Welcome

The Port of Portland is sharing an update on work to bring the main runway and runway safety area at Hillsboro Airport up to current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) design standards.

The project will be designed to support aircraft that currently use the airport and will not expand capacity or change the types of aircraft that can use the airport.

On April 22, 2021, the Port released the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that summarizes the proposed design and environmental analysis. We invite community members to share their input until June 4, 2021 by 5 p.m. PST.

There are multiple ways to provide public comments:

Attend the Online Public Hearing on May 25 from 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 2:00 p.m.
RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/HIODraftEAPublicHearing
Comment form
Voicemail: (503) 470-3175
Email: hioea@portofportland.com
Postal mail:
Maureen Minister
C/O Port of Portland
7200 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97218

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An aerial view of the Hillsboro Airport shows linear runways in a green field. — Hillsboro Airport from the air

Runway Safety Area

The runway safety area is the area beyond the end and sides of the runway. Much like the shoulder of a road, this area provides an extra measure of safety in case an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway. FAA design standards require that the runway safety area is maintained in smooth condition.

The Proposed Action would adjust the slope (longitudinal grade) at the north end of the main runway (Runway 13R) and the runway safety area to meet current FAA design standards. It would accommodate a standard 1,000-foot runway safety area by conveying a portion of Glencoe Swale in a concrete box culvert. The runway safety area and the north end of Runway 13R would be regraded to comply with FAA design standards.

Project construction is expected to take place over one construction season, approximately May 2023 through October 2023.

Runway 13R-31L and runway safety area at Hillsboro Airport | Click to enlarge

Purpose and Need

Currently, the northern part of the runway and the runway safety area slope downward slightly more than FAA design standards allow. There are also humps, ruts and depressions, including Glencoe Swale, that are larger than allowed by current FAA standards.

Maintaining the existing condition allows the airport to operate Runway 13R-31L within an acceptable level of safety until the project can be completed.

A diagram illustrates how the current runway safety area grade contains a hump and a rut (including Glencoe Swale). This rise and fall in elevation is contrasted against the last fourth of the runway which has an even grade at 200 feet of elevation. The runway safety area grade must be corrected to meet FAA standards. — Diagram showing changes in surface grade that need to be corrected | Click to enlarge

Environmental review process

The Port of Portland worked with the FAA to develop six different design alternatives to bring the runway and runway safety area into compliance with current standards. Alternatives considered included reducing the runway length, shifting the runway location, and redirecting Glencoe Swale, among other options.

The proposed alternative, the alternatives evaluated, and the screening results are available in the Draft EA and summarized on this website.

The NEPA schedule below outlines the environmental review process and timeline.

NEPA Process

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

	TECHNICAL INPUT	NEPA MILESTONES	COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
2018	Previous studies, existing conditions	Purpose and need statement
2019		Development of alternatives
		Screen range of alternatives
		Identify proposed action for evaluation in environmental assessment	Public Information Meeting
		Preliminary engineering design
2020
		Conduct detailed technical studies
		Prepare draft environmental assessment
2021		Prepare draft environmental assessment	Webinars
		Public comment on draft environmental assessment	Draft EA Public Hearing
		Finalize environmental assessment
	Environmental permitting and regulatory agency coordination	FAA issues environmental finding
2022		NEPA PROCESS ENDS

		Final design
2023
		Construction permitting
		Construction

Draft Environmental Assessment

The Environmental Assessment (EA) is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to determine whether the project has the potential to cause significant environmental effects.

Proposed Action and No Action Alternative

Through initial analysis of six different design alternatives, we identified rerouting Glencoe Swale in a culvert through the runway safety area and regrading the end of the runway and the runway safety area as the best alternative for more detailed study. This alternative is now what is termed the Proposed Action. It was selected for best meeting all the screening criteria because it:

Is compatible with critical design aircraft
Does not cause safety or operational problems that are not easily resolvable
Is reasonable from an economic standpoint and using common sense

Proposed Action

The Proposed Action would include the following:

The slope (grade) of the northern 500 feet of Runway 13R and its runway safety area would be adjusted to meet current FAA standards.
Taxiway A1 would be reconfigured and Taxiway A2 would be removed.
Glencoe Swale would be realigned through a 500-foot-long box culvert, 14 feet wide by 6 feet high, through the runway safety area. This culvert would be designed to allow fish passage.
A wildlife gate would be installed at each end of the culvert to keep wildlife, such as coyotes, from entering the culvert. Small wildlife, such as frogs, would be able to pass through the gates. The gates could be closed in the dry summer months and open during the wet, rainy season.
Where fill material is needed to adjust the slope of the runway and runway safety area, material currently stored in stockpiles on the airport property would be used for a portion of the needed fill. A layer of topsoil would be imported.
Filling in portions of the Glencoe Swale floodplain may have an impact on how much stormwater the swale can hold during a heavy rain event. To offset this impact, the project would create additional areas of flood storage along Glencoe Swale on the airport property to store and absorb stormwater.
All construction work would occur within the boundary of the Hillsboro Airport. During construction, some construction vehicles would travel on local roads to haul materials.
Construction best management practices (“BMPs”) would be implemented to minimize and avoid impacts during the construction process.
All required permits would be obtained prior to construction.

