BIDDEFORD — A nearly $1 million project to address safety concerns at Biddeford Municipal Airport, which was approved by the City Council in February, is beginning to take shape.

The project, which will remove vegetation near the airport, was proposed last year after the Federal Aviation Administration informed city officials that trees close to the airport’s runway have grown taller than the height it considers safe, forcing pilots to depart and land at an unusually steep angle.

Matt Caron, of Gale Associates, appeared before the Airport Commission last Wednesday to detail how the project will move forward this summer.

First, a study to assess the environmental impact of the project ”“ specifically, the tree clearing ”“ must be done, explained Caron. A press release issued on June 2 from the offices of U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King reported that Biddeford Municipal Airport had received $191,212 in federal funds “to study environmental impacts related to removing obstructions on the approach to one of its runways.”

If the FAA issues a finding of no significant impact, or FONSI, following the environmental impact study, the project can move forward, said Caron. In the meantime, he said the airport will also work with the city assessor on another aspect of the project: acquiring land currently owned by the New England Electric Railway, where many of the trees that need to be cleared are located.

The airport will have to pay for everything associated with this part of the project, such as land assessment fees, said Caron. Then, on Oct. 1, the airport can apply for a federal grant to be reimbursed for 90 percent of those costs, he said. The state would also kick in another 5 percent.

When one commissioner asked how risky it is to start spending money for purposes of land acquisition before the FAA makes a decision regarding the environmental impact study, Caron said there’s “always a risk” in doing that, but he is not concerned about it.

“My guess is that there’s just going to be some restrictions on how we (clear the trees), and that’s typically the case with any of these tree-clearing projects,” he said. “A lot of the time we’ll do the tree clearing during frozen-ground conditions, for example, to minimize any ground disturbance. … It’s a pretty staightforward tree-clearing project so I don’t envision there being a significant amount of issues out there.”

Commissioners also used last week’s meeting to finalize the city’s contract with Gale Associates.

Commission Chair Rick Laverriere said Tuesday that the contract, which was unanimously approved by the commission, agrees to pay the firm about $175,000. As is the case with all of the costs associated with the project, 90 percent of that will be paid for with federal funds, 5 percent by the state, while 5 percent will be paid for by the city, said Laverriere.

“It’ll be paid pretty quickly,” he added, explaining that the FAA had approved a much higher figure ”“ just over $200,000 ”“ a few months ago.

Next Wednesday, at the Planning Board’s regularly scheduled meeting, Caron said representatives from Gale Associates will present “some of the plans to give everyone a visual of what this aircraft-approach zone looks like, the area of where obstruction removal needs to occur,” and take questions and comments from the public.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].