By TESA CULLI
tesa.culli@register-news.com
MT. VERNON —
The Federal Aviation Administration approved a grant of $125,000 for the Mt. Vernon Outland Airport that will allow the facility to move forward on its Runway Safety Area Project.
“We’re excited about it,” said Airport Manager Chris Collins. “Originally, we were going to pay for an environmental assessment locally, from the capital projects account, then seek reimbursement from grant funds. This will allow the environmental assessment to be paid up front, and keep the $125,000 from the capital funds available for a portion of the design engineering. We’ll apply for reimbursement for that later down the line, too.”
The RSA project is mandated by the FAA, and will involve the Mt. Vernon facility providing a 500 foot wide by 1,000 foot long extension at the end of the main runway, which increases the runway safety area by 800 feet under the new FAA mandate, according to information from Rep. John Shimkus, who announced the grant award on Monday. After completing the environmental assessment, the airport will shift the layout of runways to meet the new mandate.
Collins said the assessment will identify any adverse environmental impacts of putting culverts on Seven Mile Creek at the end of the main runway.
“It will study flow rates and work hand-in-hand with the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife, the city and the county,” Collins explained.
Collins said the airport has the full support of the FAA on the RSA project.
“They are with us 100 percent,” Collins said. “They believe it’s important to get the environmental assessment out of the way before we go full steam into the runway safety project, which was part of the reason for the (initial) delay.”
The environmental assessment is already underway, and Collins previously reported the assessment began on July 15.
