Paulding County, Georgia: Feds seeking comments on airport plans review

Those wishing to tell federal officials what the officials should address in their review of plans for commercial airline service at Paulding’s Silver Comet Field airport have until May 21 to mail or email comments.

The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an environmental assessment of the planned expansion of the airport and began a 30-day comment period recently for those interested in submitting written or emailed comments on what should be included.

Comments can be mailed or emailed to:

- Atlanta Airports District Office, Attn: Lisa Favors, Env. Program Manager, 1701 Columbia Ave., Suite 2-260, Atlanta, GA 30337-2747.

- Lisa.Favors@faa.gov.

The agency will organize at least one public meeting in Paulding County after it completes the assessment, according to a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment of the county airport authority’s request for a federal operating certificate to allow commercial passenger flights. The notice was filed in the Federal Register.

The assessment is being done as part of a settlement of six Paulding residents’ legal challenge to the federal agency’s earlier approval of a taxiway and runway expansion project at the airport on Rockmart Highway in Dallas.

A private company announced in October it planned to recruit an airline to provide limited passenger service to the airport. In November, residents challenged the approval because they said it did not satisfy a federal law requiring a detailed environmental review of airports converting to commercial status.

The residents and the federal agency settled the legal action in late December after the agency agreed to conduct the environmental assessment.

However, it led to a delay in construction of projects like a new fire station that also would serve the airport — and include space for a new county 911 center — until the assessment is completed.

Read more: Neighbor Newspapers - Feds seeking comments on airport plans review