Draft Environmental Impact Report
MEPA Rejects Developers’ DEIR!
Last June, EEA Secretary Tepper rejected the Hanscom developers’ DEIR and instructed them to go back to the drawing board to produce an SDEIR (Supplementary DEIR) -- in large part owing to 1,500+ critical public comments that were submitted (see below), along with 13,500 petition signatures opposing the proposed development, and an important independent analysis which refuted the developers’ outrageous claims.
The SDEIR is still pending and expected to be filed in coming months. When the SDEIR is filed, we’ll fight it as hard as the DEIR. Visit our home page often, so we can keep you posted!
Boston Globe Story - State officials reject environmental impact review of Hanscom Airport expansion
To read Secretary Tepper’s rejection (Certificate) of the developers’ DEIR, click here.
To read Public Comments from Government Officials, Organizations, and Individuals, see below
To see the developers’ DEIR, click here.
For more information on the DEIR including Key News Stories, Tools, and Resources, click here
DEIR Public Comments
Government
Federal
State
Regional
Towns & Cities
Organizations
National
State
Regional
Local
Individuals
Sample Comments
All Comments
Government
Federal
NPS, Minute Man National Historical Park
USFWS, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
State
Joint Comment by State Representatives Cataldo, Ciccolo, Gentile, Gordon, Peisch
State Representative Carmine Gentile
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (MassDEP)
Massachusetts Port Authority Community Advisory Committee (MCAC)
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)
Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife
Regional
Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS)
Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC)
Boards of Health, chairs of Hanscom-area Towns
Towns & Cities
Bedford Select Board, also signed by
Office of the Bedford Town Manager
Bedford Department of Public Works
Bedford Planning Department
Bedford Fire Department
Bedford Code Enforcement Department
Bedford Health and Human Services Department
Bedford Housing & Economic Development Department
Bedford Energy & Sustainability Committee
Concord Climate Action Committee
Organizations
National
Institute for Policy Studies, Project on Inequality & the Common Good
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Parks Conservation Association
Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act
Regional
Berkshire Environmental Action Team
Conservation Law Foundation
CLF Exhibit 1
CLF Exhibit 2
CLF Exhibit 3
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
State
Environmental League of Massachusetts
Environmental Monitoring Partners, LLC
Mothers Out Front - Massachusetts
Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere
The Creation Care Justice Network
Local
Chelmsford Climate Action Team
Citizens for Holden’s Energy Future (CHEF)
First Parish Bedford, Env. Justice Committee
Individuals
“I am a high school student from Winchester Massachusetts…The last thing we should be doing right now is encouraging and expanding [private jet infrastructure]. The airport has released a DEIR which is missing some vital information to make it look more environmentally friendly than it is…”
“As an MD who retired ten years ago to volunteer with a climate organization, I am deeply concerned about the proposal to expand hanger space at Hanscom. While I do not live locally, the contribution of the proposed expansion to the climate crisis affects us all. If I submitted this DEIR as representing "informed consent" for a patient, I would be sued for malpractice… the report claims that hanger expansion will only serve the need that already exists; it ignores the predictable increased demand.”
“As a parent, I am concerned about climate change and the environment that my children are inheriting... I bear a personal responsibility to future generations to make these sacrifices of effort and increased expense. At the town-wide level, Concord initiatives are reducing climate impact as well… the Hanscom expansion is a calamity for our climate and a slap in the face to people in MA who are working hard to do the right thing... The people of MA are watching and counting on you!”
“The Climate Change portion of the draft environmental impact report is shockingly inadequate... Massachusetts must not continue expanding facilities for the most climate-damaging elements of our transportation system. The proponents' environmental impact report should be judged unacceptable until it clearly documents the complete impacts of their proposed development.”
“The overall expected impact of this project will be great environmental harm to the region and the planet, negative impact on wildlife, and immeasurable harm to priceless national treasures, including the birthplace of our national liberty and the environmental movement.“
“I… spent [my] entire career building electrified mass transit projects throughout the United States. After a career in building green transportation infrastructure, I am appalled that the developers of the proposed Hanscom Northfield Development would greenwash the project and present it as being a net zero project. The reality is that it would have a huge environmental impact lasting for many decades into the future… The developer’s anticipated reduction in emissions from ferry flights, by their own admission, is 2% – 3% less than current. Similarly, a thorough independent study concludes that the reduced ferry flights would be insignificant.”
“We urge you to consider the potential hardships that these decisions impose on our residents. Is it “just” for the Commonwealth to compel an elderly person or child to choose between necessities and reducing carbon in the atmosphere caused by private jets being used to transport financially secure individuals?
Key Tools:
To see the developers’ DEIR, click here.
Comment Toolkit – Talking Points & How to Submit
Key News Stories:
State officials reject environmental impact review of Hanscom Airport expansion Boston Globe ∙ Sabrina Shankman ∙ 6/26/24
State Official Details Flaws in Hangars’ Environmental Impact Report ∙ Bedford Citizen ∙ Mike Rosenberg ∙ 6/24/2024
Legislators want new Hanscom report, calling first 'cavalier' on environmental impacts ∙ WGBH ∙ Sarah Betancourt ∙ 6/17/2024
Key Resources:
New! Full Report: How the Private Jet Lobby Uses “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” as a Marketing Ploy, 5/14/24
IEc Independent Report reveals developers’ fractured ferry tales
Developers Greenwashing Private Jet Expansion - re: IEc Study
Induced Demand: How Infrastructure Drives Traffic
Hanscom High Flyers: Private Jet Excess Doesn't Justify Airport Expansion
NEPA Guidance on Green House Gas Emissions and Climate Change