7. What is the public participation for the Trenton-Mercer Airport Terminal project?

 

In September 2016 and May 2017, under the development of the Master Plan for Trenton-Mercer Airport, public meetings were held that presented the existing airport infrastructure and needs, identified and presented alternatives, and presented findings and preferred alternatives that were part of the final Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan.

 

In July 2017 a presentation was made to the Mercer County Freeholders where the Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan were presented followed by a question and answer session. Under the Master Plan process, public meetings and information sessions are optional and not required.  However, public meetings were held because public input and transparency is important to the airport. 

 

The EA process is governed by the FAA, specifically, FAA Order 1050.1F, "Environmental Impacts Policies and Procedures". For an EA, the minimum duration of public input once the EA document is made available to the public, is a 30-day period. Additional public meetings are planned.

 

The Public Scoping Meeting held on October 23, 2018 and consisted of a brief recap of the Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan process and a presentation on the desired long-term outcomes for the Airport. A question and answer session followed the presentation. Preceding and following the presentation, work stations were set up and were utilized to solicit input from the public attendees by requesting responses to open-ended questions pertaining to preparation of the future NEPA document. 

 

The topics in which input was requested included: concerns related to the project; social, economic, and environmental resources that should be addressed; Federal, state, local agencies that should be engaged in the NEPA process; methods of outreach – notices, website, Facebook, email lists, phone, etc.; and, future public meeting format, frequency, and location.

 

A public meeting was held on January 23, 2019 and consisted of a presentation of the EA process, the purpose and need of the project, and alternatives being considered, followed by questions from the public.  

 

A second public meeting will be held in Spring of 2020 and will review the progress to date, present the alternatives and affected environment, and then answer questions from the public.

 

After issuance of the Draft EA to the public for review and comment, a Public Hearing will be held and consist of a presentation on the Draft EA followed by a question and answer session with the public. The public hearing is anticipated to occur in Spring/Summer 2020.

 

Following the public hearing, comments from the hearing will be reviewed and incorporated into the Final EA where appropriate, prior to its submission to the FAA for their review. Another public comment period of 30 days follows the submission of the Final EA to the FAA. The submission is anticipated to be in the summer of 2020 with a decision from the FAA anticipated in the Fall of 2020.

 

Notifications to the public have occurred, and will continue to occur, through printed publications (newspaper), the Mercer County website, the project website (www.ttnterminal.com), emails provided from  attendees at previous public meetings, emails and notifications to Lower Makefield, community groups, previous attendees and commenters on the Master Plan or previous EA meetings, Facebook, and other social media.