PFAS, or “forever” chemicals, have been attracting attention as their health and environmental risks are becoming better known. Regulatory agencies are instituting policies to mitigate PFAS and require accountability from facilities—including airports—that use the chemicals, but removing PFAS firefighting foams from airports and monitoring contamination are logistically and financially difficult.
The purpose of this Minnesota Airports PFAS Transition White Paper (PDF) is to record the information collected by the Minnesota Airports PFAS Transition Team and document the challenges facing airports transitioning to PFAS-free firefighting foam. The paper also includes several policy considerations that were discussed by the Transition Team.
This publication follows the University of Minnesota Airport Technical Assistance Program (AirTAP) PFAS Forum: Cleanup and Upcoming Regulations (PDF) report from the 2022 PFAS Forum.
Both reports are available free for download on the AirTAP website.
PFAS_White_Paper_2024_FINver.pdf
MnDOT, in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies (CTS), kicked off a brand-new advanced air mobility (AAM) webinar series on August 15, 2024. The 8-webinar series focuses on connecting Minnesota’s aviation stakeholders with subject matter experts in advanced aviation technologies. The goal of the series is to cut through the hype of advanced air mobility and share pragmatic and grounded insights and lessons learned from practitioners that have direct experience with new and emerging aviation technologies.
The first webinar was led by MnDOT Office of Aeronautics’ Advanced Air Mobility Program Manager, Joseph Block, who shared goals and objectives of the series and highlighted a project called Minnesota Electric Aviation Network (MEAN), which kicked off in November 2024. The second webinar featured Laura Ramirez from Whisper Aero, a company developing ultra-quiet electric propulsion systems for aircraft manufacturers. She shared her thoughts on regional air mobility and how electric aircraft fit into the future of air transportation. Fin Bonset of McFarland Johnson was the third speaker who shared his insights from working with airports to plan for advanced air mobility at their facilities. The most recent webinar in November was led by Rob Hodgman, Airport Director at Yakima Airport in Washington State, who shared his perspectives of how electric aircraft will integrate into his airport and the steps he is taking to get ready.
There are four webinars remaining through June 2025. For more information on the webinar series, to watch previous webinars, and to register for future webinars, go to the following website: https://airtap.umn.edu/events/workshops/aam-series
We hope you join and thank you for your support in this new webinar series.