Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, May 12, 2005

Meetings about Hanscom Field draw few attendees

By Barbara Forster/ Correspondent

Low attendance at meetings about Hanscom Air Field is on the verge of
becoming a trend.

On Tuesday, May 3, only two people showed up for a public hearing held
by the office of the Secretary of Environmental Affairs about the
Environmental Status and Planning Report for Hanscom Field.

The poor turnout was a repeat of a meeting Massport held last month on
the same topic. In fact, the May meeting almost fulfilled the predictions of
Lincoln Selectman Sara Mattes. At a meeting about Hanscom Air Force Base
late last month, she guessed that the number of townspeople at the MEPA
hearing would be zero.

Unlike last month's effort, the folks who came stayed only a few
minutes and left without asking any questions or waiting for the
presentation.

"I was surprised," said William Gage, environmental analyst for MEPA.
"I expected that there would be some people representing the communities and
I am surprised that there is not. It seems there is disinterest in the
communities, but I don't know why."

Last month, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee advised Massport and MEPA
that, unlike previous rounds, they had decided against active participation
in the environmental review process. Massport has stated that no additional
studies will be done for this review. Instead the 2005 document will build
upon the 2000 report.

"The document tells us what is happening at the airport," said Tom
Ennis of Massport. "It compares projections to what actually happened."

HATS reps argued that the report provides Massport's consultants' view
of environmental impact but has not resulted in any meaningful and tangible
controls.

Ennis noted that consultants working on projects in the four towns
always call and ask for a copy of the environmental document. "They are
usually complimentary," he added.

Because residents and officials were no-shows, continued Gage, input
coming from Hanscom watchers will be only "what we get for comments."

The comment period on the draft scope ends May 23.

--What's the hearing for?

The meeting was designed to "receive advice and comments from agencies,
officials, and citizens regarding which environmental issues are significant
for the project." In addition the goal was to solicit, "opinions as to the
extent of significance of possible environmental impact" on the airport and
surrounding communities.

These types of environmental reviews are used only at two of the
state's airports, Logan and Hanscom. Gage explained that Massport requested
the special review procedure in the mid-1990s because of input from the
various communities surrounding the airports.

The state requires Massport to evaluate the cumulative effect of growth
and change at Hanscom every five years. The report includes data and
analyses of noise, ground transportation, and air and water quality.

Gage explained that state analysts will review the proposed scope to
make certain that Massport covers the issues raised by the state
environmental secretary in the previous report.

"We will see if it's adequate," he said. "We may add things; we usually
do."

The process is similar for the draft/final document.

"We will see if it addressed the scope and whether it's adequate based
on the issues," said Gage.

The agency uses "accepted methodology" to determine the adequacy of the
information.

However, Gage pointed out that MEPA analysts are not experts in every
area and rely on comments from various public agencies like the National
Park Service. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, is expected
to comment on topics such as air quality and hazardous wastes. "That's their
jurisdiction," he said.

--How much for the review?

In previous years, Massport has spent approximately $800,000 to $1
million-plus on the environmental review. The towns received about 10
percent, roughly $80,000 to defray their costs for hiring independent
consultants to review the document.

In this round, the exact amount has yet to be determined. The towns
aren't expected to ask for money and Massport has not yet searched for a
consultant. In a cost-saving effort, Massport prepared the draft scope
in-house including the cover for the hard copy. Consultants will prepare the
document.

--Timetable

The 45-day comment period to MEPA about the scope ends May 23. Massport
expects to receive the certificate no later than the beginning of June and
file a draft of the document by April 2006. Four technical workshops will be
scheduled in May and June next year with a MEPA-sponsored public hearing
sometime in June. Public comment ends on June 20, 2006.

Massport's goal is to deliver the final report to the state in January
2007.

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