A technical map highlights key features of the project area. The runway safety area grade will be corrected and the surrounding taxiways and blast pad will be corrected accordingly. Glencoe swale will be realigned and placed in a culvert with flood stroage areas on either side of the culvert. — Map of proposed project elements | Click to enlarge

A technical map illustrates key construction areas including staging areas, stockpile areas, site access points, and haul routes located within the project limits. — Map of proposed construction elements | Click to enlarge

A diagram illustrates how the current runway safety area grade is 0% to -5.5% and how the area will be filled to have a more even grade of 0% to -3.0%. It also pictures the location of the concrete box culvert that will contain Glencoe Swale. — Diagram showing corrections in surface grade | Click to enlarge

No Action Alternative

Key Findings

The Draft EA assesses the potential for impacts and benefits that could result from construction of the Proposed Action.

You can explore selected key findings on topics of public interest from the Draft EA. The Proposed Action would provide mitigation to avoid significant long-term impacts to water resources, as described below. Construction activities would result in temporary impacts to water resources, air quality, and noise levels.

In addition to the findings summarized below, the Draft EA also assesses the potential for impacts to other resources, including climate, farmlands, groundwater, hazardous materials, land use, natural resources and energy supply, parks and recreation (Section 4(f)), socioeconomics, visual effects, and cumulative impacts. There would be no significant long-term impacts to any of these resources.

Water resources

The Proposed Action would avoid significant long-term impacts to water resources through the incorporation of mitigation measures.
Glencoe Swale would be realigned and routed through an underground culvert across the runway safety area. Following realignment, the speed (velocity) of water flowing through the swale would be similar to the existing conditions.
With a net reduction in the area covered by impervious surfaces (e.g., pavement, gravel), the project would result in an overall reduction in stormwater flowing off the airport property.
Water quality filter strips (vegetated areas designed to remove pollutants and sediment) would be installed to manage water quality of stormwater from new and modified impervious (paved/gravel) surfaces to improve water quality.
Changes to the floodplain associated with the segment of Glencoe Swale on airport property would not affect flooding upstream or downstream of the airport. The project would modify the existing 100-year floodway associated with Glencoe Swale. The additional fill within the runway safety area would result in the loss of flood storage, but this would be offset by an equivalent amount of compensatory storage created upstream and downstream of the new culvert and would occur entirely on the airport property.
With the proposed grading changes, there would be a decrease in ponding area when water levels are at their highest; less standing water should reduce the attractiveness of Glencoe Swale to waterfowl compared to existing conditions, improving safety for aircraft operations.
Rerouting Glencoe Swale to create a smooth surface in the runway safety area would require filling of some wetlands, vegetated corridors (wetland and stream buffers), and portions of Glencoe Swale. Permanent impacts to wetlands, streams, and vegetated corridors would be offset through in-kind, off-site (not on airport property) compensatory mitigation at local mitigation banks.
During construction, Glencoe Swale would be temporarily diverted into a pipe and pumped around the construction area.
The floodplain associated with Glencoe Swale would be disrupted during construction while the swale is being rerouted and the compensatory flood storage areas are being excavated; however, construction would occur during the driest months of the year when Glencoe Swale has minimal or no flow. By fall, when rain becomes more frequent, construction would be completed.
Vegetated areas temporarily disturbed during construction would be restored in place by reseeding after grading is complete. Temporarily-disturbed wetlands and portions of Glencoe Swale would function the same as before construction.
Erosion control measures would be implemented to minimize construction runoff, erosion, and sedimentation that could result from construction activities, such as pavement removal and excavation.
Construction fencing would be installed to protect existing water resources and vegetated corridors outside of the construction limits.

