Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, December 23, 2004

New Noise Monitoring System for Hanscom

By Barbara Forster/ Correspondent

By next December, the Noise Complaint Line at Hanscom Field could be
covered with cob webs.

Thanks to a new noise monitoring system that is scheduled for
installation next year, area residents will be able to lodge noise
complaints online. Residents will also see which routes planes are flying
and identify noisy offenders in almost real time.

"For security reasons, there will be a 10-second delay," says Flavio
Leo, manager, Aviation Planning at Massport.

And that's just the beginning. Overall, the new system from Rannoch
Corporation is expected to provide more and better information and to make
it available via cyberspace. In fact, the new system is designed to be more
Web-based and to be more user-friendly.

Such capabilities are "good" for the general public, said Richard
Canale, co-chairman of the Environmental Sub Committee, but area residents
like Canale and those who were members of the Noise Work Group want more.
"The new system is going to provide better information and we want to know
what information Massport is getting," he said.

The goal is to use that information to make the noise situation better
for the communities.

Bedford Selectman Sheldon Moll agrees. "Data is always the basis for
better ideas," he said.

But so far, exactly what information Massport will get is up in the
air. So too, according to Canale, is what information Massport intends to
share with the communities. "Just because a system 'can' do something,
doesn't mean that it will," he says. "Massport has to ask for that
information."

"We agree that the Web site may not meet the need of acoustic
engineers," said Richard Walsh of Massport, adding that nothing is cast in
stone yet.

Massport held a get-acquainted presentation for the new system on
Monday, Dec. 13 at the Hanscom Field Civil Air Terminal. Additional meetings
are scheduled for next year. Additional public meetings are scheduled for
next year to tweak the Web site and to shape the way noise information
reports are delivered to the communities.

The current noise monitoring system was installed in the early 1990s.
Both systems cover Hanscom and Logan Airport.

The rest of the system

Part of the installation program includes moving two of the six noise
monitors, one on the bike path in Bedford and one located next to the water
treatment plant in Concord. About five years ago, the Noise Work Group
recommended that Massport move three monitors.

The third one is in Lexington. "Massport said they would move it but
the problem was finding a property owner willing to accept it," says Canale.

Canale reports that Julian Bussgang, who also co-chairs the
Environmental Sub Committee, found a site and a willing owner. "We see it as
a small expense to get better data," said Canale.

"We'll continue to talk about that (moving the third monitor)," said
Leo, "but right now the expense of the program is being driven by hardware
and software. This is not a modern system that is being tweaked. We're
putting an entirely new system in place."

"The budget and the vision is to replace those things which are
operational," said Leo. "We want to create a place (a site) that show
residents how Hanscom impacts them."

Role of noise work group

Canale is disappointed that community representatives, the Noise Work
Group in particular, were not involved in the initial design stages for the
system.

The noise group was called for in June 1997 by the Secretary of
Environmental Affairs when a certificate was issued for Massport's update on
the environmental impacts of aircraft operations and the resulting
mitigations as Hanscom. The group was to work with Massport on various
noise-related issues.

After 18 months work, the group delivered a number of recommendations
focusing on technical and non-technical subjects such as improved signage
and the voluntary Fly Friendly program geared to pilots.

Fourteen recommendations addressed technical topics such as modeling
assumptions and parameters used by Massport's noise consultants as well as
using different metrics to demonstrate exposure to noise energy. Four years
ago, in most cases, Massport agreed to do a portion of a recommendation or
do it in a slightly different manner than the group requested and promised
further discussion on items that were not adopted or adapted.

According to Walsh, the plan is to respond to the recommendations
before the next meeting in February.

Canale was also concerned that the Noise Work Group was not formally
asked to comment on the new monitoring system. However, Leo pointed out many
members were invited to the December meeting. "We convened this group to get
feedback," he said.

In the meantime, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee plans to ask
Massport to officially reconvene the Noise Work Group.

The original group, chaired by Rein Beeuwkes of Concord, included noise
experts and interested citizens from the four towns plus representatives
from the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, Minute Man National Historical
Park, and Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area's Irreplaceable Resources,
and the U.S. Air Force. Each of the four Boards of Selectmen appointed one
person and the Hanscom Area Towns Committee sent two.

© Copyright of CNC and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems
==========
**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.**
==========

==========
**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.**
==========