FAA Summary

The Alliance For A Clean Environment

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Pottstown Landfill, Pottstown Airport, and the FAA

FAA regulations say landfills are to be at least 6 miles from airports. Pottstown Landfill is 1.10 miles from the Pottstown Airport and about five miles from the Limerick Airport.
FAA objected to the Eastern Expansion, on which the vertical expansion is planned.
The Pottstown Landfill is applying for a 99 foot high vertical expansion covering 31 acres across its Eastern Expansion. This is a violation of airspace safety regulations for height by 120 feet.
Bird strikes and animals are a concern. Landfills draw birds and animals. The FAA objected to Pottstown Landfill expansions in the past due to Pottstown Landfill’s close proximity to the Pottstown Airport.
FAA objected to the Eastern Expansion on which the 99 foot vertical expansion is planned. There have been bird strikes at the Pottstown Airport. In spite of the evidence of risk to public safety and pilots, DEP issued permits for expansions each time, ignoring FAA safety regulations.
April 4, 2002 the PA Bureau of Aviation objected to this proposed vertical Pottstown Landfill expansion across 31 acres of the Eastern Expansion. Their objection was based on FAA’s air space safety violation of what they determined to be 136 feet.

The proposed vertical expansion of the Pottstown Landfill represents a permanent unnecessary obstruction to airspace safety. The Pottstown Airport is vital to business growth and revitalization. There is enough permitted landfill space in PA for over 10 years.

Pottstown Council and Mayor Anne Jones are trying to stop this expansion to protect the Pottstown Airport, which is owned by the Borough of Pottstown. Several Upper Pottsgrove and Douglass Berks officials have supported this effort.
In December, FAA inexplicably ruled against its own safety regulations and determined no hazard, after trying to make a deal with Waste Management (an obvious admission of risk). Why is FAA making deals with Waste Management ignoring its own safety regulations at the expense of pilot and public safety?
Both Pottstown Council and ACE filed an appeal against this illogical determination. Why would FAA choose to ignore two of its own safety regulations?
The outcome of this petition for review of FAA’s decision will have major impact on our community. Why does FAA have safety regulations if they are not enforced?
The proposed unnecessary Pottstown Landfill vertical expansion violates two FAA safety regulations and represents significant threats to public safety.

With threats of terrorist attacks, we need unobstructed, safe access to the Pottstown Airport, not a higher mountain of garbage. This airport could be needed for evacuation or supplies.