Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing an EIS for the LaGuardia Airport Access Improvement Project to evaluate the potential impacts of the Port Authority’s proposed AirTrain LGA project and to identify measures that may mitigate the effects of the proposed project.
• The FAA is the lead federal agency for the preparation of the EIS, with involvement from 16 other federal, state, and local agencies as cooperating and participating agencies.
• The EIS will analyze and evaluate the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts that may result from the proposed project. This would include but not be limited to analysis in categories such as air quality, visual effects, noise, traffic, socioeconomics, natural resources, historical/cultural resources, land use, and others.
• Stakeholder and community involvement will occur throughout the duration of the EIS. At the outset of the EIS, the scoping process included a public comment period and public meetings held in June 2019. Public information sessions were held in January 2020 to share results of the FAA’s alternatives analysis and to provide updates on the EIS schedule and process. There will be a public comment period and hearing in the third/fourth quarter of 2020 following the FAA’s issuance of the Draft EIS.
• The FAA has established a project website to share information and keep the public and stakeholders apprised of the progress of the EIS process, which can be accessed at https://www.lgaaccesseis.com/. Furthermore, individuals can subscribe for project updates at https://www.lgaaccesseis.com/subscribe

Progress to Date:

• July 2015 – Announcement of Airport Advisory Panel Recommendations for LGA
• February 2017 – Phase I LGA Air Train Planning Authorization approved by PA Board
• November 2017 – Phase II LGA Air Train Planning Authorization approved by PA Board
• June 2018 – New York State Legislature defines the potential corridor for Air Train project
• October 2018 – EIS begins with an RFP for consultant to work with FAA during environmental review
• May 2019 – FAA issues Notice of Intent for EIS
• October 2019 – LGA AirTrain receives PA Board Project Authorization of $2.05 Billion

For additional information on the EIS please visit lgaaccesseis.com/