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The Cleveland Plain Dealer
www.cleveland.com
EPA hosts session on proposed airport expansion
Cleveland seeking OK to build runway in valuable wetlands
By EBONY REED
Friday, February 02, 2001
About 70 people sought information at Fairview High School
last night about the proposal to expand Cleveland Hopkins
International Airport.
If approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
and Army Corps of Engineers, the project could affect 87.85
acres of wetlands, 5,400 linear feet of Abram Creek and
2,500 linear feet of two unnamed tributaries to Abram Creek.
The area that Cleveland targeted for the project is a category
3, an EPA designation that includes the most valuable wetlands,
said Ohio EPA spokeswoman Kara Allison. As part of the proposal,
the city is proposing to mitigate the impact of its project
by restoring wetlands in other areas.
"There are burials in the wetlands," said Ken
Demsey, executive director of the Native American Cultural
Foundation. "If you were here 200 years ago, guess
where the Native Americans lived? They lived along the banks
of the river."
Demsey said he wanted more studies conducted to prove Native
Americans lived near Abram Creek.
Gordon Harnett, co-chairman of the Greater Cleveland Growth
Association’s air-service committee, spoke in favor of expansion.
"Today, Hopkins is vital to our region’s continued
growth," he said. "We need a better airport to
compete in this growing economy."
There were two parts to last night’s meeting.
During the first hour and a half, residents asked general
questions. Representatives of the Ohio EPA answered questions
ranging from why mitigation is necessary to why the agency
is reviewing the proposal.
During the second half, people made statements and asked
specific questions, but the Ohio EPA officials did not answer.
The agency will mail out responses.
The proposed project will not be allowed to violate state
water-quality standards, but could degrade water quality
of the creek and its tributaries, said Allison.
Allison said Cleveland and the Department of Port Control
must submit three proposals: one identifying a plan with
minimum impact on the wetlands, one demonstrating their
ultimate wish and another that is a compromise between those
two, she said.
"We’ll review all those and look for a clear, demonstrated
need; and at the economic impact," Allison said.
The city plans to run Abram Creek through a culvert under
a new 7,000-foot runway at Hopkins.
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