Trenton Mercer Airport expansion real costs: Public health, environment and fiscal stability

To the Editor:

Mercer County has been on a media blitz the past few weeks, proclaiming that a new and improved Trenton Mercer Airport (TTN) is on the way. Meanwhile, communities in Bucks and Mercer Counties are extremely concerned as the County moves ahead with plans for a massive expansion of TTN. The project poses a serious threat to the environment and public health, yet County and elected officials have systematically ignored pleas by area residents for a study of potential impacts.

For years, Mercer County has maintained that it is merely replacing the airport terminal, not expanding operations, and therefore does not need to study the environmental and health impacts of increased air and vehicle traffic. But the facts belie these claims: the terminal building will quadruple in size; the number of usable airplane parking positions will double; and new taxiways will be built.

Simply put, the new airport will be able to accommodate more planes. More planes mean an increase in vehicular and aviation-related air and noise pollution. The negative health impacts from airport noise pollution and air pollution have been well studied and documented. But by mischaracterizing the expansion project as a mere terminal replacement, the County avoided considering the health and environmental impacts of increased air and vehicle traffic.

Local residents do not trust the County to protect them. This concern has already manifested itself with the recent groundbreaking for a new airport fire station, which may be located on soil contaminated with PFAS. PFAS, a suspected carcinogen, is called the “forever chemical” because it never breaks down – in your body or the ground. State law mandates PFAS contamination to be investigated and cleaned up by the responsible party. There is no indication that the County has tested this site for PFAS contamination, despite numerous attempts to get more information

According to Philip I. Brilliant of Brilliant Environmental Services, Toms River, NJ, most PFAS contamination of soil and water is caused by routine use of PFAS-laden aqueous firefighting foam at civilian airports and military installations. There are also documented reports that this toxic foam was improperly used near this location as a weed killer. “With an EPA Superfund site less than 2000 feet away there could be other undocumented PFAS contamination in this area as well as migration from the Superfund site,” Brilliant added.

Brilliant, a licensed New Jersey environmental specialist, strongly believes that site-wide remediation of PFAS in advance of all planned airport construction is imperative. He stated that “earth moving, digging and removal of truckloads of contaminated soil should not occur until the proper evaluation of soil and groundwater quality has been determined.” Based upon Brilliant’s review of available remediation files, he believes that “further sampling for PFAS and other emerging contaminants of concern is necessary.”

For years the County denied it was expanding the airport, but local officials have recently changed their tune. Mercer County Executive Dan Benson has started promoting the airport project as an expansion and even talking about further expansions with the goal of “creating the capacity to have more flights,” aiming to be a regional transportation hub. Yet the County still refuses to evaluate the potential environmental and health impacts of this unfettered growth.

Mercer County also claims that the expansion will be an economic boon, but the financing paints a more realistic picture. The project will cost at least $200 million, yet the County has received only $2.5 million from the federal government. 

To fill the gap, the County has authorized the sale of taxpayer-backed bonds to pay for the project, which would increase county debt by around 30 percent and take decades to pay off. Taxpayers will not reap any direct financial benefits from the airport because federal law requires airport revenue to stay at the airport to support growth and maintenance.

Yes, a local airport is convenient for travel. Yes, the existing terminal building needs to be modernized. But these changes need to be made in a responsible manner, with complete transparency and a thorough study of the health and environmental impacts.

We are not alone in our concerns over irresponsible airport expansions. Other citizen groups around the country are challenging FAA approval of capacity-inducing projects like the one at TTN without a study of the environmental and health impacts.

By ignoring the impacts of the expansion and claiming that it will be an economic boon, the County is playing a game of smoke and mirrors.

It’s time for New Jersey elected and government officials to finally acknowledge the financial, health, and environmental impacts of the proposed airport expansion – and put together a plan to protect the citizens and communities of the region!

Steve Rauscher

Mr. Rauscher is the board president for the citizen group Trenton Threatened Skies.