Airport Environmental Research Roadmap Narrative Report (2020)

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8 2 Review of Existing Research The research team conducted an initial review of existing, on-going, and planned research from a variety of sources. An important source of research relating to the area of airport environmental management and sustainability is ACRP itself. In addition to ACRP, other TRB cooperative research program publications were reviewed. Federal agencies and their research partners have also conducted a significant body of research on environmental topics (either directly or indirectly related to airports), particularly the FAA. The FAA conducts research through their Technical Center, and indirectly, through university Centers of Excellence. Many lines of business within FAA have their own research roadmaps, including the Office of Airports, the Air Traffic Organization, and the Office of Environment and Energy. The research team reviewed strategic plans of industry trade organizations, some international sources, academic institutions, and non-traditional stakeholders like 100 Resilient Cities, World Health Organization (WHO), and ISI. The following list includes the main sources of information for the literature review: • TRB publications; • Federal agencies, specifically the FAA, and their associated research partners (like ASCENT) and the EPA; • Strategic plans and publications of related industry trade organizations (i.e. ACI-NA, AAAE, and ACC); • International airport industry research (such as from international airports, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other countries’ civil aviation authorities); • Academic journals and institutions; • Regional airport associations and individual airport publications; and • Relevant publications from trade organizations and federal agencies that serve as a means for identifying the main goals and priorities of those respective organizations, (not necessarily limited to airport environmental issues). The research team identified a large body of academic research on environmental issues but focused on topics most relevant to airports. In total, 127 relevant resources were reviewed and included in the literature review. These sources were organized by high-level topic and sub-topic areas under existing or suggested IdeaHub tags. This assisted in the identification of areas that have already been well covered by existing research and areas that have not. 2.1 Transportation Research Board Out of 127 total sources reviewed, ACRP publications or ongoing projects account for the majority included in the literature review database. ACRP Research Field 2: Environmental was a particular focus of the research team. This research field contained 88 projects that were published, in progress, or planned (at the time of the review), excluding publications produced by the ACRP Synthesis, Legal Digest, and other subprograms. The research team focused on ACRP projects published within the past five to six years, although older research was also reviewed. Some older ACRP publications (pre-2013) cover similar topics to the research

9 ideas proposed for inclusion on this current roadmap. In those cases, an update to the prior research is warranted to cover new developments in the field, technologies and best practices. In addition to published research and ongoing projects, the research team reviewed the 2015 report to AOC, titled “Taking Inventory of ACRP Research and the Next Challenges Facing the Airport Industry” as well as the “ACRP Environmental Inventory and Proposed Problem Statements” developed by HMMH in 2015. That project was a preliminary review of environmental issues of interest in the 2014-2015 timeframe. This roadmap expands on that effort and includes more stakeholder input. These documents provided additional information regarding research gaps and specific topics identified under each high- level theme in Section 3.3 2.2 Federal Aviation Administration The FAA submits their National Aviation Research Plan (NARP) to Congress annually, outlining their strategic Research Plan and vision for the National Airspace System (NAS). The most recent version of the NARP is from 2016 (2017 and 2018 are not yet published). In the FAA’s 2016 NARP,4 the agency outlined three central principles that guide their research and development (R&D) portfolio: 1) Improve aviation safety 2) Improve efficiency 3) Reduce environmental impacts The FAA planned to invest $400 million in fiscal year 2017 on research programs5 across its various lines of business based on these three overarching principles. The R&D funding is distributed across several divisions or accounts within the FAA, including approximately $167 million in Research, Engineering and Development; $189 million in Facilities and Equipment; and $46 million in the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The NARP was used throughout the course of this project to confirm if the FAA is currently funding research ideas generated by the stakeholder outreach process and identify areas that are not being funded by FAA, making them appropriate for ACRP funding. Other FAA resources identified and reviewed by the research team include publicly available meeting minutes of the Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee (REDAC). The REDAC is comprised of representatives from airports, airlines, manufacturers, and the academic community. The REDAC meets biannually to review FAA’s research portfolio and provide input on how the agency should prioritize future research and development spending. This source provided further insight into research currently underway by the FAA. 3 ACRP. Taking Inventory of ACRP Research and the Next Challenges Facing the Airport Industry. 2015. https://www.nap.edu/download/22452 ACRP. ACRP Environmental inventory and Proposed Problem Statements. 2015 4 Subsequent to the completion of the literature review and draft Narrative Report, the FAA published the 2017-2018 NARP in June 2019. The three strategic priorities that guide FAA’s research and development efforts are identified in that document as Safety, Infrastructure and Innovation. The 2017-2018 NARP can be accessed at: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ang/offices/tc/about/campus/faa_host/RDM/media/pdf/2017_2018NAR P.pdf 5 FAA National Aviation Research Plan, Report to Congress, 2016

10 The research team reviewed research projects under various FAA Centers of Excellence and research centers, including ASCENT and PARTNER, and the William J. Hughes Tech Center specifically related to NextGen, noise, Sustainable Aviation Jet Fuels (SAJFs), air quality, supersonic airplanes, and noise modeling.6 The team consulted documentation intended to inform items in the FAA’s Advisory Circular pipeline, and industry trends. For example, the FAA’s Report to Congress on the “National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2017-2021” outlines the amounts and types of airport development projects eligible for AIP grant funding over the next five years. The report highlights that AIP-eligible projects are expected to increase at small hub airports, while they will decrease for large and medium hubs. A recent focus on capacity-enhancing projects is waning while there is growing interest in terminal development and rehabilitation projects. 2.3 Trade Associations The research team reviewed publications from airport industry trade associations. Two publications in particular were relevant, ACI-NA’s “Airport Infrastructure Needs: 2017-2021” report and Airport Consultant Council (ACC)’s “Trends in U.S. Airport Development: A Summary Look at Future Trends and Opportunities”. Both reports were published in 2017 and contain an overview of needs in the airport industry over the next five years. These reports align with the results found in the 2017 NPIAS Report from FAA in their findings that terminal development or rehabilitation projects and other types of building infrastructure (parking, rental car facilities, etc.) will likely dominate in the near term as capacity projects (runways, taxiways) slow down. The research team also reviewed airport environmental-specific sources from trade associations, like ACI-NA’s publication on pollution reduction, titled “Reducing Pollution Associated with Aircraft Deicing Activities.”7 2.4 Other Sources The research team identified various international agencies and organizations for the initial literature review including the ICAO, the WHO, the World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Better Life Initiative, and the UK Airports Commission. Academic sources include those identified in academic journal publications as well as publications from specific universities. Airport publications included several sustainability management plans or sustainability guidance documents from airports. Non-traditional sources identified and reviewed for the literature review include 100 Resilient Cities, IFMA, the ISI, and the Florida Airports Council (FAC). 6 FAA Technical Center, “Airport Technology Research Program”, 2012 7 https://www.aci-na.org/content/industry-deicing-voluntary-pollution-reduction-program