KANSAS CITY, Mo. - City officials are taking a hard stance with American Airlines.
American is closing down the overhaul base at KCI, putting 500 people out of work.
It owes the city more than a million dollars a year for its lease of the base.
Council member Bill Skaggs says "as long as American is still flying planes, it will owe Kansas City for the lease."
The council's transportation committee chairman, Russ Johnson echoes that, and adds: "This is a wake up call to start thinking strategically about how to use the airport."
The council members also say that American Airlines is responsible for cleaning up environmental problems on the grounds of the base. The airline inherited the responsibility when it took over TWA.
Joe Whisler, an attorney with Cooling & Herbers, P.C., was involved with the litigation surrounding the environmental cleanup. Whisler said TWA wanted insurers to pay $30 million to remove chemicals and toxins from the ground. However, Whisler and his clients won the ruling.
"It was decided that it was their business practice and not an accident," said Whisler. "It was a terrible mess. One of the worst I've seen, and I've been to airports all over the country."
The waste is now contained and being monitored, according to Chris Whitley with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 located in Kansas City, Kan. American Airlines is responsible for holding a hazardous waste permit, issued through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
If there is a transfer of the lease at the overhaul base, Whitley believes the new tenant would have to take over the responsibility of maintaining a hazardous waste permit.
"It's kind of like selling a house and you have a termite problem. That's something you have to disclose to the buyer, but this is a lot more complex that a termite problem," Whitley said.
Council members say other businesses have expressed interest in leasing space at the base. If another company moves in, it is unclear if American Airlines would continue paying the lease or environmental costs.
But there are no deals yet, and the jobs are not expected to pay as much as the airline jobs did.
