Wetland construct begins; PMRA to seek Port funds

Construction equipment sits on the Kammerzell land along the South Fork of the Palouse River which is being converted into wetlands.

The first phase of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (PMRA) Runway Realignment Project began Aug. 16 with wetland mitigation along the South Fork of the Palouse River east of Colfax.

The land being converted to wetlands is owned by Tom and Cheryl Kammerzell, owners of Maple K Farms, who sold the development rights of the land for the wetland conversion.

The wetlands are being constructed here to mitigate the loss of the current wetlands at PMRA where the new runway will be built.

A transfer tax affidavit filed July 30 in the treasurer’s office lists sale of a grant deed of conservation for Maple Enterprises, LLC, to Palouse Land Trust, Inc., Moscow for $284,000, July 30.

The selected location was chosen off-site from the airport because wetlands attract wildlife that can be hazardous for airport operations. Airport Manager Tony Bean said the wetlands particularly attract birds.

“Birds and airplanes are a bad deal,” he said. “They don’t mix.”

The mitigation on the 113.6 acre plot will create 9.4 acres of new riverine wetland and will include 19,000 native plantings.

According to a press release from earlier this month, the initial phases of this project include 20,000 cubic yards of excavation that will improve the flood storage capacity on-site and expand the wetlands. A well will also be installed to support the new plantings.

Once completed, PMRA will monitor and maintain the wetland site for a 10-year period to ensure the site develops as planned, and the Kammerzells are in compliance with the stewardship agreement, which permanently protects the land with a conservation easement held by Palouse Land Trust.

Construction at the airport is not scheduled to begin until early 2016, and expected completion is late 2019. The airport will remain open and operational during the construction.

“The physical construction is to start in 2016, and we’re going to continue to operate the existing runway during the construction,” Bean said. “The construction crews will work from west to east. The idea is to keep shutdowns minimal.”

Construction includes extension, widening and realignment of the runway with taxiway infrastructure to meet the new specifications, new lighting and more, to bring the airport up to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.

“The project is to meet FAA standards. It is correcting a standards deficiency,” said Bean.

Bean said the target cost of the project is $89 million, and it could reach as high as $119 million depending on factors such as gas prices and construction inflation over the next few years.

Funding has been received via a $1 million donation from SEL and another $1 million donation from SEL founder Ed Schweitzer and wife, Beatriz. Moscow, Pullman, the University of Idaho and Latah County have also pledged funds for the project, and WSU is expected to make a pledge as well.

Bean said the airport plans to have discussions with the Port of Whitman County soon regarding the airport and to seek funding from them.

“We’re going to have a discussion with them here shortly. The Port has been a contributor in the past,” he said. “We’ll see what they can determine out of their 2016 budget cycle.”

Port Executive Director Joe Poiré said the airport board is on the agenda for the next Port meeting on Sept. 3, and he expects them to seek funding at that time from the 2016 budget cycle.

“The Port is not an active member on the board,” Poiré said, “but the Port has been a long time supporter of the airport. Aviation is the Port’s mission. Any mode of transportation is the Port’s mission.”

Bean said they have not sought funding from the Port before now because the Port is currently tied up with the Colfax airport construction and other projects and because of a potential conflict of interest with the wetland mitigation site on Port Commissioner Tom Kammerzell’s property.

“That’s why we’re not asking for money at this point,” he said, “because we don’t want it to seem like the Port is passing money to one of their commissioners.”

The wetland construction is expected to conclude in December, before the 2016 budget cycle.

Poiré said he hopes to see the Port commissioners and county commissioners come together to support the project as one entity from Whitman County, rather than separately.