BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Could bog turtles stop the controversial Westminster airport expansion?

Opponents of the expansion hope so.

Bog turtles, a federal “threatened” species, are of “particular concern” in the wetlands near the Carroll County Regional Airport that were identified as a potential habitat for the tiny turtles in a 2003 environmental assessment, according to an e-mail Cindy Parr, Carroll’s head of administration services, wrote to a concerned resident.

Commissioners voted 2-1 last summer to expand the airport’s runway from 5,100 to 6,400 feet to help boost the county’s industrial tax base.

But residents near the airport have railed against the expansion, fearing it would bring more noise and traffic and lower their quality of life. A first step in the expansion process, an environmental assessment, is under way.

“As noted in the 2003 environmental assessment, there is currently adequate habitat present for bog turtles in this area,” Westminster resident Cheri Grubby wrote in an e-mail to members of the commissioner-appointed Environmental Advisory Council.

“I am hoping this is enough to keep the wetland area intact and this area is not removed for purposes of the runway expansion.”

Delta Airport Consultants Inc. is conducting the environmental assessment, and it contracted Rettew Associates Inc., based in Lancaster, Pa., to study the wetlands. Rettew recently hired a qualified bog turtle surveyor.

David Pyatt, a member of the EAC, said the group could take part in the assessment at commissioners’ request.

“We have some flexibility, but the commissioners haven’t asked us to look at it,” Pyatt said. “Also, I think they’re just getting under way. It takes a while to get the contractors in place and to conduct the study and present the results, so it may be premature.”

The bog turtle survey must be complete by June 15, according to federal regulations.

The county is planning a public open house to answer residents’ questions about the environmental assessment from 7 to 9 p.m. June 9 in Room 003 of the county office building.

msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com