Opponents Misleading Claims

Linda Young, who leads an organization called the Florida Clean Water Network, has been making a number of misleading claims about environmental impacts at the new airport site. Tonight, she is participating an anti-airport rally, where no doubt she will repeat them. Below, I provide a response to here five favorite claims.

"The airport will be built on 4,000 acres of which half are jurisdictional wetlands, including 400 acres of cypress ponds. "

Ms. Young is shading the truth with this statement.

The airport this being built in phases – the only phase that is being approved at this time is phase I. It has a total of 500 acres of wetland impacts of which approximately 19 acres is second and third generation cypress.

Not to dismiss the destruction of wetlands but Clean Water Network fails to recognize the vast mitigation package that will more than compensate for these impacts. In fact, 10,000 acres of bay front land will be preserved as compensation for these impacts.

Without the preservation resulting from mitigation for the airport, these 10,000 acres are subject to development. A cursory review of the Bay County Comprehensive Plan indicates that over 1,100 residential units could be built on the land set-aside for mitigation. No further approvals would be necessary to build these units.

The Clean Water Network fails to recognize that undermining the airport does not mean that this area will not be developed. It can and will be developed and can be done without any local or state approval.

"The low-lying land for the airport site has numerous feeder creeks to the two main streams that provide 60% of the fresh water to West Bay. All these creeks will be destroyed, filled and replaced with drainage canals and other mechanisms. West Bay, the 6th most biologically diverse estuary in North America, will be destroyed forever. "

While the site for the airport does contain wetlands this site is an industrial pine plantation. With or without an airport this property is periodically clear cut. The Clean Water Network fails to recognize the environmental benefits of the West Bay Preservation Area.

Without an airport this 41,000 acre preserve would never be attained. There is a true disconnect and denial that somehow the airport project can be killed and all this area will remain in an undeveloped state – this is naïve, wrong, and dangerous thinking.

"The airport land is lush with wildlife including bears, bob-cats, otter, turkeys, deer, and even panthers have been sited by numerous hunters and local nearby residents."

The airport site is an industrial pine forest. Here's how Audubon of Florida described it.

The real prize in West Bay is the West Bay Preservation Area – 41,000 acre preserve not the 4,000 acre airport site.

The conservation area was reviewed by the Nature Conservancy who said “[t]he opportunity represented by the West Bay Preservation Area affords a rare chance to conserve direct estuarine frontage consisting of some 33 miles of almost unaltered shoreline, as well as 44 miles of creek and tributary frontage/buffer lands. Protection of the West Bay Preservation Area would preserve the majority of the coastal lands encompassing a near pristine and unique estuarine ecosystem. Few opportunities with the significance of protecting a substantial portion of a nearly self contained watershed and the estuary it helps to feed have ever been made available before by a single owner.”

"An additional 9,000 acres of wetlands around the airport site will be destroyed for additional development."

This statement has no basis in fact, it is less than conjecture.

The sector plan provides for enhanced protection of wetlands – far in excess of the protection currently available in the Florida Panhandle. Greater buffers and limited impacts to wetlands are the goals, objectives, and policies of the West Bay Sector Plan.

"If the current airport is abandoned, the site will be sold to developers who plan to build a huge marina onsite which will kill many acres of grass beds and degrade water quality in the bay. "

Another blatant misstatement.

The current airport site is for sale. However, no plans for the site have been submitted or approved. Most important, nothing can be built on the current airport site without local, state, and federal review and approval. In other words, it's up to us what is allowed to be built there.

The Sector Plan Protects West Bay

Here's the bottom line.

The West Bay Sector Plan was developed by the citizens of this community to balance the opportunity for better and safer air serve with protecting West Bay. The Clean Water Network did not participate in this process, however, Audubon of Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, 1000 Friends of Florida and The Nature Conservancy did. This plan achieves vast watershed protection at no expense to the public.

The better question to the Clean Water Network is what is the alternative if there is no airport? The alternative will be piecemeal development and fragmentation of habitat and the watershed- exactly what the citizens of this community fought against.