Council ordinance funds consultants to study natural gas storage on airport lands

Council member Sonard told the commission the city has received two lease applications for surface lands and subsurface pore space on airport property for potential natural gas storage. Sonard said ordinance 3507-2026 was read twice and passed to increase estimated revenues and appropriate funds to hire consultants to evaluate the storage opportunities.

Sonard said the applications cover a large underground area beneath airport lands and that an access point currently exists off Marathon Road, which the city is negotiating as part of lease talks. He told commissioners he was not aware of exact well pad locations but said the access points under negotiation would likely keep drilling activity outside of runway approach corridors. “It would not impact airport operations at all. It would pretty much be outside the airport fence even though it's on airport land,” Sonard said.

Commissioners discussed potential technical concerns; Sonard referenced a historical example in which a hanger built without FAA coordination affected radar coverage at another site and cautioned staff to evaluate airspace and radar impacts. The airport manager said that all construction on airport land goes through FAA Form 7460 and related airspace studies.

Next steps: the ordinance directs funding for consultants to analyze the lease applications and report back; specifics of access, site layout and operational controls will be handled through the consultant review and lease negotiations before any construction occurs.