Strategies and Financing Opportunities for Airport Environmental Programs. Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 24. A Synthesis of Airport Practice

摘要

The time when an airport's environmental responsibilities consisted of preparing environmental review documents for airport construction projects and mitigating the impacts has long since passed. Today's additional environmental responsibilities bring with them increased financial burdens. Increasingly, the environmental responsibilities of airports are extending beyond simple mitigation of negative environmental impacts. At federal, state, and local levels airports are facing greater expectations to be environmentally proactive by implementing sustainable practices in the operation, maintenance, and development of their facilities and even to anticipate and prepare for detrimental environmental events. In many cases, anticipation and preparation may be more cost-effective than responding to an adverse environmental event after it has occurred. Today, an airport's environmental responsibilities can include (but are not limited to) the following: (1) Reducing the impacts of storm water runoff on water quality and quantity. (2) Reducing pollutants in storm water runoff. (3) Reducing the emission of pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act. (4) Reducing green house gas emissions and energy consumption. (5) Cleanup and redevelopment of abandoned Brownfield sites on airport property. (6) Prevention and cleanup of releases from petroleum storage tanks. (7) Preservation of significant historic structures on airport property. (8) Training airport staff and tenants in proper environmental practices.