COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

DATE:

May 14, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

May 21, 2002

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Supervisor Mike Nevin and Supervisor Mark Church

SUBJECT:

Report Regarding San Francisco International Airport (ASFO@) Runway Expansion and Resolution Authorizing President of Board of Supervisors to Request that San Mateo County be Admitted to the Multi-Agency Task Force Considering the Proposed Runway Expansion Project at SFO.

INTRODUCTION

San Francisco International Airport (ASFO@) sits on approximately 2,700 acres of land, most of which is in unincorporated San Mateo County. SFO is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco.

Pursuant to its 1992 Master Plan update, SFO has undertaken a major expansion project involving its Aland-side@ facilities (including the construction of a new international terminal, rental car facility, parking lots, hangars and maintenance facilities, and the opening of a new BART train station and an on-site hotel). According to the Master Plan update, this Aland-side@ expansion project should be completed by 2006.

While still in the process of implementing its 1992 Master Plan update, SFO has initiated a new Master Plan update. While the update process is not yet complete, it has yielded a general recommendation to expand the airport by constructing one or more additional runways in the San Francisco Bay. The stated purposes of the proposed runway expansion project are to reduce flight delays during poor weather, to accommodate potential larger aircraft, reduce noise exposure, and achieve environmental gains for the San Francisco Bay.

RUNWAY SITUATION AT SFO

While several justifications have been cited for the proposed SFO runway expansion project, the most significant one by far is the desire to reduce flight delays due to poor weather.

SFO has two sets of parallel runways, the individual runways of which are each separated by 750 feet. In good weather with clear visibility, aircraft at SFO operate under visual flight rules (AVFR@) and, pursuant to Federal Aviation Administration requirements, are able to simultaneously arrive and depart on runways that are separated by at least 700 feet. However, in poor weather with limited visibility, aircraft must operate under Instrument Flight Rules (AIFR@). IFR generally applies if there is visibility of less than three miles or a cloud ceiling of less than 1000 feet. There must be a 4,300 foot separation between runways when aircraft are arriving and departing under IFR conditions. According to SFO, it operates under IFR conditions approximately 20% of the time, which results in delays of 34% of flights at the airport.

Each of the runway project alternatives under consideration by SFO involves building additional runways on fill in the San Francisco Bay, within the jurisdiction of San Mateo County. Consequently, in order to carry out any of the proposed runway projects, SFO would need to acquire property or an interest in property located within San Mateo County.

THE COUNTY'S ROLE IN THE REGULATORY PROCESS

There are a number of regulatory requirements that SFO must satisfy before beginning any runway project. SFO must secure approvals for its proposed project from an array of federal, state and local governmental agencies. Due to recent legislative changes, it is now clear that the County of San Mateo is among the entities from which SFO must get approval before it begins any runway expansion project located within San Mateo County.

A. Public Utilities Code Section 21661.6

As a result of the Subcommittee=s efforts, the California Legislature recently adopted Senate Bill 244, which was sponsored by State Senator Speier. Among its provisions, SB 244 makes explicit that before SFO can acquire property or any interest in property located within San Mateo County, including tide and submerged lands or other lands subject to the public trust for commerce, navigation, or fisheries, for purposes of expanding or enlarging the airport, SFO must present to this Board a plan regarding the proposed use of the property. The County, in turn, must hold public hearings, and thereafter, this Board must either approve or disapprove the plan.

Section 21661.6 of the Public Utilities Code, which vests the County with the authority to pass on SFO=s plan to acquire property within the County for airport-related purposes, does not set forth specific procedures or criteria for this Board to apply in considering any plan that SFO may submit. However, at the request of the Subcommittee, the Office of the County Counsel and outside counsel retained to advise on SFO-related matters, are formulating draft procedures for review of such a plan. The Subcommittee anticipates submitting these draft procedures to this Board for consideration in July of this year.

B. CEQA

In addition to securing governmental approvals, SFO must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (ACEQA@) and the federal National Environmental Policy Act (ANEPA@). CEQA requires that SFO prepare a draft Environmental Impact Report (AEIR@)¹, which the Subcommittee understands SFO intends to have prepared by the end of this year. SFO must make the draft EIR available for comment from public agencies that have approval authority over any aspect of the project. These public agencies having an approval role with respect to the project -- referred to under CEQA as AResponsible Agencies@ -- must, in turn, advise SFO of any significant environmental effects from the proposed runway expansion project. With respect to any significant environmental effects identified, the agency is required to submit to SFO detailed performance measures for mitigating any such environmental effects.

In addition to making clear San Mateo County=s approval role with respect to any plan to acquire property for an expansion of SFO, the Subcommittee also secured, through SB 244, an amendment to CEQA to unambiguously provide that an agency, such as San Mateo County, that has responsibility for approving a plan for a project that expands or enlarges an existing publicly owned airport is a AResponsible Agency@ under CEQA.

Because the County has a role in approving the runway expansion project (to the extent that it must authorize SFO=s acquisition of the property upon which new runways would sit), it is a Responsible Agency with respect to the project. Consequently, it has authority and responsibility under CEQA to provide SFO with comments regarding environmental effects on the County of the runway expansion project and to identify performance measures for mitigating such effects.

The Subcommittee will be investigating the availability of an environmental consultant or consultants who can assist the County in exercising its CEQA-related authority.

C. County=s Actions

Based on the Subcommittee=s recommendation, the County has also taken action to assign personnel resources to assist this Board in exercising its authority and discharging its responsibilities under section 21661.6 of the Public Utilities Code and CEQA. Among other things, an attorney from the County Counsel=s office and a Senior Planner from the Planning and Building Division of the Environmental Services Agency have been detailed to assist in analyzing information and advising decision-makers regarding SFO=s proposed runway expansion project. Further, the County has retained the services of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld, a multi-national law firm possessing environmental, land use, and project development expertise, with one of the largest airports practices in the nation, to assist in formulating and implementing strategies for working and negotiating with SFO and the City and County of San Francisco with respect to the project.

MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE

Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (AMOU@), SFO has constituted a Multi-Agency Task Force to consider issues related to the proposed runway expansion project. Among the member agencies of the Task Force are the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Fish and Game, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the California State Lands Commission. Task Force members are able to address and share information regarding matters of common concern with respect to the runway expansion project.

Like the Task Force member agencies, San Mateo County has an approval role with respect to the runway expansion and the County would similarly benefit from the opportunity to participate in Task Force proceedings. Consequently, the Subcommittee recommends that this Board authorize and direct the Board President to write to John Martin, San Francisco International Airport Director, to request that SFO amend the Task Force MOU to provide for San Mateo County=s membership.

______________________________

_________________________________

March Church, Supervisor

Mike Nevin, Supervisor

cc:

John L. Maltbie, County Manager

Thomas F. Casey III, County Counsel