Contact: ancairportinfo@gmail.com
NorthLink Aviation Development - South Airpark at Anchorage International Airport
ANC Expansion: Who does it affect?
Increased NOISE, AIR, WATER, LIGHT POLLUTION, TRAFFIC
YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
Anchorage Airport Development Information
This website provides information to the community on the proposed development by NorthLink Aviation (formerly known as IC Alaska Airport, LLC) on the south side of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Raspberry Road near the entrance to Kincaid Park. It supplements the historical and comprehensive information webpage on Facebook: Ted Stevens Airport Mega Development found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/469043877396427
BE INFORMED
Follow progress of development
BE INVOLVED
Protect neighborhood
BE HEARD
Ensure all voices are listened to
Overview
This website provides updated information to the community about NorthLink Aviation/IC Alaska's land lease and development of Lot 15, Block 23, consisting of approximately 120 acres on the south side of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. This development consists of:
15 hardstands** designed to allow aircraft to power-in and power-out
air cargo warehouse
dual-hydrant fueling system at each hardstand
infrastructure to recover and recycle glycol used for deicing aircraft
office space for customers and operations
**hardstands are concrete reinforced parking areas for cargo aircraft that require specialized drainage
This site supplements the historical and comprehensive information webpage on Facebook: Ted Stevens Airport Mega Development (https://www.facebook.com/groups/469043877396427)
Information on this development is also available at: Facebook: Sand Lake Community Council (https://www.facebook.com/SandLakeCommunityCouncil)
Neighborhood concerns:
groundwater contamination from fuel spills, de-icing fluids, maintenance activities (especially impacting individual drinking water wells located within 1200-ft from the site)
noise pollution from high impact aircraft operations
air pollution from storage and use of jet fuel close to neighborhood
light pollution directly affecting neighboring community
increased traffic
economic impact to property values
location of access road
wildlife impacts
Finding a balance between economic growth and quality of life for neighboring community is essential!
OUR VOICES SHOULD BE HEARD AND CONCERNS ADDRESSED.
Impacts to nearby residents
High decibel noise pollution: Noise higher than 85 decibels is considered damaging to the human ear; large aircraft engines average 140 decibels when starting and taxiing, which will be directly across the street from residents for a minimum of 40 airplane events (arrival/departure) per day. This equals 14,600 events per year.
How many minutes for each event?
Will there be limits on how high engines can run during maintenance activities?
How high will the proposed berm be constructed? Will it be effective at absorbing/deflecting noise?
Groundwater contamination risk: Groundwater contamination from fuel spills, overspray from de-icing fluids, PFAS/PFOA from nearby fire training pit, and maintenance activities could adversely impact individual drinking water wells. There is known PFAS contamination at former Kulis Air National Guard Base on Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation contaminated sites database (https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/CSP/SiteReport/26531). This is a public health risk.
Recommend airport, State of Alaska, and developer provide municipal water to replace wells.
Recommend updating groundwater study to understand hydrology in area.
Air pollution risk: There is increased risk of air pollution from storage and use of jet fuel close to homes and close to 1,500-acre Kincaid Park with world-class cross-country skiing, trails, and biking area.
PFAS risk: Will AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) be stored on the south side of the airport? This hazardous contaminant containing PFAS/PFOA can impact groundwater and surface water. They also can get airborne when the ground gets disturbed. Storage of this substance increases risk to nearby residents.
Recommend use of safer alternative.
Increased traffic risk: Traffic during and after construction would significantly increase on Raspberry Road. Construction of new roads further increases traffic.
Recommend an updated traffic study be done.
Economic impact to property values: Decreases in property values due to increased airport noise are documented. Has consideration been given to impacts to property owners?
Consider economic impacts to nearby property owners.
Quality of life impacts to residents: A balance is needed to find a balance between economic growth and quality of life for neighboring community.
Additional airport projects: There are four other large expansion projects at the airport going on simultaneously including:
(1) FedEx new sorting facility,
(2) UPS expansion,
(3) cold storage adjacent to FedEx,
(4) cargo aircraft parking on west side of NW runway.
The airport will also be updating its Master Plan, relocating the control tower, and expanding taxiway Zulu at the same time.
This scale of simultaneous expansion and development requires careful planning. Does the airport have the personnel to properly plan this level of expansion?
Emergency management and disaster preparedness planning: Has any planning been done to address emergency management and disaster preparedness on this side of the airport due to the increase in volume of aircraft? If so, this information would be important to share with nearby residents.
Recommend sharing emergency and disaster preparedness information with nearby residents.
Wildlife impacts: Have impacts to wildlife such as moose, lynx, bears, birds, coyotes, and other small mammals been addressed?
Zoning and building standards: Will this construction require changes to zoning? How will current building standards be incorporated? Will additional soundproofing be needed?
