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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-12-17-HFAC-min HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES December 17, 2002 1. Introductions and Minutes: Gary Clayton explained that Peter Enrich was unable to attend the meeting so he was acting chair. After introductions, the October Minutes were accepted. 2. HFAC Membership: Margaret Coppe, Susan Seculer, and Tom Hoban have been working on the HFAC membership roster. On the aviation side, it is still not clear whether Raytheon will retain its membership, and an NBAA representative hasn’t been appointed. For the community representatives, neither Carlisle nor Acton has appointed anyone, and Waltham is naming Tom Stanley to fill one of those positions. 3. Noise Report: Sara Arnold distributed the monthly noise report and reported that her office now has all of the data through November. She reminded the Commission that comparisons to 2001 are skewed due to post September 11, 2001 restrictions on Visual Flight Rule activity. Sarah Mattes reported that a Battle Road Farm resident reported the smell of fumes at 9:00 a.m. and again at 12:45 p.m. on 12/17/02. There was also engine noise for 30 minutes. There was no specific explanation, but Jim Mereages, the Hanscom FAA Tower Chief, explained that sometimes planes have to hold before they receive clearance for takeoff. There was speculation that Runway 5 could have been in use, which brings departing planes to the Lincoln side of the airport. S. Mattes and Shelly Moll reported that they are accepting complaints from their constituents, which may help them get a better understanding of the specific issues. S. Moll said he is interested in the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. disturbances, and he is contemplating the possibility of the towns communicating directly with aircraft operators who may be causing disruptions for residents. In response to questions or comments, S. Arnold reported: - Some of the increase in night activity can be attributed to more activity by the medical helicopter that is based at Hanscom. - 88% of the nighttime field use fee waivers in 2001 were for medical flights. In addition to medical flights, waivers are given for military, FAA, Civil Air Patrol, and based aircraft that have a reason to qualify, such as weather, mechanical, or air traffic delays. -The high noise levels at noise monitor sites 31 and 32 are because those sites are on airport property right near the ends of runway 11/29. She noted that it is difficult to analyze changes in the noise levels at the monitor sites because they record community noise as well as aircraft noise. -Jet activity increased 50% for the 12 months October 2001 and September 2002 as compared to October 2000 and September 2001. In the last two months it has leveled off. It was noted by a community member that the jet traffic has leveled off at a new point that is 50% greater than before. There was discussion about small aircraft leaving Hanscom for a variety of reasons, including high fuel costs at Hanscom, less convenient access to the East Ramp, and security issues relating to proximity to a large airport such as Logan. 4. 2001 Annual Noise Report: S. Arnold summarized the information in the annual noise report, which includes a comparison of 2001 to 2000. Operations decreased 3.3 percent due to decreases in activity by small aircraft, which resulted from the VFR restrictions that were in place after 9/11/01. Meanwhile, jet activity, which represented 11 percent of the 2001 operations, increased 12.9 percent. The 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. activity was dominated by jets and helicopters, the latter because of the medical helicopter based at Hanscom. EXP, the metric used to track changes in noise levels, decreased 0.9 decibels due to less activity by Stage 2 jets. S. Arnold noted that there are three factors that drive the EXP calculations: the number of operations by the different aircraft types, especially jets, the noise energy associated with those jets, and the time of the operation. EXP uses these factors in the same fashion as they are used in calculating DNL contours. It was agreed that if anyone has additional questions, these should be forwarded to S. Arnold, and there can be further discussion at the January HFAC meeting. 5. Commercial Activity: Richard Walsh reported that Shuttle America currently has 6 round trips daily to Trenton. He also stated that Boston/Maine still serves Hanscom, in response to passenger demand. No other commercial carrier has expressed interest in operating out of Hanscom. 6. Planning Report: S. Arnold said that no proposals were received in response to the Massport RFP for development of the Hangar 1 site. Massport is willing to work with any entity that wants to submit a proposal. The parking lot repaving will take place in the spring. Installation of the new fencing around the terminal is starting soon. In response to questions, she said she would find out about the reference to paving in the fencing project RFP and the reference to a perimeter road project on Massport’s website. In response to questions, R. Walsh said that anyone wanting to access the Passur system, which shows aircraft flying through the airspace, should go to Massport.com, click on the moving news bulletin, and then follow the instructions. R. Walsh said that there are on-going discussions with the Bedford Conservation Commission regarding its Order of Conditions for Massport’s vegetation removal project. Massport prefers to pursue the project when the work can be done in all four towns at the same time. 7. Environmental Status and Planning Report (ESPR): R. Walsh said that the Secretary of Environmental Affairs issued its certificate for the draft ESPR and found the draft to comply with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act staff’s scope for the project. S. Moll, G. Clayton, and S. Mattes felt the certificate was a disappointment, found that many specific comments were not addressed, and felt it was too broad and vague. Richard Canale said that he was particularly disturbed by Massport’s characterization of the certificate in its press release. S. Mattes said that she had entered the process in good faith and is appalled at the outcome. 8. Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held in Lexington on January 21.