Map of wetland and water impacts | Click to enlarge

Air quality

The Proposed Action would have no long-term impact on air quality.
Runway conditions would be the same before and after the Proposed Action is constructed, with no change in aircraft operations, therefore no long-term direct or indirect air quality impacts would result from the Proposed Action.
Construction of the Proposed Action would result in short-term changes in air emissions from sources such as exhaust from non-road construction equipment and negligible changes in aircraft emissions during construction.
The table below presents a comparison of the anticipated emissions generated under the No Action Alternative and the Proposed Action in 2023 (when construction is planned), showing that the net change in emissions would be a negligible reduction in emissions associated with the construction of the Proposed Action.

Table 1. Annual Emissions Inventory of the No Action Alternative and During Construction of the Proposed Action

YEAR	CRITERIA POLLUTANTS (TONS PER YEAR)
YEAR	CARBON MONOXIDE (CO)	VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOC)	NITROGEN OXIDES (NO_X)	SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO₂)	PARTICULATE MATTER LESS THAN 10 MICRONS (PM₁₀)	PARTICULATE MATTER LESS THAN 2.5 MICRONS (PM_2.5)
2023 No Action Alternative	478.9	5.2	14.9	2.0	0.6	0.6
2023 Proposed Action	478.7	5.2	14.9	2.0	0.6	0.6
Net Change in Emissions	-0.02	-0.0003	-0.007	-0.0006	-0.002	-0.002

Following standard industry practice, O₃ was evaluated by evaluating emissions of VOC and NOx, which are precursors in the formation of O₃.
Operational emissions denote emissions associated with aircraft operations only.
No Action Alternative and Proposed Action assumed default taxi times in Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT).
CO₂ emissions estimated from AEDT and converted to metric tons.

Noise

The Proposed Action would have no long-term impact on noise levels.
Runway conditions would be the same before and after the Proposed Action is constructed, with no change in aircraft operations, therefore no long-term direct or indirect noise impacts would result from the Proposed Action.
During construction, south of the airport near the end of Runway 31L there would be negligible changes in aircraft sound levels of less than 1 decibel. The criteria for significant impact is a 1.5 decibel or greater increase in noise levels.

Wildlife

The Proposed Action would have no long-term impacts on federally-listed fish and wildlife species or their designated critical habitats.
Wetland and stream habitat converted to grassland as a result of relocating Glencoe Swale into a culvert, would be replaced through in-kind, off-site compensatory mitigation to ensure no net loss of habitat in the watershed.
The new culvert would be designed to meet Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s fish passage requirements, which would result in an improvement to in-stream habitat quality for fish species, should they occur in the future.

Cultural and historic resources

The Proposed Action would have no long-term or short-term (construction related) impacts on cultural and historic resources.
A cultural resources survey, including the excavation of 40 shovel probes within the project area, found no historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural resources present in the area of potential effect where construction would occur.

Read the Draft EA

Download the Draft Environmental Assessment below.

Download the Draft Environmental Assessment

To access the appendices, please see our document library.

Document Library

Document Name	Download
Appendix A: Figures	Document Link
Appendix B: Modification of Airport Design Standards (MOS) for Hillsboro Airport, March 2016	Document Link
Appendix C: Final Alternatives Analysis Memorandum	Document Link
Appendix D: Final Cultural Resource Technical Report	Document Link

Comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment

Your feedback is important! Please share your comments about the Draft EA using any of the methods provided below. You are also invited to attend the online public hearing for a brief presentation of this information along with time to ask questions and share comments.

What is a substantive comment

Comments that address a specific aspect of the project or the Draft EA, rather than simply expressing a preference for or against the project, are most useful. Comments should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if the comments refer to chapters and pages of the Draft EA. Specific topics to address include:

Comments on the information and analysis reported
Comments on the merits of the alternatives examined, including the Proposed Action
Comments on potential measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate impacts
Any new or additional information that should be included in the analysis and consideration of alternatives

Comments on the Draft EA are accepted through any of these methods. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. PST on June 4, 2021:

Comment form: Fill out and submit the comment form below.
Voicemail: (503) 470-3175
Email: hioea@portofportland.com
Postal mail:
Maureen Minister
C/O Port of Portland
7200 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97218
Online Public Hearing: RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/HIODraftEAPublicHearing

The project team will review all comments submitted during the public comment period; any changes made as a result of these comments will be reflected in the Final EA, expected late 2021, with completion of the National Environmental Policy decision document in early 2022.

Submit a Comment

Attend the Online Public Hearing

Register for the online public hearing on May 25 at 12 p.m. (noon). The public hearing will include a short presentation from project staff giving an overview of the Draft EA findings. Community members will then have the opportunity to share clarifying questions and public comment for three minutes per person. If you have a clarifying question that you would like addressed at the hearing, please be sure to note that when you submit your email, phone call, or comment form.