Georgetown Airport Issue Being Escalated!

The Airport Concerned Citizens group of Georgetown are concerned about many aspects concerning the future use of the airport. They believe the Texas Department of Transportation(TxDOT), acting as an agent for the Federal Aviation Administration, and the City of Georgetown has in the past and continues to violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). A letter to TxDOT identified their concerns. The letter is part of the July 24 post in this blog.

The lack of response by the City of Georgetown and TxDOT has caused the Airport Concerned Citizens(ACC) to lodge complaints with Congressman John Carter and with the Associate Director for NEPA Oversight in Washington D.C.  An ACC member traveled to Washington DC this month and expressed their concerns directly with Carter's staff and the Associate Director for NEPA and his staff.

Congress established the Council on Environmental Quality within the Executive Office of the President as part of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). In enacting NEPA, Congress recognized that nearly all federal activities affect the environment in some way and mandated that before federal agencies make decisions, they must consider the effects of their actions on the quality of the human environment.  Thus, NEPA has oversight over all federal agencies and departments and that includes the FAA and EPA.

The Airport Concerned Citizens group has become aware of other airports around the country that have apparently violated NEPA requirements and are networking with 2 of them to exchange information and approaches to resolving the issue of airports not complying with NEPA requirements.

One approach is to get the mainstream media engaged so that the public is made aware of the issue. A member of a community organization involved with litigation against a New Jersey airport, who attended the meeting with the Associate Director for Oversight, has contacted the television news program 20/20 to start an investigation into this issue of non-compliance. A similar effort is underway here in Central Texas to engage the local media.

If the City Council and staff are smart, they will try to get ahead of this potential freight train(The Federal Government) and solve the ACCs concerns without Federal or State involvement.  In my view, when Big Government gets involved, it is expensive and very time consuming for the City and the residents.