Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
3 Background Problem Statement ACRP Project 09-08 âBalancing Airport Stormwater and Wildlife Hazard Management: Analysis Tools and Guidanceâ was established to address the following problem statement: Airports are required to manage the quantity and quality of storm- water on site while ensuring the safety of aircraft operations. Many stormwater management options can create potential aviation wildlife hazards. In addition, airports are faced with potentially conflicting federal, state, and local stormwater and wildlife man- agement regulations and guidance. Research is therefore needed to develop proactive tools and guidance to assist airports in mak- ing decisions that balance stormwater management and wildlife hazard management. Objective The objective of the research performed for ACRP Project 09-08 was to develop a tool and associated guidance to assist airports with identifying and evaluating stormwater man- agement BMPs and wildlife mitigation practices that may be used to minimize hazards posed to aviation by wildlife. Project Scope The research team developed the Bird Strike Risk Analy- sis and Stormwater Management Decision Tool to provide airport personnel with a qualitative means of assessing the potential risk of a bird strike associated with a current or proposed stormwater BMP. The tool is designed following a SMS risk assessment methodology to aid in the integra- tion of bird strike risk into an airportâs existing (or future) SMS plan. Based on the problem statementâs emphasis on the contribution of stormwater BMPs to an airportâs strike risk, the tool development focused on water-dependent birds that are attracted to stormwater BMPs. Other wildlife species were assumed to pose strike risks that are independent from stormwater management decisions. Airports are unique and differ in location, local environ- mental regulations, wildlife, users, and/or funding. Therefore, the research team investigated a variety of subjects to help in the development of the tool and instructions, including the following: ⢠Existing stormwater management options, their potential to impose an aviation wildlife hazard, and possible mitiga- tion techniques to reduce these hazards; ⢠Federal guidance and regulations pertaining to stormwater management, wetlands, aviation wildlife hazards, and nat- ural resource conservation including ambiguities/conflicts among them; and ⢠Potential state and local stormwater management require- ments and conflicts with airport wildlife hazard manage- ment objectives. In addition to the research listed above, the research team tested the tool with two airports. The resultant case study data aided the research team by demonstrating the toolâs per- formance and providing valuable feedback regarding the tool before presenting the draft final tool to the project panel. C H A P T E R 1
