Editor’s note: This corrects the fact that the public scoping meeting must take place at least 15 days AFTER the release of the release of the draft EIS, as opposed to BEFORE the release of the draft EIS. We apologize for the error.
FARMINGTON – A hearing on a proposal by the Air National Guard to modify training flight operations conducted over Franklin County has been delayed.
The timeline of the review process for a recently-completed draft version of an Environmental Impact Study was once more thrown into question this week, after the ANG announced that it would be delaying both a planned review and public scoping meeting of the document. That release and subsequent meeting will be held at a later date.
Previously, the ANG had planned to make the draft version of the EIS available in early August for public review and hold a public hearing on Aug. 13 at the University of Maine at Farmington. The date of the hearing, which is used to collect public testimony as a required part of the EIS, was then moved to August 27 prior to being withdrawn.
The EIS is a more comprehensive version of the Environmental Assessment which was completed in 2007; effectively detailing the safety, environmental and economic impacts of a proposal to lower the minimum altitude of military training flights in Condor 1 and Condor 2.
These two regions make up the Condor 1 & 2 Military Operations Area, consisting of parts of Franklin County as well as parts of Piscataquis, Somerset and Oxford County, and Coos County in New Hampshire.
Currently, pilots must stay 7,000 feet above the earth throughout much of the MOA, which has been in operation for more than 30 years. The exception to this rule is in the so-called “flight corridors,” which make up roughly 53 percent of the area. In these flight corridors, F-15 and F-16 jets are allowed to fly as low as 500 feet off the ground. These corridors are one-way only and pilots are not capable of conducting interception-related maneuvers within those corridors.
The ANG’s representatives want to lower the minimum altitude to 500 feet throughout the MOA, allowing pilots to conduct interception training. The Condor MOA was chosen by the ANG for the change over other potential contenders in the northeastern United States, including the Yankee MOA, which encompasses part of New Hampshire and a smaller slice of western Maine, and the MOA around Fort Drum, in upstate New York.
Many Maine residents, including Gov. John Baldacci and Maine Department of Transportation officials, have expressed concerns to the ANG through either 266 written comments, public statements and letters, or five informational meetings the ANG hosted throughout Franklin County. Typically concerns include the effects of the jets’ sudden, loud sound bursts on the health of people and animals; the potential for mid-air collisions with recreational light aircraft; the possible fire hazard when flares or chaff are used in the training exercises; and many cite the potential economic impact on western Maine’s businesses that depend on quiet, peaceful settings.
The local resistance to the proposal led to Baldacci’s office requesting that the 2007 assessment be complimented with an EIS.
While the draft version of the EIS is now apparently complete, the ANG says that at least two federal agencies still need to review the document before it can be presented to the public. The plan must be presented to the Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency for potential revisions. That process is currently ongoing, typically taking 10 business days, and is followed by the ANG making any requested changes. After that, the EIS goes back to the DoD and EPA for final certification.
Since this would push back the August 2 review date, it would also push back the public scoping meeting, which must take place a minimum of 15 days after the release of the draft EIS. The ANG would then publish a Notice of Availability in the federal registry. After that, the draft EIS would be made available through the Augusta Public Library, Rangeley Public Library, Rumford Public Library, Monson Public Library, Bingham Union Library, and Bremer Pond Memorial Library.
It would also be posted on the MDOT’s website at this address.
The public scoping meeting would be scheduled sometime after 15-day waiting period following the release of the draft EIS. However, the public comment review period begins immediately following the information becoming public and continues for 45 days. Those comments are taken along with any information gathered at the meeting and added to the draft EIS.
Another “NIOBY” but boy oh boy would we want them ready too fly in here and save us if needed!
Admin logging in for Carol Boden:
Thank you for providing the concise article on July 23rd updating us on the status of the changes proposed by the Massachusetts Air National Guard to the CONDOR 1&2 MOAs here in Maine.
I have a question regarding the process this draft EIS is taking, as outlined in the article.
In the 9th paragraph, I understood the draft EIS will go back to the DoD and EPA following the MANG’s incorporation of requested changes by these entities.
I am confused on how Congress is involved in this process and why their workload would have any bearing on the work of the DoD or EPA?
Please clarify for me.
Thank you,
Carol Boden
West Bethel