The clock is ticking for the state-mandated process evaluating the environmental impact of a proposed hangar construction project at Hanscom Field just off Hartwell Road.
According to the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the final day for public comment on a draft environmental impact statement is June 14.
And a week later, the agency is scheduled to complete its review that will result in either issuing a scope for the final environmental impact report or for a supplemental draft report, indicating inadequacies in the current proposal that need addressing.
The review, required under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), is of a proposal to build almost 400,000 square feet of hangar space – all new buildings except for some 50,000 square feet in the Navy hangar next to Hartwell Road. The project includes about 120,000 additional square feet for what is being called “aviation support space.”
Opposition, most of it from the region, has coalesced around the impact of new hangars on greenhouse gas emissions. A statewide coalition group called Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom and Everywhere collected thousands of signatures on petitions forwarded to the governor, who appoints members of the Massachusetts Port Authority Board of Directors, but is not part of the MEPA review process.
The Bedford Select Board focused its concerns, submitted to the MEPA review officials, on local impacts: ground traffic, noise, fuel storage and deliveries, sewer and water connections.
One thing that won’t happen is outright project denial. The process is not for permitting. And as Massport land, Hanscom is exempt from most local permitting.
According to the department’s website, MEPA “requires that state agencies study the environmental consequences of their actions” and “to take all feasible measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate damage to the environment.”
That is defined as “any destruction or impairment (not including insignificant damage or impairment), actual or probable, to any of the natural resources of the Commonwealth including air pollution, water pollution, excessive noise, wetlands, open spaces, natural areas, parks, or historic districts or sites.”
MEPA further requires that state agencies “use all practicable means and measures to minimize damage to the environment,” by studying alternatives to the proposed project, and developing enforceable mitigation commitments, which will become conditions for the project if and when they are permitted.”
But it also points out that MEPA “does not pass judgement on whether a project is environmentally beneficial.”
A second developers’ public information session on the draft impact report has been scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 30 in the auditorium at John Glenn Middle School, 99 McMahon Rd.
According to North Airfield Ventures LLC and Runway Realty Ventures, the purpose is “to provide an overview of the project and summarize the findings of the environmental impact analysis included in the draft environmental impact report filed on March 30.”
This meeting also will be available virtually. People can register to connect on Zoom through this link: https://bit.ly/hanscom-public-session-2
The proposal may be read or downloaded through this link: MEPA Environmental Monitor (state.ma.us). Comments on the proposal may be filed by June 14, by email to [email protected] or via the MEPA public comments portal, Mass.Gov – MEPA Public Comments (state.ma.us).
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