The proposed expansion of Oakland International Airport took a step closer to reality recently when the city’s Board of Port Commissioners voted to approve a key environmental study of the project.
The board voted 6-0, with one commissioner absent, to approve the final environmental impact report, which port staff started working on in May 2021 and which is intended to find ways to mitigate possible environmental damage from the project and respond to issues raised during the public comment period.
While the Nov. 21 vote was a milestone, it didn’t approve the actual project itself, just the state-mandated environmental study. The “OAK Terminal Modernization and Development Project,” as it’s called, still needs to go through a federal environmental review process, which may take up to two years, according to port officials, and will require additional board approvals.
“This major milestone allows the Port to continue moving the project forward while boosting local job creation and economic activity,” said board president Michael Colbruno.
Project elements include upgrades to the two existing terminals and construction of a new 830,000-square-foot terminal; consolidation of passenger processing functions like ticketing, baggage check-in, baggage claim and security screening; expansion of international arrival facilities; relocation of existing cargo and support facilities and improvements to the airport’s roads and parking areas.
The project doesn’t include new runways or expanded runway capacity.
OAK traffic expected to more than double
Port officials say the upgrades and expansion are necessary to accommodate a projected increase of airline passengers from roughly 11 million in 2023 to 24.7 million by 2038.
It’s still unclear when the project might break ground if it eventually wins final approval or what its budget might be.
Some of the airport’s neighbors and environmental groups say the environmental study commissioners approved is inadequate given the project’s potential impact to public health, including increased air and noise pollution.
“The FEIR’s health risk assessment, conducted by an engineering firm, ignores the health inequities in East Oakland,” said Paul English, a former science advisor at the California Department of Public Health.
“The airport expansion project would dramatically increase toxic air pollution breathed by airport workers and surrounding communities that are predominantly low-income people of color already suffering health consequences from severe air pollution,” according to a news release from the Stop OAK Airport Expansion Coalition.
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