Controversial permit approved for airport tunnel

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District approved a permit Thursday for construction of a controversial tunnel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

In the process it soothed more than three months of suspicions and ire between citizens' groups and the often-maligned Metropolitan Airports Commission, which runs the airport.

The MAC, already the object of derision for problems associated with airplane noise, had run up against significant resistance to plans to pump away as much as 5 billion gallons of ground water to provide dry working conditions for the project. The outcry led it to switch to the costlier but less invasive jet-grouting strategy the Watershed District approved Thursday.

Under the technique, concrete is injected into the ground, forming a box around the work area and reducing the need for pumping.

The vote, which drew applause from critics of the MAC, was the last contested obstacle to construction. A permit from the Department of Natural Resources is expected within days.

A construction firm from Black River Falls, Wis., has been awarded the contract to perform the grouting and is expected to have the wall built by mid-November.

The debate began this summer when a Watershed District consultant's estimates of the amount of pumping needed stirred concern about the potential for lower ground water and lake levels, ground settling and movement of contaminated water. The Watershed District was involved because it must approve constructions plans for storm water management and erosion control.

Through intense negotiations with various agencies charged with monitoring the region's water quality, MAC planners began revising their plans, suggesting forming a wall around the site with metal sheet pilings before settling on the jet-grouting technique.

But the issue became enmeshed in the political stew that includes the effects of airplane noise and the capacity for flights and passengers following a 1996 decision to expand the airport rather than build a new one. The Watershed District's meetings over the past three months turned into a stage for MAC bashing.

But on Thursday, the tone was conciliatory, with some of the most virulent recent critics of the MAC expressing appreciation for the effort.

"I'm really happy the MAC is agreeing to do all this," said Tom Holtzleiter, a Minneapolis resident who has been an outspoken critic of the dewatering plan. Holtzleiter is a member of the Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition, a group that's fighting to protect the historical site near the Mississippi River and has frequently criticized MAC policies.

Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Airports Commission, stepped forward to assure Watershed District managers and members of the audience that the MAC will stop the project if problems develop. Monitoring plans also give the Watershed District greater leeway in determining whether a problem exists.

"This project at the airport is not worth damaging those valuable resources. That is our position," Hamiel said.

Hamiel's assurances later prompted one observer to step forward.

"We come from a history of having been tricked, so it's kind of hard," said Lynn Levine, also a member of the Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition. "If there is a word in what he is saying that's a dirty trick, I ask him [Hamiel] to come forward."

Hamiel moved up the microphones. "I really mean it," he said. "Our goal is not to fool or trick anybody. Our goal is to do it right, and that is what we are going to do."

Under the runway

The main tunnel in question is intended to pass under a new north-south runway and will carry traffic to air-cargo buildings. It would be finished by September 2001 under current scheduling.

Three related tunnels would require dewatering at staggered times. Construction work on two, beneath nearby taxiways, would begin in May and continue for a year. The construction of a nearby tunnel beneath the crosswind runway has been postponed until 2002.

Faced with opposition to its original plans by citizens' groups and elected officials, the MAC first considered building a wall of steel pilings around the tunnel site. But staff members said the jet-grouting technique, although permanent, allowed less leakage and less pumping and can be used in three tunnel projects for the same amount sheet piling would cost for one. Concerns also were raised about the sheet piling's impact on radio transmissions at the airport.

Watershed District President Pam Blixt took the occasion to praise the process -- and to promote the Watershed District, a relatively obscure level of government which came under scrutiny for its questioning of the MAC's plans.

"One of the exciting things has been the public participation," she said. "It's been very important to help get to a conclusion that has given people confidence in this process."

"Copyright 2000 Star Tribune. Republished here with the permission of the Star Tribune. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the express approval of the Star Tribune."