Balancing Environmental Protection and Economic DevelopmentIf you consider the relocation of the Panama City – Bay County International Airport, the answer is an unequivocal “Yes.”
The new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has been built to claim the unofficial title of “America’s Greenest Airport.”
The groundbreaking project earned support and was planned with help from a number of Florida’s most progressive environmental organizations, developers, and local, state and federal agencies.
As a result of the relocation, 41,000 environmentally sensitive acres, including 33 miles of West Bay shoreline and 44 miles of creek and tributaries, will be protected forever.
The airport itself aims to have the first LEED certified Terminal Building in the nation, with a state-of-the art storm water management system, extensive use of sustainable materials and a landscaping plan that will not require supplemental irrigation.
The new airport was more than a decade in the making. Like any major infrastructure project, it faced much skepticism and more than a little opposition. Here’s a brief retelling of the story of how America’s first green airport came to be.
More than 20 years ago, the Panama City – Bay County Airport and Industrial District began discussing options to ensure its airport could continue growing to effectively serve the region’s needs.
The existing airport had a number of serious deficiencies. Most significantly, the airport’s two runways did not meet federal safety standards – both had deficient runway safety areas (RSAs). Plus, the airport’s primary runway was one of the shortest in the state of Florida, and unable to support unconstrained operations.
The Airport Authority began studying options for lengthening the primary runway and establishing standard-sized RSAs. The Airport Authority commissioned a federally required environmental assessment study of extending the runway into St. Andrew Bay. The plan called for adding 1,200 feet of runway, bringing the total length to 7,500 feet.
Not surprisingly, the project drew fire from environmentalists who protested the runway extension’s impact on the bay.
Upon review, it became apparent that the runway extension would cause significant damage to state Class II protected waters.
Subsequently the Florida Department of Environmental Protection declared that extending into the Bay would never be approved. A subsequent plan to extend the runway across a major thoroughfare and into an existing residential community was also shelved.
Instead, the Airport Authority reached out to The St. Joe Company, one of the state’s largest private landowners, to develop a plan to relocate the airport to a more appropriate unconstrained site. It was this decision that led to the surprising outcome – the protection of tens of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land, including nearly the entire shoreline of West Bay.
Bob Francis, an aviation consultant and former Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said, “It’s almost unprecedented. I can’t think of another new airport built with the support of a substantial number of environmental groups.”
The new airport occupies 4,000 acres that The St. Joe Company donated in 2007. Initial development is on just 1,300 acres, leaving a significant amount of land for future airport needs and inside-the-fence development.
As part of the 75,000-acre West Bay Area Sector Plan, development around the airport will be complementary, not contradictory.
The area west of the airport is slated to be a regional employment center for industries that want to locate next to an airport. To the south, airport-related businesses such as rental car outlets and hotels will be clustered. And the area east of the airport is designated for office buildings. By design, residential housing will not be clustered near the airport.
To help protect the environment, future development around the airport will be clustered. Instead of piecemeal development of small land parcels scattered as part of the state requirements to mitigate all of the proposed developments, the sector plan calls for huge areas of conservation lands, and thereby protecting watersheds that feed into the St. Andrew Bay.
The sector plan creates conservation buffers along the rivers and creeks that feed into the bay – some as wide as 1,000 feet – more than 30 times the amount required by law.
Dominated by pine flatwoods and wetlands, the conservation land is home to listed species such as the Snowy Egret, Blue Heron, Florida Black Bear, Gopher Tortoise, and Pitcher Plant. This unique conservation approach better helps with land management and preserves entire ecosystems rather than bits and pieces.
The fact that the construction of a 4,000-acre airport has led to the protection of such a large conservation area is difficult for many to fully comprehend. But the process by which the airport came to be will be held up as a national model for effective public/private partnerships designed to achieve the best results for the economy and the environment.
In remarks delivered at the airport’s groundbreaking, Florida Governor Charlie Crist said, “When considered as a whole, this is America’s first truly ‘Green Airport.’”
If the new conservation land were the only environmental benefit, the new airport would be a step forward for Florida environmentalists. But there’s more: the Airport Authority was committed to designing, building and operating America’s first green airport.
As a result, the Airport Authority developed detailed plans for wetlands mitigation, wildlife management, storm water management and wastewater treatment that greatly exceed minimum requirements set by Florida law.
For example, the Airport Authority pro-actively committed to follow Outstanding Florida Water standards for storm water, the highest standard in the state of Florida, even though it is not required. Two years of intensive baseline water quality data has been collected for Burnt Mill Creek, Crooked Creek and West Bay for use in ongoing monitoring of water quality.
To put this in perspective, consider this: Storm water treatment at the existing airport is minimal, a site where the existing runway is only 50 feet from the bay.
The Airport Authority also set a goal of increasing wetlands function by enhancing the land in the mitigation area to well above the current wetlands function, and by providing mitigation far in advance of potential impacts.
Direct wetlands impacts were calculated using a high-impact scenario, and will be mitigated using that data even if impacts turn out to be less than projected. As a result, environmental experts anticipate a 29 percent improvement in overall wetlands function.
Finally, the Airport Authority committed to design and build a LEED-certified passenger terminal, which means it will exceed state and county requirements for environmental performance. It’s a commitment that fits well with Governor Charlie Crist’s personal commitment – and Executive Order – directing that new buildings constructed for the State of Florida adopt LEED standards.
The new airport has truly been designed to meet our region’s environmental, aviation and economic development needs for decades to come.
© 2012 BEACHES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
