The construction of a Pennsylvania Army National Guard armory at
Bradford Regional Airport doesn’t appear to have drawn any negative
environmental concerns, according to an environmental impact
statement document.
The document, which is open for public comment about the
proposed $5.7 million facility, is slated to be closed for comments
at the end of business today.
National Guard spokesman Cory Angell said Thursday the Guard is
also waiting on the Federal Aviation Administration, which has its
own parallel environmental impact statement process still under
way.
“They (FAA) have their own public comment period,” Angell said.
“If everything were to go well and there aren’t any hang-ups, we
hope to have some type of ceremony or groundbreaking in June.”
According to Angell, after the public comment period for the
Guard’s environmental impact statement ends, the agency will send a
crew up to the site to take additional soil samples.
“It’s no big deal,” Angell said. “They will be just checking out
the site. Apparently, there are old rusted barrels located there
which were used to light the airfield in the past. Since they are
there, we want to ensure there was no dumping at the site.”
Angell said the Guard anticipates the soil samples will come
back “clear.”
After that’s completed, Angell said the Guard will send its
documentation to its bureau in Washington, where a record of
decision for the site will be recommended.
“That indicates we are going forward on this site,” Angell said.
“That’s basically the final step that needs completed.”
Angell said the record of decision should be available in two or
three weeks, “causing the funds to be released and the Guard to
continue on with its effort to build the facility.
“We are very close.”
In regards to the FAA’s environmental statement, Angell said
that organization’s process is similar to the Guard’s, noting “they
are in step with us.”
“I don’t have the impression it will hinder the overall
package,” Angell said.
Nobody from the FAA could be reached for comment Thursday
afternoon and a copy of the environmental impact statement could
not be immediately obtained.
The Guard’s statement encompasses the 56th Brigade’s
transformation to a Stryker Brigade as part of an overhaul of the
country’s armed services.
Bradford Regional Airport Authority officials signed an
agreement of sale for the land earlier this month. The sale has
already been approved by the state departments of General Services
and Veterans and Legal Affairs. Both the FAA and Guard went back
and forth for several months regarding whether the land the armory
will sit on would be leased or sold outright to the Guard.
The proposed development also had to be open for public comment
in the Federal Register, which only garnered one nondescript
response.
The complex deal also involves the Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation and Lafayette Township, which
earlier approved a request for a subdivision on the property.
When approved, the armory will be located on land near the
airport’s access road. It has been slated for full funding through
the U.S. Department of Defense. The Guard requested $15 million
from the state to buy land for new armories statewide. The proposal
entails closing barracks in Bradford, Ridgway and Kane.
“It certainly is going to be a good thing for the area,” Angell
said. “Some of the current facilities (armories) up there are
pretty old. I think the guys really need something new to work
in.”
The airport will retain the mineral rights at the site and the
ability to harvest timber from any trees that are cut down during
the armory’s development.
