The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Denver International Airport (DIA) four grants – totaling more than $5.6 million - for airport improvement projects. DIA will use these funds for taxiway rehabilitation, construction of a deicing containment facility, data collection for the FAA’s Airport Geographic Information System (GIS) and to fund a study that will help establish sustainability management guidelines for U.S. airports.

DIA’s Planning and Development Division, Environmental Services Section, has received a $600,000 grant from the FAA to participate in a pilot program aimed at developing a stand-alone Sustainability Management Plan. The plan is intended to create a road map for incorporating sustainability principles in the airport planning process, making it a focal point of facility management. This guide to strategic airport planning will help further define sustainability principles within the industry - emphasizing the consideration of social, environmental, and economic impacts of the programs implemented - and will help airports to ensure their initiatives are economically viable.  

“Denver International Airport is a model of sustainability, and we’re delighted to be included in the environmental practices pilot program, as it will tackle a big question: how does an airport develop an environmental program that is economically sustainable?” said Kim Day, Manager of Aviation at DIA. “This grant will further our commitment to safety and ecological responsibility within our community.  We are very appreciative of our partners at the FAA who, by this grant, are recognizing our leadership in environmental stewardship and our firm and demonstrated commitment to reducing our environmental impacts.”

“It is our goal to incorporate environmental, economical and social sustainability components into all aspects of the airport’s business and operations functions through the development of an integrated Sustainability Management Plan,”  said Janell Barrilleaux, Director of Environmental Programs at DIA.

DIA will receive three additional FAA grants for airport improvement projects, including:
- $1,415,250 to construct a deicing containment pond, which will increase the operational efficiency of the airport’s deicing fluid facility;
- $2,279,439 for the rehabilitation and reclassification of three taxiways, and a safety project that will widen shoulder areas and allow larger aircraft to land at the nation’s fifth-busiest airport;
- $1,325,000 for the collection and identification of airport data that will be used for the FAA’s Airport Geographic Information System (GIS), a program that advances mapping and traffic planning at U.S. airports.