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Save Our Heritage |
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Protecting the Birthplace of the American Revolution, the cradle of the Environmental Movement, and the Home of the American Literary Renaissance |
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Massport and Fed Ex announce plans to establish cargo operations at Hanscom Field
In violation of its written and verbal commitments to the surrounding communities, Massport has announced the intention to bring FedEx commercial cargo operations to Hanscom Field.
"This is just a small part of Massport's clandestine plan to create an airport the size of LaGuardia at Hanscom." said Neil Rasmussen, President of Save Our Heritage. "The introduction of heavy-jet cargo operations is inconsistent with the Master Plan for the airport and has the potential to devastate the surrounding historic communities."
Although Massport says the cargo operations will start with only a single plane and 28 tractor-trailer truck trips per day, both the FAA and Massport both acknowledge that after initial operations receive the appropriate permits, the subsequent growth of the number of cargo operations is unlimited and unregulated.
Former Governors Weld and Celluci both made commitments that there would be no cargo terminals constructed at Hanscom Field. Former Massport CEO Peter Blute also promised that there would be no cargo operations at Hanscom Field. Current Governor Mitt Romney made a campaign pledge against growth at Hanscom. The Hanscom Field Master Plan says that Hanscom will not be used for scheduled cargo operations, and that any change to this policy will be thoroughly reviewed with the local communities who will advise Massport prior to any policy changes on cargo operations.
This type of proposal has the potential to greatly increase noise and traffic impacts, particularly around a number of historic sites in the area.
The proposal was described in a recent article in the Boston Globe.
"The thousands of volunteers who commit time and money to protecting the natural and historic resources of this area are the key to maintaining and preserving these historic places for future generations." said Rasmussen "The slow encroachment of a desolate airport buffer zone will degrade these places to the point where the commitment to the protection of historic and natural sites may be lost. This is why the National Trust For Historic Preservation recently named this area as one of the Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places in America, and why we must fight Massport's malignant plans at each step."
You can help to change these ill-conceived plans by sending letters to Fed Ex and to local political leaders or you can use quick on-line forms to send a fax to FedEx CEO Smith, Governor Romney, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Kerry.
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