State Official Details Flaws in Hangars’ Environmental Impact Report

The state secretary of energy and environmental affairs has ruled that the draft environmental impact report for a proposed hangar development at Hanscom Field “does not adequately and properly comply” with state environmental law.

Under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the proponent now must prepare and submit a supplemental environmental impact report, addressing specific issues cited by the state official.

The proposal by Runway Realty Ventures and North Airfield Ventures is for 395,700 square feet of hangars accessible from Hartwell Road, including almost 40,000 square feet in the 65-year-old Navy hangar. Plans also call for 126,680 square feet of “aviation support space.” The limited liability companies were awarded a contract for the project by the Massachusetts Port Authority almost two years ago.

Secretary Rebecca L. Tepper’s certificate references “extensive public input” in response to the draft report, including letters from state and local officials, community groups, and “a petition signed by 13,000 people. Nearly all commenters expressed opposition to the project.”

Much of that opposition, she continued, was “particularly with respect to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.” The developers will have to “conduct a social cost of carbon analysis” as part of the supplemental report.

But her primary area of concern as detailed in the certificate is the differential between the magnitude of the proposal and demand. This will have to be addressed in the supplemental impact report in several categories:

• So-called “ferry flights,” which add to Hanscom operations by dropping passengers off and then departing because of a dearth of overnight storage. The draft report projected a reduction of ferry flights, but a study submitted by Industrial Economics, Inc. “asserts that flight data and trends do not support the conclusion that aircraft operators are likely to relocate to Hanscom as their base location.”
• “The proposed infrastructure expansion appears to exceed Massport’s own projected demand for based aircraft at Hanscom. This would suggest that the project expects to see (or induce) demand beyond the already projected numbers.”
• “Actual market demand for ‘based aircraft’ may be lower than asserted. This puts into question the purpose and need for the project.”

The supplemental report also will be required to address air, noise, and traffic impacts, including consideration of findings by an ongoing study of ultrafine particles initiated several months ago by the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission.

The proponent will also have to provide details on how construction will accommodate the long-running adjacent contamination cleanup activities overseen by state and federal environmental agencies.

The supplemental document “should clearly indicate what impacts are attributable to the project, and propose appropriate measures to avoid or minimize,” said the certificate, adding, “And if avoidance and minimization are not feasible, to mitigate those impacts to the maximum extent possible.”

“The secretary’s finding makes clear that a proponent’s desire to ‘induce’ demand for an environmentally unsound mode of private travel for the sake of ‘supporting business profitability’ will not be given a green light to proceed without full and honest disclosure of the numerous and serious impacts,” commented Anna Winter, executive director of Save Our Heritage, the Concord-based advocacy group that is a leading opponent of the hangar development.