Battle brewing over Montana airspace

http://www.kpax.com/news/battle-brewing-over-montana-airspace/

18 hours 58 minutes ago by Jay Kohn - MTN News
Battle brewing over Montana airspace
BILLINGS -- You would think in a state known as "Big Sky Country" there would be plenty of airspace for everyone - but think again.
By next spring, the U.S. Air Force hopes it will have the clearance needed to conduct expanded training and war games in an enormous military training area called the Powder River Training Complex.
The complex spans 20 million acres in the four states of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and affects 39 airports.
The Air Force proposal has sparked concern from the states and communities involved, with those concerns focused on public safety and the local economic impact.
"This is going to create a huge inconvenience for any corporate airplanes that transition in and out of the airspace," said Roger Meggers, manager of the airport in Baker in southeast Montana.
Fallon County Commissioner Steve Baldwin agrees: "We're not adverse to our military, but the impacts to our community and on our neighbors in North Dakota, it's going to be devastating economically."
Leading the fight for the general aviation industry is the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA).
"We very much respect the military's need to train, but we also recognise the potential economic impact and the importance of keeping civil aviation safe, especially in the heavily impacted airspace of Montana," said Melissa Rudinger, AOPA Vice President of Government Affairs.
Rudinger said AOPA is very concerned that the Air Force has chosen not to make accommodations for general aviation operators in its final environmental impact statement.
One of the big concerns is that the Air Force plans to use the complex to conduct full scale war-games.
"The Air Force has proposed large force exercises for this area, and in that situation they will close the entire airspace for up to 10 days a year," Meggers said. "When that's in place, they'll be bringing in airplanes from all over the U.S., and possibly the world. It will be full-scale war-games going on 10 days a year."
Baldwin and Meggers met with Montana Governor Steve Bullock in Helena on Monday to outline their concerns over the Air Force proposal.
Bullock told MTN News that he is also concerned about the proposal.
"You could be shutting down rural airports just because they're doing this," said Bullock. "Sometimes things sound real good from somewhere else, but folks don't always recognize the on-the-ground implications."
Montana's Congressional delegation is also now involved.
Last week, U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and John Walsh (D-MT) and U.S. Senator-elect Steve Daines (R-MT) sent a joint letter to the Secretary of the Air Force and head of the Federal Aviation Administration expressing frustration that the Air Force has failed to address economic and safety concerns.
"We remain extremely troubled that the proposal, as currently written, will hinder economic development and threaten safety in the region," the delegation wrote.
AOPA officials in Washington D.C. said the Air Force wants the expanded training complex in place by mid-spring 2015.
Click here to read more about the Powder River Training Complex at the Ellsworth Air Force Base website.