Trees could jeopardize airport grants, FAA says

If trees continue to extend into the flight path at Hilton Head Island Airport, the facility could become ineligible to receive certain federal funds and lose air service, local and federal aviation officials say.

The trees already create a safety hazard for planes in bad weather, they say.

Last week, the Town Council backed off a plan to amend its zoning ordinance to allow for clear-cutting by Beaufort County, which owns and manages the airport. The vote came after a heated public hearing.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which conducts annual evaluations of the facility, has threatened to withhold grants used to improve the airport, including for tree-cutting, said Paul Andres, airport director.

"The tree obstructions have been noted for years," Andres said.

The FAA said Monday that no regulatory agency can force the county to cut the trees. The agency wants the trees removed because they violate its guidelines, said agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

"The FAA will pay one time for the trees to be removed or topped, but we can only provide federal funding once," Bergen said.

The county has wanted to clear-cut the trees to prevent continuing maintenance costs and because of the limitations on the federal funding. The proposal to amend the town's ordinance would have supported that with some conditions. That amendment has been sent back to the Town Council's Public Safety Committee to be rewritten after last week's hearing.

Opponents of the cutting said it would endanger the surrounding environment, which includes wetlands, and harm the quality of life of residents who live nearby. Supporters said it was needed to keep the airport viable and safe.

The issue is expected to return to the Town Council for discussion in late December, said town manager Steve Riley.

The trees are partly responsible for reducing the number of passengers allowed on flights into and out of the airport, Bergen said. Planes have to adhere to weight limits to ascend and descend quickly enough to clear the trees.

Another limiting factor for passenger numbers is the airport's short runway, officials have said.

If the trees continue to grow into the flight path, those limitations will become more restrictive, Bergen said. That's because the minimum slope, the rate at which a plane will have to climb in order to clear the trees, will increase. That means even fewer passengers could fly than are currently allowed.

Asked if passengers on commercial flights were in danger at the Hilton Head Airport, federal and local officials said landing there in inclement weather was a safety hazard for private and commercial planes. In case of inclement weather, pilots and air traffic control redirect planes to a more navigable runway. But that can be a mid-air judgment call, said Riley.It has been more than 10 years since the county cut any trees on airport property, according to Riley.

County administrator Gary Kubic said the county has had difficulty complying with the town's ordinance and getting easement agreements to cut trees near the airport but not on county-owned land.

Kubic said he didn't know how long it would take for the town, county and FAA to agree on a solution to the tree problem.