ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE
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100 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116 Ph:617.423.5775 Fax:617.423.5858
DID YOU KNOW....
DID YOU KNOW....
Logan International Airport is the sixth greatest polluter in Massachusetts. The first five are all power plants.
The FAA announced its Record of Decision allowing for Runway 14/32 as a unidirectional runway with an 10 knot (11.5 mph) wind restriction. The Sierra Club is reviewing the decision and will post more detailed comments on the ruling in the near future.
Injunction Stands
Despite the FAA decision, the injunction prohibiting expansion at Logan remains in place. Opponents of Logan expansion are requesting that the injunction NOT be lifted for Runway 14/32. The injunction remains intact while Suffolk Superior Court Judge Botsford reviews the case. The hearing date is set for January 9, 2003, Post Office in Post Office Square.
The decision to deny
Massport's request to remove the injunction against new runway construction
at Logan Airport is a major victory for runway opponents. However, now
that the FAA has approved the actual plans for expansion, it is imperative
that all options to expansion at our Northeast airports be explored and
have community input before any expansion takes place.
The Massachusetts Sierra Club is working with groups from around New England
to promote a moratorium
on airport expansion until increased Intermodal transportation planning
and health assessments, including a comprehensive health study of the
effects of airports on local communities, are completed for the region.
Unfortunately, a planned health study for Logan was canceled by Acting
Governor Jane Swift as part of millions of dollars of vetoes to the state
budget.
Alternatives exist for airport expansion, particularly for trips of less
than 400 miles, the very size trips many of the planes using the new runway
would be making. For example, Completing the North-South
Rail Link in Boston is part of this effort. Completion and upgrading
of the Northeast Corridor rail network means that high speed trains can
offer a viable alternative to flying. See the North-South
Rail Link page for more information.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Call/write your Senators
and tell them they need to speak out against the airport expansion plans.
Ask them to support alternatives such as high-speed rail. Please visit
our Take
Action page for more information.
Please write to Governor Swift and tell her that the Massachusetts Port Authority should not be embarking on an unnecessary and unhealthy airport expansion plan. The health impacts of this plan are enormous. You can also visit the Communities Against Runway Expansion’s (CARE) website at www.stop1432.com for more information about Logan Airport.