Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, October 10, 2002

Ennis says mitigation document is 'non-specific'

By Barbara Forster / Correspondent

On Saturday, Oct. 5, agreement and cooperation were show-stoppers at a meeting designed to focus on ways to mitigate the effects of possible increased aviation activities at Hanscom Air Field.

"Mitigation is hypothesis based on hypothesis," said Selectman Peter Enrich of Lexington, who serves as chairman of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission and is also a member of the Hanscom Area Towns Committee.

"I think you're right," said Tom Ennis of Massport who earlier had pointed out that material in an environmental study about the air field represented a range of possible actions versus probable ones. "We're not proposing any mitigation per se," he said, "just a range of mitigation solutions."

In fact, according to Ennis the document is deliberately non-specific about the possible solutions.

"We're not going into great detail," he said, "or even (suggesting) that this is the right solution."

The workshop in Bedford Town Hall was one of a series of get-togethers between Massport staff and environmental consultants representing the four towns regarding an environmental review of the air field Massport has prepared for the state. Mitigation is one of several topics Massport studied and analyzed.

Nancy Nelson, superintendent of Minute Man National Historical Park questioned the conclusions in the presentation on the effects of increased aviation noise‹and ways to mitigate such effects‹on historical and cultural resources.

Nelson stressed that aviation noise, which can affect outdoor speech, has a serious impact at Hartwell Tavern which is used for outdoor public activities. The park administrator argued that some noise is not possible to mitigate.

In addition, the park director specifically requested that any mitigation that even entertain the idea of structural changes along Route 2A - regardless of whether they are project-based or merely ideas - be removed from the document.

Instead Nelson urged a "full-speed ahead" approach to creating programs designed to reduce the amount of individual automobile traffic along Route 2A and other roadways that affect the park.

"The intersection of Hanscom Drive and 2A is going to become increasingly dangerous," she said. "Public safety will become a more serious issue. High speed (automobile) traffic is not compatible with the park."

While Nelson acknowledged that Massport was not a major contributor to traffic in the area, activity from the field "may be the biggest new contributor," he said.

Arguing that "turning motions on area roadways" are the source of potential danger, Nelson said that "it may be appropriate for federal agencies to look at ground transportation."

Ennis, who stressed Massport's preference is for cooperative traffic management programs, quickly endorsed Nelson's suggestions.

"I can commit now that we will be more than happy to participate in (such) discussions," he said.

Massport's presentation of mitigation and other subjects is based on scenarios representing the overall amount of possible future aviation activity. In the years analyzed, 2005 and 2015, each year has moderate and high growth forecasts. Aviation activity includes flight training, corporate jets, military, helicopter flights, and commercial planes.

In 2005, the scenario has 231,004 to 246,078 total aviation operations. For 2015 the guesstimates are 272,461 to 295,828.

In 2000, the total was 212,781; last year the number was 205,436.

The forecasts are for the Environmental Status and Planning Report that Massport is required to file every five years with MEPA, the state agency responsible for administering the Environmental Protection Act. Massport forecasts the amount of aviation activity at the field and then analyzes the effects on various environmental, historical, and cultural factors in the area.

- Burial Grounds

Nancy Nelson, superintendent of Minute Man National Historical Park, reported that sites along Route 2A are the graves of British soldiers, but that the information is not in the environmental study prepared by Massport. According to Tom Ennis of Massport, archeological maps are not included in the document because the state prohibits publishing such information in order to protect the sites.

- Landing Fees

Corporate jets coming to Hanscom Air Field do not pay landing fees. Other planes are charged by weight: 50 cents per 1,000 pounds. The amount is currently under review.

The landing fee structure at Worcester, which Massport also operates, includes corporate, commercial, and charter flights.

"From the FAA's perspective, landing fees can only be charged relative to the costs of running the airport," said John Silva, manager, Environmental Program with the Federal Aviation Administration New England Region, Airports Division.

- Airport Charges

Hanscom is one of a few airports in the country which charges planes to use the airport between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Based on airplane weight, the nighttime field use fee was instituted in 1980 about a decade before the FAA established noise abatement regulations.

Silva pointed out that Congress asked the aviation industry to be restrictive in granting noise abatement fees. He reported that since 1990, the agency has given partial approval only once and that was in Naples, Fla.

"What the FAA approved has almost no affect on noise abatement at Naples," he added. Describing the process necessary to meet the legal standards for a noise abatement fee as "rigorous," Silva added, "It makes it very difficult. I won't say next to impossible, but difficult.

Copyright by TownOnline.com and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc. ==========
**NOTICE: In accordance with 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.** ==========