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Enclosed you’ll find:

• Save the date! Sept 19^th SPJE Webinar to jumpstart the next phase of our campaign
• Recent highlights
• Next steps                                    

Save the Date! --

Thursday, September 19^th, 7 pm Webinar

The SPJE Campaign:

What’s Happened, What We’ve Achieved & What’s Ahead

This Webinar will launch our fall plans and actions, so don't miss out!

Details to follow in a future alert.

Special Remarks by Susan Solomon, atmospheric chemistry professor at MIT, founding director of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and author of the book Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again, published in June 2024. Solomon is well-known for her pioneering work on the Antarctic ozone layer. She also co-led the IPCC Working Group I which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Recent Highlights –

• CBS Sunday Morning, 8/25/24, renowned historian Douglas Brinkley calls attention to the threat that the proposed private jet hangar expansion at Hanscom poses to “Endangered Walden." 

• Deep Dive: Massachusetts Carbon Emissions Forced Up by Airport Expansion  An excellent, comprehensive piece in XR Boston’s 8/26/24 newsletter chronicling the pervasive trend of expanding airports in MA, including Hanscom, Worcester, Cape Gateway, Beverly/Danvers, Plymouth and Lawrence.

• Regulators urged to reject Hanscom expansion, by Christian M. Wade, Statehouse Reporter, published in the Eagle Tribune on 8/26/24. This story covers our campaign to stop the proposed private jet hangar expansion at Hanscom or anywhere.

Next Steps –

Getting Massport Charter Update passed into law

As you know, the MA Climate bill stalled on 7/31/24 when legislators failed to meet their deadline -- and with it, the Massport Charter Update was stalled as well. While legislative action on it this year has not been completely ruled out yet, it is more likely that the Massport Charter Update will be taken up again early next year. The good news is that it received approval from both the Senate and the House - which bodes well for its passage when the legislature looks at it again.

Thank you to the many of you who sent emails to your Senators and Representatives thanking them for supporting this provision!!

Developers’ Supplemental DEIR (Draft Environmental Impact Report)

On 6/21/24, EEA Secretary Tepper issued a Certificate rejecting the developers’ DEIR based on her determination that “it does not adequately and properly comply with MEPA and its implementing regulations” and citing three things that we collectively contributed to this outcome – all on the Certificate’s first page:

• approximately 1,500 comment letters (the actual count was 1,773!) – which you helped generate!
• 13,000 petition signatures (the actual count was over 13,500) – which you helped gather!
• The independent study conducted by Industrial Economics Inc which your donations helped fund, and which refuted the DEIR’s implausible claims that this massive expansion would result in decreased operations, decreased ferry flights and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.

Secretary Tepper’s Certificate included about 50 pages of instructions on additional information that the developers will have to produce in a Supplemental Draft Environmental Report (SDEIR), so we assume that it will take them some time to comply with her requests. 

When the SDEIR does get filed, we’ll need to fight it as hard as we did the first DEIR. As we learn more, we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, be sure to browse the cogent and powerful public comments by government officials, organizational allies and individuals, and in particular, these: 

• Joint Comment from MA Representatives Cataldo, Ciccolo, Gentile, Gordon, and Peisch
• Comment from Conservation Law Foundation (with 163 co-signers)

Additional Actions –

• Want a lawn sign? Click here if you do. 

• Want your organization to join our Coalition?  Help the coalition continue to grow! Email us at: info@stopprivatejetexpansion.org

• Please share our petition to the Governor with your friends and networks if you haven’t yet. Our goal is to reach 15,000 signatures this fall!

• Please consider making a donation to help fund our fight to stop the reckless and indefensible expansion of the most polluting form of travel at Hanscom or anywhere.

Onward!
The SPJE Team

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