off and landed at the airport with no problem during an open house at the airport on Saturday.
None of the options are cost-free, said FAA spokesman Ralph Nicosia-Rusin. He said the agency had awarded the city $46,000 to pay for the application, and if the application were withdrawn the city would have to pay back the FAA.
He added that the FAA would pitch in for the cost of the storm water management system. Although Nicosia-Rusin did not give a dollar figure, in an earlier interview, Bryand said the agency could contribute 25 to 30 percent of the cost.
Some councilors were concerned that this issue was before them again.
“This has been going on for two years,” said Councilor Raymond Gagnon.
“We don’t want to close the airport,” he said. However, said Gagnon, the council does not want to spend additional taxpayer money on it.
Council President George “Pete” Lamontagne said he’s heard the stories regarding the airport “over and over and over again.”
“This is all about expansion,” he said.
“I am pleased that you have your airport,” said Lamontagne, but he said it wants to keep it the way it is, with no increase in size.
Bryand asked that he be allowed to continue with the permit. A condition would be applied to it that would allow him two years to come up with the financing for the project, and have a total of five years to also allow time to construct it.
If during that time the financing was not in place, said Bryand, the council could again vote to withdraw the permit and develop a different solution.
An order to purchase additional land for the airport, which Bryand said in a telephone interview was necessary to improve safety at the airport, was removed from the agenda on Tuesday by Mayor Joanne Twomey.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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