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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-07-16-HFAC-min Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC) Minutes – 16 July 2024 Prepared by Massport Staff Video of HFAC Meeting on the Lincoln, MA TV Page: https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/lincoln/?page=HOME  Call to Order: HFAC Chairman Christopher Eliot called the meeting to order at 7:02pm  Announcements:  Chairman Eliot recording HFAC Meeting; greeted all to July 16th meeting pursuant MA Open Meeting Law  Chairman Eliot asked for quarterly introductions from all HFAC, Massport, FAA and MCAC members  Chairman Eliot announced MA Senate voted to pass S.2829, an expansive climate bill, on 26 June 2024  Cargo or Scheduled Commercial Passenger Services  Amber Goodspeed stated there have been no requests for future scheduled passenger or cargo service  Minutes: The June 2024 Meeting Minutes were reviewed for approval  Barbara Katzenberg and Emily Mitchell requested Meetings Minutes from all 2024; Amber Goodspeed will send  The June 2024 Meeting Minutes were unanimously approved with the following amendment: o Change Emily Mitchell “agreed to look at” to “agreed HFAC should look at” in the Announcements section  Monthly Noise Reports: presented by Amber Goodspeed In June 2024 as compared to June 2023:  7am - 11pm operations increased 2.9% in June 2024  Singles (including touch and goes) increased 22.9% in June 2024  Turbo activity increased 6.9% in June 2024  Jet operations decreased 2.1% in June 2024  Helicopter activity decreased 5.2% in June 2024  Night Operations (11pm-7am) increased 24.2% with 215 in June 2023 compared to 267 in June 2024  Chairman Eliot commented lower noise monitor values did not correlate to increased noise complaints  Capital Programs and Third Party Development Reports: Amber Goodspeed presented the Capital Programs and Third Party Development reports and noted that:  Hanscom Field Environmental Planning and Status Report (ESPR) public comment period extended to Sept 12th  The Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA) has requested further study from the North Airfield Ventures, LLC (NAV) through a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Review (SDEIR) process  Runway 05/23 Rehabilitation Project will begin on August 5th and the runway will be closed for 37 days  Agenda Items: Topics discussed on published agenda:  HFAC unanimously approved comments on Hanscom Field Environmental Planning and Status Report (ESPR) o Barbara Katzenberg provided review of consolidated main points and Appendix of detailed comments  Margaret Coppe presented tour of updated HFAC website with links to HFAC agenda, Massport documents, noise complaint line and archived documents; HFAC unanimously approved to officially publish the website o Emily Mitchell feels website is clear to navigate; Tom Hirsch suggested new image for main webpage o New HFAC webpage URL: https://sites.google.com/view/hfac; still waiting on .gov URL approval  Chairman Eliot followed up on electric fuel flowage fees; Mike Vatalaro stated no update o Chairman Eliot requested details on how fees computed; Amber Goodspeed indicated MA Department of Revenue (DOR) assesses fees based on reports from Fixed Base Operators (FBOs), who dispense fuel  Chairman Eliot revisited discussion on General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI) G100UL unleaded avgas o Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved use in with every spark ignition piston engine o Tom Hirsch stated engine manufacturers may not honor the engine warranty if GAMI fuel used o Lindsey White will research the status of approval and outstanding issues within the FAA o Amy McCoy stated that the GAMI fuel is fully fungible with 100LL and other aviation gasolines o Patty Dahlgren asked about allocation of future proposed fuel tanks; nothing specified in DEIR o Thomas Hirsch provided evidence that GAMI fuel cannot be considered commercially available for distribution and sale in the US without American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International specification  Chairman Eliot asked for more information on jet fuel spill on 26 March 2024 at Hanscom Field o Amber Goodspeed reported three gallons spilled on West Ramp but did not enter any drain o Handled with all applicable Federal and State spill reporting requirements and procedures  Chairman Eliot presented DEIR response letter to HFAC suggesting that Massport should disqualify Runway Realty Ventures, LLC and North Airfield Ventures, LLC from further consideration as lessees at Hanscom Field o Emily Mitchell, Thomas Hirsch and Barbara Katzenberg did not think the letter was within the scope of HFAC  Citizen Comments: No Citizen Comments were discussed  Jennifer Boles suggested that Massport regularly report fuel spills to HFAC; Patty Dahlgren agreed  Karen Carlson supported Chairman Eliot’s letter as a validation of her concerns about the integrity of the process o Chairman Eliot will send DEIR response letter in as a private citizen based on this and other public support  Margaret Coppe had questions about the Massport Community Advisory Committee (MCAC) and expressed concerns that representatives were not reporting issues back to their respective Towns o Ira Goldman explained MCAC meets quarterly under public meeting law; sub committees meet on ad hoc basis o Emily Mitchell indicated Bedford representative assigned with no expectation of regular reporting  Amy McCoy queried about request for HFAC minutes from 2015 and 2019; Chairman Eliot had no updates  Other Business: The date for the next HFAC meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on 17 September 2024 via Zoom  No August HFAC meeting  Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Attendees: Christopher Eliot, Margaret Coppe, Thomas Hirsch, Barbara Katzenberg, Emily Mitchell, Amber Goodspeed, Mark Wimmer, Mike Vatalaro, Lindsey White, Cindy Baxter, Travis Bell, Jennifer Boles, Karen Carlson, Alex Chatfield, Alexandra Eliot, Lauren Feeney, Ira Goldman, Kathryn Rifkin, Mark Sandeen, Anne Sobol, Gary Taylor, and Victoria Whitmore.