[CPEO-MEF] FLIGHTS: "New Military Planes Will Increase Air Pollution, Noise In Western Mass"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

DOD: New Military Planes Will Increase Air Pollution, Noise In Western Mass
The arrival of 21 new F-35 jets was announced last month. The war planes will soon bring much more noise to the region’s skies.

By Jonathan Gerhardson
The Shoestring (Western NY)
January 14, 2025

WESTFIELD — Starting next year, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport will see a Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth jet fighter land or take off from its runway, on average, once every one hour and 15 minutes for the next 50 years.

The decision to replace the F-15Cs used by the 104th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard with 21 F-35As was announced at the end of December, and formalized by the Jan. 7 publication of a record of decision in the Federal Register. It marks, among other things, the conclusion of a nearly three year environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act. It also marks the success of local officials’ campaigning to bring the much louder F-35s to Westfield — planes that have generated significant complaints of noise pollution where they’re also based in Vermont. 

“I am beyond thrilled that the Secretary of the Air Force has finalized the assignment of the F-35As to the 104th Fighter Wing, ensuring that the 104th remains a critical piece of our country’s national defense strategy for decades to come,” state Sen. John Velis said in a statement. 


…

For the entire article, see
https://theshoestring.org/2025/01/14/dod-new-military-planes-will-increase-air-pollution-noise-in-western-mass/

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org