Bedford Minuteman
August 16, 2001

Stay alert on Massport issues

To the editor:

Here is an update on what has been happening on the Hanscom expansion front:

The Federal Aviation Administration has decided this past week that airlines
seeking to begin or change service at Hanscom Field have to conduct
stringent environmental reviews. This policy has been established largely in
response to vehement opposition on the part of concerned citizens in
Bedford, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln to the unbridled expansion that
Massport plans for Hanscom.

The preservation groups Save Our Heritage and ShhAir have also been untiring
in their pressure to keep Hanscom in equilibrium with its environment.
Anastasia Lyman, vice president of the Communities Against Runway Expansion
group, which is fighting the proposed runway at Logan, has said that she
also supports the FAA's decision regarding Hanscom.

The Boston Globe has also reported that the FAA is strongly considering
imposing the Section 106 historical review requirement on any airline that
seeks to begin or change service at Hanscom. Back in January of this year,
Bedford residents made it clear that Bedford needed to participate in the
court case that appealed the faulty FAA decision to bypass the Section 106
review when allowing Shuttle America to begin its LaGuardia, NYC route .

The fact that Shuttle America is currently under bankruptcy protection does
not mean Bedford's vote to join the appeal is now moot. As Anna Winter of
Save Our Heritage has so aptly said, Hanscom's proximity to the National
Park and to 1,000 registered historic sites makes it imperative that the
airfield be subject to environmental and historical reviews when any major
change is under consideration. The fact that the FAA is heading in the
direction of following the legally required process for any future expansion
plans at Hanscom is validation that Bedford's participation in the appeal
process was - and is - correct.

Another important fight is looming which every Bedford citizens needs to
know about. Massport has vegetation management plans for the Bedford Town
Forest which abuts the airfield. Massport wants 43 acres of trees, all on
Bedford conservation land, to come down so that fast-flying, noisy jets will
have an easier and safer landing at Hanscom.

The Bedford selectmen, the Bedford Conservation Commission and every citizen
concerned about protecting the skies over this area from noise and pollution
must present a united front to prevent this monstrous act from happening.

If those trees come down, Massport will turn that runway into a jet way.

-- Lori Eggert, Bedford


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