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Cash Flowing for Airport Dike: FAA Commits $20 Million, but Controversial Holman Field Project Still Up in the Air

Posted on: Thursday, 19 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Matt Peiken, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jan. 19--Supporters of a long-sought levee around St. Paul's downtown airport are starting to see glow sticks at the end of the runway.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration verbally committed $20 million for the Metropolitan Airports Commission project. Commission insiders see that as the potential catalyst for attracting the rest of the $46.8 million needed for the dike and related upgrades at Holman Field.

Along with fundraising challenges, the commission is navigating a morass of city, state and federal legislative bodies -- with distinct and overlapping concerns and legal authority -- to acquire nearly 20 permits necessary to see the project to completion.

If all permits and funding come through as hoped, the airports commission could start preliminary excavation by late spring and construction of the levee itself in spring 2007, with a target completion of spring 2008.

The zoning committee of the St. Paul Planning Commission will hear testimony today on whether plans to widen a portion of the Mississippi River meet city codes and guidelines.

Although the hearing is focused only on technical specifics, that likely won't stop some from attending to debate the merits and impact of the entire project.

Long backed by business and aviation interests and fought just as long by neighborhood and environmental watchdogs, the dike would buffer the airport against so-called "100-year" flood levels. The Mississippi River, which runs north and east of the airport, has overrun its banks and flooded the airport's three runways three times since 1993, most recently in 2001.

Neighbors are concerned the dike would open the airport to more traffic -- and noise -- and worry that blocking floodwaters from the airport would raise water levels in surrounding areas and harm wildlife and water quality.

"Those really are not legitimate complaints," said Gary Warren, a civil engineer with the Metropolitan Airports Commission. "When our floodwall is in place and securing the river, we will have zero impact on properties upstream."

Neither St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, City Council Member Dave Thune nor representatives of the Dayton's Bluff Community Council returned Pioneer Press phone calls seeking comment.

At least in terms of a dike pushing floodwaters higher elsewhere, Warren's claim is supported by commission studies.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, both with regulatory authority over development or construction along the Mississippi, have signed off on this aspect of the commission's study.

Both agencies are conducting their own studies and soliciting public feedback on the broader impact of the project. They're also awaiting green lights from the city of St. Paul -- the political tipping point in the plan -- before granting permits for excavation and construction.

A majority of the City Council has indicated opposition to the project, and while former Mayors Norm Coleman and Randy Kelly were strong supporters, the new mayor hasn't settled on either side of the levee issue. Last year, the council beat back a Kelly proposal for the city to contribute to the project.

meeting today

The zoning committee of the St. Paul Planning Commission will hear testimony at 3:30 p.m. today on whether plans to widen a portion of the Mississippi River meet city codes and guidelines. The session will be in City Council chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

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Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)

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