The Federal Aviation Administration’s preliminary air pollution report concerning the environmental effects of the proposed FedEx sorting and distributing hub isn’t satisfactory, according to federal and state regulators. On Aug. 27 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.C. Division of Air quality criticized the FAA for being too lax, stating that the hub would not emit excessive amounts of smog-producing chemicals.
EPA official Kay Prince suggested that FedEx use machinery that runs on electricity and natural gasses, instead of traditional motorized equipment, thereby decreasing the amount of harmful chemicals released by 40%.

When released in large amounts, organic compounds and nitrogen oxides can combine and create ground-level ozone, thus making breathing more difficult. The Triad area already has ground-level ozone problems.

North Carolina state officials object because the FAA’s report does not require the hub to continue to meet current state pollution laws in the years to come.

The air pollution report is part of the FAA’s final environmental impact report. Ultimately it is the FAA that will determine whether or not the hub is eligible for federal funding, $200 million that will, in part, be put towards improving and preparing the Piedmont Triad International Airport for the project. If the hub is approved and functioning by 2005, as planned, the PTI would need a third runway.

The complete environmental plan also includes precautions the PTI would take to compensate for damages to the area’s water supply that the hub would bring. Hub construction would destroy 23.5 acres of wetlands natural drainage areas that currently act as filters for storm water. It would also disrupt 14,000 feet of streams in the area. Richard Phillips of the Guilford County’s advisory board for environmental quality, predicts that the hub would prevent more than 50 million gallons of ground water from reaching Greensboro reservoirs.

Furthermore, once completed there would be 330 acres of new “impervious surfaces,” or paved and developed land that can’t absorb rainwater. Runoff, possibly carrying grease and oil, would drain into streams.

Jerry McCrain, an environmental engineer from Raleigh in partnership with the PTI, assured the Division of Water Quality last April that, “[they] would have a filtering mechanism.” The PTI’s plan includes building new grassy areas, ponds, and 250 acres of wetlands to catch and filter the polluted runoff. This coupled with the PTI’s current pollution filtering system is to head off the damages.