Adjacent Neighborhood Concerns
“Right development, wrong place”
This project requires careful planning to minimize impacts to the neighborhood directly adjacent to the airport that will be forced to take all the risks of this large development.
Is there any place around the airport with this much activity so close to housing?
Risks to the community must be clearly understood and communicated.
NorthLink Aviation commitments:
700-ft setback from Raspberry Road
Access road through South Airpark
25-ft noise berm
Airport and State of Alaska responsibility:
It will be the legal responsibility of the airport and State of Alaska if there are negative environmental impacts.
The airport and State of Alaska are responsible for answering to the community and addressing concerns
Airport Community Outreach Plan:
- “establishes guidelines for effective two-way communication between the entities”
- “The Airport will make public comments and responses it receives reasonably accessible and available.”
Recommend airport share comments received on November 2020 public notice.
Updates
See also: Documents link for pertinent documents
February 16, 2022
There will be a meeting of the Anchorage Airport Subcommittee on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 6:30 PM. The meeting will be available via videoconference at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84758299147?pwd=KzcxbDV6ZUdmb1YyREZMbjN4Mm8rUT09 or by telephone at 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID 847 5829 9147, Passcode 0764527.
November 16, 2021
We are waiting for a reply from the airport to our request for the groundwater study on which the airport relies.
November 9, 2021
IC Alaska has rebranded itself into NorthLink Aviation (https://www.northlinkaviation.com/team). Information on IC Alaska Airport's website has been removed.
October 29, 2021
The DOT liaison was able to provide the public with a copy of IC Alaska's lease with the airport signed on October 25, 2021. The airport has been unable to locate the groundwater study done in the late 1990's on which they rely. (Obtaining this information is critical to understanding groundwater flow and hydrology around the airport, especially since there is known contamination from PFAS at the former Kulis National Guard Base.)
October 28, 2021
About five hours after the meeting with John Binder, DOT Deputy Commissioner, attendees at the meeting were notified that IC Alaska had signed a lease with the airport two days previously. This information was not disclosed at the meeting.
October 28, 2021
Alaska Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner John Binder met with residents to discuss concerns with this development. Topics included COMMUNICATION, CONCERNS, and SOLUTIONS.
October 25, 2021
**IC Alaska Airport signs Land Lease Agreement with Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport** (copy available under Documents tab)
October 8, 2021
IC Alaska representatives met with the Sand Lake Community Council at a special meeting to present the current design.
Changes from original plan (per IC Alaska’s August 2021 update):
reduced to 12 hardstands with aircraft pointing nose to the community, engines to the north
buildings moved from south to west of the hardstands, diminishing noise buffering.
sound berm between hardstands and Raspberry Road
footprint away from Raspberry Rd fence-line with vegetation buffer
reduced size of parking lot
by-pass traffic flow away from Raspberry Road
IC Alaska’s project has three main goals:
Ability to fuel, load and reload cargo planes.
Provide MRO – maintenance, repair, and operations facilities.
Construction of a hanger that can support the two other goals.
August 14, 2021
Update regarding the proposed IC Alaska South Air Cargo Campus:
Notable changes highlighted by IC Alaska, including a project purpose statement at the end:
- Process of designing an even better sound barrier with the help of an acoustical engineer and utilizing the best available international practice.
- Providing a sound berm. Also, area is 25 feet below community geographic profile.
- Reduced size of proposed parking lot.
- Footprint is away from the Raspberry Road fence-line with vegetation buffer.
- By-pass traffic flow away from Raspberry Road.
- C Change will actively pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the project.
- 12 hardstands with aircraft pointing nose to the community, engines to the north.
- Optimization: The project has three main goals. The ability to fuel, load and reload cargo planes effectively utilizing a principle of great service and best available technology and practice. It also will provide a much needed and talked about MRO – maintenance, repair, and operations facilities. The construction of a hanger that can support the two other goals.
The project means jobs, economic growth, and wealth. Wealth means alleviating poverty, being able to educate the population, and providing for further Anchorage economic growth and employment. In a post-Covid-19 world Anchorage’s need for airport investment is vital to the long-term survival of the municipality. Anchorage needs this economic growth as quickly as possible. This project can provide for that.
Aviation is the right industry for Anchorage – it is the optimal industry to grow. One out of 9 jobs is associated with the Anchorage airport. In Anchorage, only airport development is an industry that can be a vital engine of economic growth fueled by private sector and globally scalable. Few industries can both catalyze growth and sustain growth in the long-term in Anchorage – like aviation.
This project is significant for several reasons. It is the first step in a multi-phase, multi-year process that C Change would like to catalyze.
For more information about this proposed development, please visit https://www.icalaska.com/about
IC Alaska South Airpark - Current Concept Plan - June 2022
IC Alaska South Airpark - Proposed Concept Plan - August 2021
