Feds wasting millions at local airports

Thursday, March 3, 2005

The city of Augusta is about to get a $350,000 firetruck that it did not request and does not need.

Augusta's Fire Chief James E. Farrell learned about the truck when he read about it in the Kennebec Journal.

The $350,000 truck will be provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of a program to upgrade fire protection at small airports around the country.

According to Augusta State Airport manager Bob McGee, 70 other airports will receive similar firetrucks. At $350,000 each, taxpayers will spend more than $24 million on this project.

If the firetrucks are as unneeded elsewhere as they are here, this federal project is an enormous waste of tax money.

The costly new firetruck will be parked at the airport, replacing a seldom-used truck the airport bought several years ago from the Presque Isle airport for $10,000. The firefighters who will use it will come from one of the city's fire stations. The station at the intersection of Western Avenue and Armory Street is about a half-mile from the airport. Hartford Fire Station is equally close. If summoned, firefighters will race to the airport -- probably in their firetrucks -- switch to the new airport truck, and then head to the crash or fire.

While no one doubts the need for reasonable fire protection at airports -- even small ones such as Augusta's -- it is hard to accept the Federal Aviation Administration's mandate for costly, specialized equipment at an airport with very few flights by scheduled airlines.

Fire Department officials cannot recall a significant fire at the airport.

About 20 years ago, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 spun off the runway, spilling fuel. There was no fire. That was the most significant event in decades, one fire official said. He said the Fire Department has responded to a handful of small-plane crashes -- none involving fire -- in the last 10 years.

Of course, a crash and a bigger fire are always possible, but experience offers good reasons to argue that it is unreasonable to spend millions of dollars to equip small airports at this costly level. There are far better uses for tax dollars. Not even the federal government can make everything in life -- or at an airport -- risk-free. A 20-year history should make it clear to FAA bureaucrats that this so-called problem does not require a $350,000 solution.

McGee said the Augusta airport also will receive $150,000 to pay a consultant to update the airport's master plan. It is hard to imagine that this small airport needs that level of planning to stay up to date. If that $150,000 is duplicated at the other 70 airports, that brings the overall cost of this program to $35 million.

The United States is spending billions of dollars on a war in Iraq and billions more on homeland security. The federal budget is billions in the red. Deficits grow, and officials -- including the president -- say they are seeking ways to cut spending.

This program might be a good place to start.