Airport Expansion Protested by Yardley, Lower Makefield Twp.

YARDLEY, PA —Yardley is joining forces with neighboring Lower Makefield Township to protest the expansion of the Trenton-Mercer County Airport until further environmental studies can be conducted.

Yardley Borough Council recently signed off on authorization for U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to request environmental studies before federal funding for the expansion project is awarded.

"We're a coalition of state and local elected officials from Bucks County who are concerned about the proposed expansion of the Trenton-Mercer Airport in Mercer County," Council President Caroline Thompson read in the letter at a recent meeting. "Our communities sit a few miles from the airport, on the other side of the Delaware River and the expansion will undoubtedly affect our residents."

Borough officials said that in April, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig visited the airport, which has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to quadruple the size of its current passenger terminal.

Yardley, along with officials in Lower Makefield Township, want Fitzpatrick to request that federal funding be halted until a study is conducted to determine how additional environmental, noise, and air pollution might impact residents in the two Lower Bucks County towns.

"The expansion of the Trenton-Mercer County Airport (NJ) poses ongoing environmental and noise hazard concerns and legitimate questions from our community," Fitzpatrick said in a statement to Patch Tuesday.

Fitzpatrick said the FAA has acknowledged that the airport will see an increase in traffic and therefore must undertake the proper steps to review and study the potential public health and environmental risks that could negatively impact the surrounding areas, including possible emissions and chemical contaminations.

"It is imperative that the FAA recognize that this is, in fact, an expansion project and not sideline or circumvent proper environmental reviews," the congressman added. "As community leaders, we must first make sure that the health of our communities is not at risk and fully understand the lasting environmental impact this will have on the health and wellness of our region. My hope is that the federal government will do its due diligence before breaking ground on this project.”

Thompson said that airplanes fly over the roof of her home at all hours.

"At 6:05 a.m., I heard a rumble, rumble," she said regarding a recent day of air traffic earlier this month.

"It's the No. 1 issue people care about when I go door to door," Councilman Uri Feiner said during the council's June 6 meeting. "I know a lot of people care about it."

"The environmental impact on local communities has never been thoroughly evaluated collectively," the borough's statement read. "We urge you not to allocate any federal funding for this project until all potential impacts have been identified, evaluated, and mitigated. The FAA and Mercer County have misrepresented the expansion plans as simply the construction project to replace an aging terminal building when, in fact, the plan offers a massive expansion."

The borough's statement said that the FAA and Mercer County have "refused to acknowledge" that the improvements will pave the way for "significantly more flights in and out of the airport as well as an increase in ground traffic."

Borough officials said in the statement that the project cannot be allowed to move forward without an environmental impact statement to fully evaluate the impacts of the expansion.

"We urge you not to approve funding and to stop the county from moving forward with this project until a health risk assessment can be completed," the statement signed by Thompson and Borough Manager Paula Johnson concludes.