Air Quality
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), has established standards for ambient (i.e., outdoor) air pollutants. These standards are known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and have been established for six criteria. It is FAA's responsibility to assure that federal airport actions conform to state plans for controlling air pollution, and that future year emissions are analyzed and considered as a part of the EIS process.

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Airport Improvement Program (AIP)
The AIP is administered by FAA and it's broad objective is to assist in the development of the nationwide system of public-use airports adequate to meet the current projected growth of civil aviation. The AIP provides funding for airport planning and development projects at airports included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). This plan lists development considered necessary to provide a safe, secure, efficient and integrated airport system meeting the needs of civil aviation, national defense and the U.S. Postal Service.

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Airport Layout Plan (ALP)
A graphic presentation (to scale) of existing and ultimate airport facilities, their location on the airport, and the pertinent clearance and dimensional information required.

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Airport Phases
Planning and construction for the South Suburban Airport is proposed in two phases: inaugural and ultimate. A brief description of each is provided below.

• Inaugural Airport
  The inaugural airport is the first stage of construction and includes an area of approximately 4,000 acres in Will County.

• Ultimate Airport
  The ultimate airport refers to the potential future build out of the South Suburban Airport. The ultimate airport will encompass approximately 23,000 acres in eastern Will County, Illinois.

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Airport Footprint
The "airport footprint" is the area that will be impacted by the airport, including the land for airport development as well as surrounding lands that may experience various environmental impacts.
View SSA Will County Study Area Affected Environment

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Alternatives
The alternatives discussion is the heart of the environmental process. The alternatives analysis is conducted to ensure that alternatives that address the purpose and need of the project, which might enhance environmental quality or have a less detrimental effect, have not been prematurely dismissed from consideration. See the EIS Alternatives section on this website for further information.

• "No-Action" Alternative
  FAA is required, as a condition of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to consider a "No-Action" Alternative when analyzing the environmental impacts of a proposed action.

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Biotic Communities
Conservation of biological diversity is a national goal and its loss is recognized as a national concern. Reduction of diversity at any level will have effects at other levels. Plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and benthic macroinvertebrates, as well as sensitive or unique habitats, must be studied and inventoried so that impacts from the proposed project can be documented and minimized.

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Coastal Barriers
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act requires that no federal expenditures or financial assistance may be made available for construction projects within the boundaries of the Coastal Barriers Resource System. There are no areas within the state of Illinois that are subject to the provisions of this Act.

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Coastal Zone Management
The Coastal Zone Management Act provides for preservation, protection, development and, where feasible, restoration of the nation's coastal zones. There are no areas within the state of Illinois that are subject to the provisions of this Act.

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Construction Impacts
Construction of airport facilities may result in adverse impacts to the local economy, air quality, water quality, and ambient noise levels. In general, impacts during construction are of a lesser magnitude than the long-term impacts of the proposed airport.

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Compatible Land Use
According to FAA the compatibility of existing and planned land uses in the vicinity of an airport is usually related to the noise impacts associated with the operation of an airport. Evaluation consists of assuring that proper zoning or other land use controls are being undertaken, to ensure compatible development near the site.

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Cumulative Impacts
The President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) requires that cumulative impacts be considered during the EIS process. Cumulative impacts are considered the incremental impacts of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions. The cumulative impacts of each one of the environmental impact categories examined in the EIS are considered.

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Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL)
The Day-Night Average Sound Level, or DNL, is a single number measure of community noise exposure over a 24-hour period. DNL is a method for predicting the effects on an average population of the long-term exposure to environmental noises. This method applies a 10 dBA adjustment to nighttime (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) noises because there is increased sensitivity to noises at night.

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DOT Section 303(c) and Section 6(f) Lands
Section 303(c) lands (previously called Section 4(f) lands) are those that are publicly owned in public parks, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites. Section 6(f) lands are those that are funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (wildlife and fish restoration). There are restrictions on using these lands, and the impacts to any Section 303(c) and Section 6(f) lands must be examined as a part of the environmental process.

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Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
(See Environmental Impact Statement (EIS))

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Endangered and threatened species
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) have designated certain rare or declining species of animals and plants as endangered or threatened. These species receive varying levels of legal protection, depending on their status.

• Federally endangered species
  Federally endangered species (LE) is defined as any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

• Federally threatened species
  Federally threatened species (LT) is defined as any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

• State-endangered species
  A state-endangered species (SE) is defined as any species which is in danger of extinction as a breeding species in Illinois.

• State-threatened species
  A state-threatened species (ST) is defined as any breeding species which is likely to become a state-endangered species within the foreseeable future in Illinois.

