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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Open house Monday for proposed airport expansion

Last month, Pitkin County released a report detailing the environmental impacts of proposed changes at the airport. The public can skip the 250-page document and learn about the project in person this week.

Airport staff said improvements are needed to keep up with modern technology and safety. The regional jets that currently fly into Aspen are slowly being replaced with larger aircraft, and officials say the airport could be out of compliance and lose commercial service without the changes. They propose moving the runway to further separate it from the taxiway and widening it by 50 feet.

There is also a proposal for a new terminal.

A consulting company completed the draft environmental assessment and presented to county commissioners last month. The expansion would mean damage to wetlands near Owl Creek Road. Mitigation efforts would be coordinated with the Army Corps of Engineers.

The assessment also considered air and water quality, wildlife and noise.

The public can learn more at an open house Monday at the Pitkin County Library from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. or Tuesday at Town Hall in Snowmass from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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