There is a proposed plan for expanding the Teterboro Airport put forth by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This plan proposes to fill 11 acres of wetlands around the airport to accommodate aircraft that are increasing in size. However, filling in these wetlands pose a severe threat to the wellbeing of the surrounding area, both in terms of flooding and biodiversity. After these wetlands are filled in, impervious asphalt airstrips and parking areas as well as metal hangers will fill the area.
Expansion of the Teterboro Airport could have dangerous implications for water management in the New York Metropolitan Area https://t.co/ywXLpE8OHm #bcsfh2o
— Matt Denaro (@mattdenaroMHC) November 29, 2017
This threat is being downplayed by the project managers, but local politicians and residents are more nervous about the potential expansion of the airport. The Meadowlands area already has issues with dealing with their runoff and flooding and this plan would only further the problem. The local politicians are pushing for enhanced storm water retention systems to combat the flooding and runoff effects that this plan would potentially cause. This system would not help to ameliorate the damage to biodiversity that this expansion could cause. Although local politicians and residents are fighting against it, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection determined the plan was okay and “it does not require local approval.”
The impact on the environment and water management needs to new land development, particularly when it extends into biodiverse wetlands. Although it seems that its impact is suitable, the fact that there is this much of a public uproar about the possible negative impact of the plan is worrying. Biodiversity needs to be protected and it seems it is being left behind in favor of the efficiency of airports, as the airport is being expanded to fit the growing size of planes. Considering water management is already an issue in this area, a plan that has a distinct possibility of negatively impacting an already tenuous system of water management seems worrying.