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Energy Supply and Natural Resources
For most airport actions, changes in energy or other natural resource consumption will not result in significant impacts. The environmental assessment must consider changes in demand related to stationary facilities, as well as those which involve the movement of air and ground vehicles. Both the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) report that there are no known scarce or extractable mineral resources within the proposed airport site.

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Environmental Assessment (EA)
In March 1998, the state of Illinois completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) to identify alternatives to meet the long-term aviation capacity needs of the region, including alternative sites for a proposed supplemental air carrier airport. The State's EA analyzed potential environmental impacts and examined the feasibility of mitigation measures for the ultimate proposed development of an air carrier airport in the greater Chicago region. FAA provided review and comment on the EA and subsequently decided to undertake a tiered EIS process.

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Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Federal agencies must treat environmental impacts as a primary criterion in the evaluation of a proposed action. Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) serves this purpose, and allows analysis of the environmental impacts of a proposed action, mitigation for those impacts, and the participation of interested parties in the environmental review process.

• Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
  A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is a "working draft" of the EIS. It is prepared and circulated for Federal, state and local agency and public review, and a public hearing is held. Comments are noted and changes are made accordingly.

• Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
  Once comments on the DEIS have been addressed, a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is prepared. This is the final and official copy of the EIS.

• Tier 1 EIS
  The Tier 1 EIS for the proposed South Suburban Airport focused on the purpose and need for preserving a site for future potential airport development and provided the environmental analysis for initial airport site approval. The Tier 1 EIS did not deal with actual construction or operation of an airport, but only with the broad issue of approving a site for a potential airport.
  Go to Tier 1 EIS Page

• Tier 2 EIS
  The Tier 2 EIS for the proposed South Suburban Airport is currently being prepared and will focus on construction of the inaugural airport. This is a more specific issue than general site approval, dealt with in the Tier 1 EIS.
  Go to Tier 2 EIS Page

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Environmental Impacts
In the preparation of an EIS, a brief examination of potential environmental impacts must be conducted to determine what impacts may be significant. Each impact must be considered during each tier of the EIS process; thus, each of these impacts was assessed in the Tier 1 EIS (site selection), and each impact will again be assessed in the Tier 2 EIS (inaugural construction) and each subsequent EIS required.

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Farmland
Federal and State Acts are in place to protect and to minimize impacts to farmland as a result of proposed actions. As part of the environmental process, impacts to Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, and Important Farmland, as defined by the Illinois Farmland Preservation Act, must be examined.

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Federally endangered species
(See Endangered and threatened species)

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Federally threatened species
(See Endangered and threatened species)

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Floodplains
Floodplains are valuable natural resources serving many functions, including stormwater storage, erosion and sediment control, and wildlife support. FAA, in compliance with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, requires that impacts to floodplains are considered for any proposed airport projects.

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General Aviation (GA)
General Aviation (GA) is defined as that portion of Civil Aviation that encompasses all facets of aeronautical activity except for those carriers certified by the Department of Transportation to provide commercial passenger and air cargo service. GA activities include things like business flights, student pilot and advanced pilot flight training, aerial application flights (crop dusting), aerial mapping, and air ambulance flights. The types of GA aircraft vary from small, single-engine fixed-wing aircraft to helicopters and multi-engine piston or turbine-powered planes.

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Greater Chicago Region
The greater Chicago region includes the northeast Illinois/northwest Indiana metropolitan area. Specifically, the greater Chicago region includes Cook, De Kalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois, Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana, and Kenosha County in Wisconsin. Approximately 9.2 million people resided in this thirteen-county area according to the 2000 U.S. Census, making the greater Chicago region the third largest metropolitan area in the United States.
View greater Chicago region map

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Hazardous waste
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was established to regulate the management and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. For this environmental assessment, information and data pertaining to hazardous wastes, environmental contamination and other regulated materials located in the vicinity of the proposed site must be obtained and evaluated.

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Historic, Architectural, Archaeological, and Cultural Resources
Two laws apply to this area of impact, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act. Pursuant to these Acts, studies to identify historic properties within the proposed airport site and to inventory sites of archaeological significance must be conducted.

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Inaugural Airport
(See Airport Phases)

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Inaugural Airport Program (IAP)
Five-year development program proposed by the state of Illinois to construct and operate an air carrier airport at the South Suburban Airport site in eastern Will County.

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Light emissions
For any airport development, the extent to which any lighting associated with an airport action will create an annoyance among people in the vicinity of the installation must be examined. When the potential for annoyance exists, information on the site lights or light systems must be compiled, and measures to lessen annoyance must be considered.

