Philadelphia International Gets An Earful About Noise

If you ask a lot of people around West Deptford Township (NJ), they don't want Philadelphia International's Runway 17-35 to be extended 400 feet in their direction -- they don't want the runway at all.

About 60 people, many of them township residents, showed up at a public hearing conducted by the FAA Tuesday night, opposed to the runway extension project. Specifically, two of the three alternatives under consideration would extend the runway south, toward the small New Jersey town. Residents say that would mean more pollution and more noise.

Steve Drummond not only doesn't want to see the runway extended toward his home in West Deptford. "I'd like to see 17-35 shut down entirely," he said. He was quoted in the Gloucester County Times.

Another resident hoping to add his displeasure to the testimony being gathered for the project's environmental impact statement was Judy Shillingford. "When the planes go over my house, it's deafening," she said. "I can't imagine what the quality of life will be in my neighborhood if this goes through."

Residents like Drummond and Shillingford have until the first of December to tell the FAA what they think about the idea of extending 17-35. The City of Philadelphia, which runs the airport, says it needs to extend the runway because of congestion.

Ironically, the FAA says not extending the runway could be even worse for the angry airport neighbors. They could see a "continued increase in aircraft noise from growth in airport operations," the report stated.

The federal EIS isn't the last stop for the proposed project. It still has to pass muster with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

FMI: www.phl.org