Baldacci issues statement opposing low-level military training flights
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in Farmington in the Lincoln Auditorium on the campus of the University of Maine Farmington.
In a letter to the Director of the Air National Guard, Governor Baldacci cites the lack of responsiveness from the National Guard Bureau to questions raised about the proposal to allow the low-level flights, the release stated
"I wish to register my opposition to this proposal," Baldacci wrote. "I do not believe that serious consideration has been given to the impacts on the people of Maine nor has the appropriate level of due
diligence been conducted in this process and in the Draft (Environmental Impact Statement)."
After the public comment period, a Final Environmental Impact Statement will be completed by the Air National Guard and submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the release.
The FAA will then determine if the ANG has done a complete evaluation and whether to accept the analysis of significant impacts and related mitigation plans.
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Edmund_Dantes says
You know why they don't go to Berkshire county? Because it underlies a major arrival and departure corridor for Boston. Too many planes there already. There are already established military training routes throughout Northern Maine which are used now almost daily. In fact most of Northern Maine is a military training area. The military wants to extend the base of the training areas to 500' AGL throughout the entire training area. Right now they can only drop to 500' AGL if they are on an MTR and then they need to stay within some pretty strict lateral parameters.
If you are worried about giving them the entire airspace down to 500' AGL, why not do what New York did and create some corridors at the bottom of the current military airspace away from congested areas for them to do their training missions away from areas of concern. The planes are already there and they are already flying low over much of the state anyway. One of the training runs stretches from the northern tip of Sebago past the northern tip of Moosehead and a second parallels that one about 30 miles to the north. Why not combine those two shift them a little further north to make a 20 mile corridor for them to drop in and out of instead of having to fly the entire state on their MTRs. How bout finding a solution instead of bitching.