The Vermont Air National Guard remains the preferred Guard location to base Air Force F-35 fighter jets, according to the final Environmental Impact Statement released Thursday.
This means Burlington International Airport is one step closer to hosting 18 to 24 F-35 fighter jets to replace the aging fleet of the F-16s currently in use.
In its final EIS, which at first glance appears largely unchanged from the draft version, the Air Force study reads:
“The Air Force selected Hill AFB and Burlington AGS as the preferred alternative locations. At these locations, the Air Force would replace existing F-16 aircraft (48 at Hill AFB; 18 at Burlington AGS) with 24, 48, or 72 F-35As at Hill AFB and 18 or 24 F-35As at Burlington AGS. It would also implement construction and/or modification to facilities and changes to personnel as well as operations at the airfields and in training airspace. The Air Force determined that these alternative locations best fulfill its mission responsibilities as presented in the purpose and need.”
There will now be a 30-day review period before the final record of decision is made, said Kathy White, a civilian spokeswoman for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command Public Affairs Office.
Hill Air Force Base in Utah is the active-duty military preferred location, she said.
The Air Force will decide to base the jets at a guard location and an active-duty military base, said Ann Stefanek, a spokesperson for the Air Force.
“There is going to be an active-duty location and there is going to be an active guard location,” she said.
The Secretary of the Air Force can also decide not to base the F-35 anywhere, she said. This is called the “no action alternative,” Stefanek said.
Vermont’s congressional delegation has repeatedly supported the basing of the F-35 in Burlington.
According to a summary of the final EIS released Wednesday by the delegation, the Air Force ranked the possible sites as follows (asterisk indicates a preferred site):
Burlington Air Guard Station (AGS), Vermont*
Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah*
Jacksonville AGS, Florida
McEntire Joint National Guard Base (JNGB), South Carolina
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Shaw AFB, South Carolina
Following the issuance of the revised EIS this summer, the Air Force received 11,172 comments, according to a news release, and almost all of those concerned the Vermont basing. “Of these, 823 were in letter, handwritten note, and email format and 10,349 were in post card format. In addition a petition, signed by 2,460 people, was received supporting the basing action at Burlington AGS,” the release said.
Summarizing comments on the Vermont Air Guard basing, the EIS reads:
“Burlington AGS: The majority of all comments were from Vermont citizens expressing either their support of or opposition to the basing action at Burlington AGS. There were 809 letters, handwritten notes, and emails received: 644 were in opposition to the basing action and 165 were in favor of it. Of the 10,349 postcards received, 9,655 were in support of basing F-35A aircraft at the Burlington AGS and 694 were in opposition.”
The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. and Green Ribbons for the F-35 launched a campaign in support of the F-35 that was responsible for most of the postcards.
They said in July that 10,000 postcards and 7,265 petition signatures supporting the basing project were sent to the Air Force.
Hill Air Force Base bid received two comments, one for and one against. No general public comments were received associated with the four other basing alternatives, the release said.
Opponents of the F-35 beddown in Burlington have cited health and safety concerns associated with an increase in potential noise, devaluation of property values in the nearby neighborhood in South Burlington and the possibility of falsified scoring sheets that ranked Burlington ahead of other locations before the EIS was drafted.
This summer, the Winooski City Council voted unanimously not to support the basing of the F-35 until more questions were answered. That same week, the South Burlington City Council voted to support the basing by a vote of 3-2.
Progressive members of the Burlington City Council will introduce a resolution to oppose the F-35 this fall. The current draft of the four-page resolution requests that the Air Force not base the jet at the airport.
This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. Thursday.
