Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, March 10, 2005

Area towns to reduce role in airport environment review

By Barbara Forster/ Correspondent

"We're not going to play" will most likely be the response from the
four Hanscom communities to Massport regarding an environmental review for
the civil airport.

On Thursday, March 3, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee came to an
almost unanimous decision to scale back their participation in the
Environmental Status and Planning Report that Massport prepared about the
airport for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The Board of
Selectmen in three towns - Bedford, Lexington, and Lincoln - agreed to scale
back significantly their participation in the process.

Monday night, Concord selectmen came to the same conclusion. At some
point, HATS plans to make a formal statement regarding their position.

"The ESPR review process has not proved to be meaningful and has not
resulted in tangible controls," said Sara Mattes, HATS chairman and
selectman from Lincoln.

"There is no enforcement," added Concord Selectman Anne Shapiro.

Mattes noted that current MEPA regulations "lack teeth to adequately
protect the environment" and that the towns' efforts would be more useful in
"promoting improved regulations and appropriate enforcement tools" and
"describing environmentally responsible limits to air traffic" at the
civilian airport.

Jeanne Krieger, selectman from Lexington, agreed, stating that the
outcome was not worth the "intensive effort" that the towns made during the
2000 ESPR.

But, said Bedford Selectman Sheldon Moll, "We won't withdraw from the
process entirely - there will be letters and comments (from the towns and
residents) submitted - but the group effort of the Environmental
Subcommittee will probably disappear."

In past reviews, HATS relied on the Environmental Subcommittee and paid
consultants to analyze the report and prepare the towns' responses to MEPA.
As part of the process, Massport picked up most of the towns' cost, about
$80,000 to $85,000.

The decision to play a less active role has its roots in the aftermath
of the previous environmental study process. In that round, the state
environmental agency maintained that the "ESPR provides a 'big picture'
planning context, in which large-scale policy and planning issues as well as
cumulative impacts...are publicly reviewed and addressed."

The document concluded that the report is a "valuable tool in
understanding the facilities, infrastructure, operations, and airport
activity levels at Hanscom Field and its potential effect on surrounding
communities, residents and resources."

But, many residents agreed with grassroots organization Save Our
Heritage, which stated that the process "was useless in protecting historic
sites in the area." Following the announcement of the MEPA decision, SOH
promised not to take part in the process again.

However, Richard Walsh of Massport stressed that regardless of what
HATS decides, the agency will have public hearings to seek community input,
as stated in the draft scope and required by the state.

Despite the communities' disappointment with the last report, the
document is being used, said Walsh. Recently, consultants hired by the towns
in conjunction with the Base Realignment And Closure process regarding
Hanscom Air Force Base are using it to prepare contingency plans in the
event the military site closes.

"It is a broad planning document," said Walsh, "and this is a great
example of how it can be used outside the ESPR process."

Massport is required to file an environmental report with the state
about Hanscom every five years.

-- What happens next

The 2005 ESPR process, which takes about two years, is already in the
works. The towns have copies of the proposed scope that Massport plans to
send to the state on March 31.

In the draft scope, Massport describes what topics will be studied in
the report. Submitting the draft to the state initiates a 45-day public
review period during which comments from the towns, residents, and other
interested parties can go to the state. The scope certificate, which
finalizes exactly what will be studied in the report, will most like be
issued sometime in May. Then Massport will begin the search for a consultant
to prepare the report.

Data collection and analysis should start in September and continue
through April 2006 when Massport hopes to file a draft report. Another
public review/comment period begins - this time it's 60 days - and includes
four public meetings sponsored by Massport.

If this timetable holds, the comment period closes on June 30, 2006 and
preparation of the final document begins. That document is filed in January
2007 and starts another 45 days of public comment/review. MEPA could then
issue a certificate in early March 2007.

-- Other news

Walsh announced that a new representative from Massport will attend
future meetings as he has assumed a new position with the agency.

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