FAA WITHDRAWS THE NOTICE OF INTENT FOR THE YEAGER AIRPORT EIS

On September 18, 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) formally discontinued preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Airfield, Safety, and Terminal Improvement Project (Proposed Action) at the West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW) and is withdrawing the Notice of Intent (NOI) issued on September 29, 2022.  The FAA originally placed the EIS on pause on March 27, 2024, to allow the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority (CWVRAA) to conduct additional airfield planning studies to support the proposed development following changes to operations at CRW.

Since the pause, CWVRAA decided to focus on the terminal development components of the proposed project and submitted a revised terminal design concept for FAA review and approval. The FAA determined that the terminal improvements have independent utility from the runway project and address an immediate Airport need, mutually exclusive from the runway project, and occurring at a different time than the runway components. The FAA completed the environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the revised terminal design concept and issued a Categorical Exclusion on August 13, 2024, which is available at this link.

With the CWVRAA priority for the immediate future focused on the financing and construction of the airport terminal and marketing of new service, the necessary planning studies to support the originally proposed airfield development components of the EIS will take some time to complete. Accordingly, the FAA is terminating the current EIS effort. If and when the CWVRAA completes the additional planning efforts, the FAA will determine the applicable environmental review required and will reengage the public and applicable agencies accordingly.

For additional information please contact Mr. Andrew Brooks, Environmental Program Manager, FAA Eastern Regional Office at (718) 553-2511 or [email protected].