Too Much Pavement at Tweed = Flooding, Pollution, Wildlife Disruption

by Kathy Czepiel, Communications Specialist, Save the Sound

The proposed Tweed-New Haven Airport expansion must undergo a thorough environmental review process, Save the Sound’s legal team asserted in an April 18 letter to the New England Region office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

While the airport authority has stated its intention to do an Environmental Assessment (EA), we urged the FAA to demand a more rigorous Environmental Impact Statement, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Floodplain and resilience problems related to stormwater flooding and sea-level rise at this vulnerable location are a major concern, especially because the airport’s EA fails to include the impacts of a taxiway expansion that will inevitably be built. Increasing the airport’s footprint could also significantly affect inland and tidal wetlands, local and migratory wildlife habitat and water quality.

An annual community meeting with local officials and the airport authority is scheduled for June 9 at 6 p.m. at the Nathan Hale School cafeteria, 480 Townsend Ave., New Haven.

Come and ask your questions about the proposed expansion and its impact on the environment and human health.

Save the Sound, 900 Chapel St., Suite 2202
New Haven, CT 06510.
phone: 203-787-0646

For more information on Tweed efforts, visit www.10000Hawks.org.