FARMINGTON — A public hearing on proposed low-altitude flight training over Western Maine will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in Lincoln Auditorium at the Roberts Learning Center on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

The Massachusetts Air National Guard's proposal would lower jet training flights from 7,000 feet above the ground to 500 feet.

The hearing will provide an opportunity for residents to voice their opinions and concerns, which will then become part of the Guard's environmental impact statement. The deadline for public comment on the proposal has been extended to Jan. 1, 2010. The flights involve jets from the 104th Fighter Wing, based at Barnes Army National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass.

Once completed by the Air National Guard, the environmental impact statement will be forwarded to the Federal Aviation Agency for consideration of the low-flight training over portions of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset and Piscataquis counties in Maine and part of Coos County in New Hampshire.

A group of concerned residents from Western Maine formed in 2007 in response to the proposed low-flight training, calling their effort Western Maine Matters, spokesman Seabury Lyon of Bethel said. The group has written letters to the Guard, legislative representatives and the governor and has written a petition that will be included in the environmental impact statement, Lyon said.

The group's concerns include noise pollution, and the effect on wildlife, tourism and recreation.

Within the past two weeks, a Western Maine Matters member's research revealed that this is the third attempt to lower fighter training over Western Maine. The group was aware of an attempt in 1997 but unaware of an effort in 1992, Lyon said.

The request for low flights was turned down in 1997, but the results of the research, not previously mentioned, revealed that a first attempt was undertaken in 1992 under Gov. John McKernan's administration. It also was denied, Lyon said.

The reasoning behind the rejections are similar to the concerns being raised today, he said. They are ones that the group, the governor and other citizens feel the Air National Guard has not adequately addressed.

This public hearing, originally scheduled for early September, was changed when Gov. John Baldacci requested a postponement of the hearing for the Guard to review concerns raised by Western Maine residents. The governor called for the Guard to meet "a burden of proof," that the low-level training would not create a significant impact.

Attempts to reach Guard representatives Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Every comment is taken into consideration, Lt. Col. Mike Milord of the Army National Guard has said previously. The National Guard works hard to be a good neighbor but needs to be ready to respond to overseas contingencies by providing the greatest possible training, he said.

abryant@sunjournal.com