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Mitigation
Mitigation means to make something less difficult, less harsh, or less painful. In the context of environmental science, mitigation is the practice of correcting for impacts that are unavoidable. For example, if noise impacts occur as a result of airport construction and operation, the situation may be mitigated by adjusting zoning ordinances accordingly, or installing sound buffers.

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"No-Action" Alternative
(See Alternatives)

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Noise
Noise impacts are assessed through analysis of DNL, the Day-Night Average Sound Level. The typical measure to analyze long-term noise exposure with DNL is the annual average day, which is calculated from total annual noise activities divided by 365 days. Most airport projects analyze noise impacts through a combination of modeling and observations.

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Notice of Intent (NOI)
The Notice of Intent (NOI) is published by a Federal agency (FAA for this project) in the Federal Register and serves to announce the agency's intentions of preparing an EIS.

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Passenger Facility Charges (PFC)
Passenger Facility Charges (PFC) are funds collected from those individuals flying to or from an airport with an approved PFC application on file with FAA. The enabling federal legislation allowing for the collection of such funds states that these revenues may be used "to finance FAA eligible airport-related projects to be carried out in connection with such airport or any other airport which such agency controls."

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Record of Decision (ROD)
After the FEIS has been completed and circulated there is a minimum 30-day review period. After this minimum time has elapsed, FAA can issue a Record of Decision (ROD) in the Federal Register, outlining their conclusions about the proposed action. Once the ROD is issued, appropriate and approved action may take place. In the case of the Tier 1 EIS for the proposed South Suburban Airport, the FEIS was issued on April 22, 2002 and the ROD was issued on July 12, 2002. The FAA determined that the Will County site was a technically and environmentally feasible location for a potential, new air carrier aiport to serve the greater Chicago region.

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Scoping
The scoping process is the initial step in the preparation of an EIS. As a part of the scoping process, formal scoping meetings are held.

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Social Impacts
The principal social impacts to be considered are those associated with property acquisition or relocation, changes to surface transportation, or other community disruptions that may be caused by airport development. Social impacts are examined through demographic data, which includes information such as housing characteristics and economic profiles of the area's population.

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Socioeconomic Impacts
Patterns of population movement and growth, public service demands, and changes in business and economic activity may be affected by airport development. These are called induced socioeconomic impacts, and are evaluated by predicting changes in population, households and employment. The extent of induced socioeconomic impacts usually relates to noise, traffic, land use, and social impacts.

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Solid waste
The environmental assessment must document the locations of existing solid waste disposal facilities in and around the proposed site, and consider impacts related to these facilities. Impacts include the potential for short-term airport operations during construction/demolition to exceed the capacities of these facilities, and the potential for these facilities to attract birds that may interfere with future airport operation.

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State-endangered species
(See Endangered and threatened species)

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State-threatened species
(See Endangered and threatened species)

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Surface Transportation
Changes in traffic patterns with and without airport construction must be evaluated. For the South Suburban Airport project, traffic data are obtained from the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) and IDOT, and are projected through 2030.

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Tiering/Tiered EIS Process
Tiering is a process that tackles large problems and projects in levels. The broadest and most general issues are dealt with first, and each subsequent level deals with a more specific issue. For example, for the proposed South Suburban Airport, FAA prepared a Tier 1 EIS to address site approval and land acquisition. The Tier 1 EIS did not deal with actual construction or operation of an airport, but only with the broad issue of approving a site for a potential airport. In the Tier 2 EIS (in progress) FAA will address the actual construction of the inaugural airport, a more specific issue. Subsequent EIS's will deal with increasingly narrower subjects, and each is evaluated on its own merits.

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Tier 1 EIS
(See Environmental Impact Statement (EIS))

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Tier 2 EIS
(See Environmental Impact Statement (EIS))

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Ultimate Airport
(See Airport Phases)

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Visual Impacts
FAA mandates that the EIS will consider how the application of design, art, and architecture may mitigate adverse visual impacts related to airport location, extensive earthmoving, or other disruptions associated with airport construction.

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Water Quality
The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes water quality standards, controls discharges into surface and subsurface waters, develops waste treatment management plans and practices, and authorizes permits for discharges and for dredge or fill material. The EIS process must include information about the proposed project to ensure that state water quality standards and any federal, state, or local permit requirements can be met.

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Wetlands
Upon planning or constructing federal or state projects, wetlands should first be avoided. If impacts are unavoidable, they should then be minimized, and then mitigated. A permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required before any impacts to wetlands or other waters of the U.S. occur due to a proposed project.

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Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides protection for river areas that are free flowing and possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values. The U.S. Department of the Interior identifies and inventories river segments that qualify for inclusion.

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