"Logan runway proponents get a lift"

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Logan runway proponents get a lift
Congressmen who live near airport express support but seek limits
By Glen Johnson
The Boston (MA) Globe


WASHINGTON - Congressmen who live near Logan International Airport indicated
yesterday they could accept the new runway Massport wants to build if, among
other things, the authority agrees to written limits on its use that are
enforceable in court.

Representatives Edward J. Markey of Malden and Stephen F. Lynch of South
Boston made the point directly, while Representative Michael E. Capuano of
Somerville was more oblique, during interviews after the state's House
delegation held a closed-door meeting with Federal Aviation Administrator
Jane F. Garvey.

''There would have to be a package to please the community groups,'' said
Markey, the dean of the all-Democratic delegation. Added Lynch, ''I think
the task is really to get an agreement that everyone can live with and then
have a mechanism that enforces the agreement.''

Capuano, whose district includes the airport property, said he would
continue to fight the proposed 5,000-foot Runway 14/32, ''but I think that
the job of responsible political leaders is to fight for what they want and,
simultaneously, work to say, well, what if we don't win? It's never all or
nothing.''

Markey called the meeting four days after the FAA filed an environmental
report indicating it would support the runway's construction, but with the
restriction that it be used only when winds exceed 10 knots, or 11.5 miles
per hour, and blow from the northwest. Those are the precise conditions the
Massachusetts Port Authority says triggers delays, since the airport can
currently use only one of its runways under those circumstances. After a
30-day public comment period, the FAA will review any suggested changes
before it issues its final approval.

Even then, Massport will not be able to build the runway because of a
28-year-old court injunction, but that injunction will be reviewed in a
trial beginning next year. Runway supporters and opponents are posturing for
the best possible deal in the event the authority wins approval to build the
runway.

The call from congressional leaders for a written agreement hints at the
mistrust airport neighbors feel toward Massport, which they contend will use
the runway to increase capacity, not move current traffic more efficiently.

''Massport has kept changing the justification over 28 years,'' Markey said.

During the hourlong meeting, Garvey explained her agency's decision and
listened to comments from the congressmen who attended: Markey, Lynch,
Capuano, John W. Olver of Amherst, Martin T. Meehan of Lowell, John F.
Tierney of Salem, and William D. Delahunt of Quincy.

Lynch, whose South Boston neighborhood is under the flight path for existing
runways, emerged saying: ''I remain skeptical. When we pressed the
adminstrator on the question of enforcement [of the restrictions on] this
limited-use runway, there seemed to be the sense that they had no mechanism
available for that right now but they would be willing to submit to one.''

He said he also would not support the runway unless there was a clear
judicial process for any violations of the agreement, but believed both
hurdles could be overcome. He pointed to the example of restrictions South
Boston neighbors won for the Boston Edison power plant in their
neighborhood. Operators agreed to burn natural gas under normal conditions,
but are allowed to burn oil - which causes more pollution - when the days
are warmest and coldest and there is a peak demand for electricity. ''We've
had that in place for six or seven years, and it's worked very well,'' Lynch
said.

Markey said he would support the runway only as part of a comprehensive
package to control Logan Airport. He called for ''peak-pricing'' that would
control traffic by hiking landing fees for the busiest times, and an
abandonment of Massport's plan to build a new taxiway that would move
airplanes 800 feet closer to residents of Winthrop. Like Lynch, he also
called for legally enforceable operating restrictions on Runway 14/32.

Craig L. Coy, Massport's new executive director, said wind restrictions are
in the FAA's domain, not Massport's, and peak pricing is something the
agency is studying. He said the authority needs the new taxiway.

''The real issue we have is the perception that Massport isn't a good
neighbor and doesn't care about the people around the airport. That's a
problem I have to work on,'' Coy said.

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