Statement from Zero Expansion, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Statement from Zero Expansion, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Zero Expansion has existed since the 1980s and is well experienced with the actions of MAC relating to Flying Cloud. Many of our members have also interacted with MAC in an official capacity on behalf of the City of Eden Prairie as Airport Advisory Commission Members or City Council Members.

It has become apparent to us that MAC has lost sight of its purpose to serve the residents of Minnesota, and instead serves only aviation industry interests. Specifically, MAC's philosophy has become to expand aviation, no matter what the actual need, no matter what the actual cost to citizens, without regard to economics, environmental or human impact. That was not what Minnesota Legislators intended when MAC was created.

Minnesota Statutes Section 473.602 lists MAC's purposes. MAC is supposed to "assure the residents of the metropolitan area of the minimum environmental impact from air navigation and transportation, and to that end provide for noise abatement, control of airport area land use, and other protective measures." MAC is also supposed to "promote the overall goals of the state's environmental policies and minimize the public's exposure to noise and safety hazards around airports." From its actions, it's clear that MAC ignores these purposes.

First, for example, MAC has violated environmental laws. MAC has not disclosed all environmental impacts from the proposed expansion at Flying Cloud, including toxic emissions from aircraft, cumulative noise effects, and increased traffic concerns. Residents have continuously asked for more detail on noise impacts, which have never been provided. MAC has illegally condemned private property, including residences in Eden Prairie, for a proposed expansion prior to receiving EQB or FAA's EIS approval for the project.

There is a fundamental flaw with the environmental review process when the EQB is merely a rubber stamp for MAC. The EQB has never found a MAC EIS to be inadequate, leaving residents' with only one option- litigation in order to find the truth out about a proposed project- which is cost-prohibitive to ordinary folks and to MAC as an organization. MAC has made the environmental review process meaningless.

Second, MAC has violated state laws by refusing to provide the public with data according to the State's Data Practices Act. In fact, the Minnesota Information Policy Analysis Division (IPAD), a state organization that helps citizens with such requests, believes that MAC is often negligent in complying with data requests. IPAD had to issue an advisory opinion requiring MAC to produce documents that were unlawfully withheld from our organization. It should be fundamental that a government agency, that is not elected or responsive to the people it serves, conduct its business in the open, with full disclosure to the public. MAC constantly withholds information from the public.

Third, we have found that MAC plays loose with the truth. For example, MAC has falsified data in its EIS regarding the number of stopovers from Flying Cloud to other metro airports. A 1997 MAC survey of six FBOs showed 16-29 stopovers a year. In its Supplemental EIS, MAC reported 8,300 stopovers. When confronted that this number was impossible because it equaled more than all business jets reported at Flying Cloud, MAC made up a new number of 2,500 stopovers a year, stating that respondents to the survey taken seven years ago made a mistake, even though the printed survey results clearly showed 16-29 stopovers a year.

Instead of providing the truth, MAC changes its story depending on who the audience is: MAC says there's plenty of federal and MAC money available for Flying Cloud expansion, and then tells the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce that money is so tight that private funding is required. MAC condemns private property for expansion, yet often compromises buffer safety zones. As another example, when MAC negotiated with the City of Eden Prairie and reached a final agreement in 2002, a huge part of the agreement was MAC's promise that the pavement strength of the runway would prohibit larger jet aircraft from landing. Even though MAC warranted its representations in that agreement, MAC never revealed to the city that FAA had previously prohibited pavement strength as an absolute ban on aircraft weight, rendering a large portion of MAC's side of the bargain with Eden Prairie useless.

Fourth, MAC ignores data and conclusions from their own consultants that are contrary to Flying Cloud expansion. Operations and based aircraft have steadily declined at Flying Cloud for the last decade. Multiple surveys taken by MAC show that very few aircraft would move their operations to Flying Cloud, even if it were expanded. MAC's study of seven comparable reliever airports in the U.S. most similar to Flying Cloud that expanded their runways from 4000 to 5000 feet showed no increase in operations attributable to lengthening the runway. According to MAC's information and consultants, the $83 million dollars to expand Flying Cloud will have no discernable impact at FCM or MSP.

Finally, MAC has compromised on security at the reliever airports. MAC has refused to implement the Department of Justice's security recommendations at Flying Cloud, such as keeping gates closed and locked at all times. Even though the gates at Flying Cloud will open automatically upon approach of a car, MAC allows them to remain open to anyone because airport businesses prefer them to be open. Remember that in February 2005, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security Intelligence's confidential report states that Al-Qaeda, jihadist and Islamic-based terrorists groups are looking to use aircraft in "the largely unregulated" area of general aviation, including corporate jets, private planes, helicopters, and other unscheduled aircraft. (Star Tribune, March 14, 2005, Noncommercial Planes and Helicopters Offering Terrorists Particularly Tempting Targets, a Confidential Government Report Concludes.) The report concludes that "[a]s security measures improve at large commercial airports, terrorists may choose to rent or steal general aviation aircraft housed at small airports with little or no security." Also remember that in our own Metro area, Crystal and Blaine airports have experienced attempted thefts of aircraft. MAC has been quoted in the Star Tribune as being proud of its slim security expenditures. Is that something to be proud of?

MAC has continually violated its mandated assurances to the people of Minnesota, particularly those of us who are impacted by MSP and reliever airports. They have continually side-stepped the procedures and processes that ensure that Minnesotans will not be affected by harmful environmental impacts. We ask our legislators to form a non-partisan oversight commission of the MAC and put all expansions and construction on hold until there is a full accounting of need, economic viability and negative environmental impacts.

Thank you.

Zero Expansion
Talktrans
www.zeroexpansion.org
www.talktrans.org
transportationtalk@yahoo.com