Bedford Minuteman
June 12, 2003

Small showing at Massport meeting

By Barbara Forster / Correspondent

The June 4 meeting at Bedford Town Hall about Hanscom Field could just as well fall into the "believe-it-or-not" category. Only three people showed up for Massport's presentation on the final version of a state-required environmental study for the airfield. Two people were on time, a third arrived about 30 minutes into the presentation.

Julian Bussgang of Lexington, who is cochairman the Environmental Sub-Committee of the Hanscom Area Towns Committee, and John Silva of the Federal Aviation Administration New England Region, Airports Division, heard the entire discussion.

Sheldon Moll of Bedford and chairman of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission was the only official from the four towns at the meeting.

"I think there will be a better turnout for the MEPA hearing," he said.

The Massport-sponsored meeting was one of two the agency promised to hold as part of the final process of the 2000 Environmental Status and Planning Report. The next presentation is June 19.

The meetings, explained Richard Walsh of Massport, were originally scheduled for July but were pushed forward at the request of community representatives to avoid summer conflicts.

The MEPA public hearing is June 25 but public comments close on July 31. Massport expects to receive the final OK on Aug. 14.

The document that went out to MEPA and to commentators has an introduction that explains the document. Each of the 12 chapters from the draft document have a summary overview plus any additional information required by the state environmental office.

In addition to describing Hanscom's relationship to Logan forecasts and the New England Regional Aviation System Plan, the process for new airline entrants is explained and the advantages and disadvantages of Hanscom and Worcester airport are presented.

At least one proposed capital project that could trigger environmental reviews is included. Work in the Runway Safety Area - the project is on Massport's capital projects list - may trigger a state review because of potential wetlands issues.

More data on road activity including vehicle volume/capacity ratios and delay information, parking fees at the field, and roadway locations were also included. However, the hotly-contested suggestions for round-a-bouts at various intersections were removed.

Discussions among Massport, the Air Force, and the park about ways to reduce single-occupant vehicle traffic are included, too. Shuttle buses, for example, are one option.

"As discussions evolve we hope to involve the towns," added Tom Ennis of Massport.

The final document features past trends and projections about noise at the field in addition to discussion of a different noise metric than Massport currently uses. This metric, according to Massport which opposes its use, is driven by noise levels of the loudest airplane.

"Until the noisiest aircraft is removed (from the fleet), noise contours (for the field) won't change," said Ennis.

Ennis added that the metric is not a regulatory or industry-accepted metric for evaluating aircraft-generated noise impacts.

Massport's current metrics, EXP, estimates cumulative noise exposure while the Day-Night-Sound Level (DNL) is the equivalent sound level for a 24-hour period.

New information includes a corrected map of the park. Initially the 50 acres that are on Massport property yet within congressional boundaries for the park were not delineated. Twenty-five historical sites in the park were also identified.

However, the final document does not include the park's recently acquired designation from the National Trust of Historic Preservation as one the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" for 2003. According to Walsh, the new title is a "media event; the ESPR is an environmental study."

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