Williston
ECRWSS PRSRT STD US Postage
PAID
Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
GREEN Pgs. 4 & 5
MARCH 27, 2025
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
F-35 impact zone smaller than anticipated Quiet skies continue
An F-35 is prepped for takeoff at the Vermont Air National Guard base at Burlington International Airport in January. PHOTO BY SGT. MICHAEL DAVIS, VERMONT NATIONAL GUARD
New airport map sharpens view of fighter jet sound profile BY JASON STARR Observer staff Back in 2019, airport officials and noise modeling consultants took a stab at predicting what the auditory impacts of the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-35 takeoffs and landings would be on residents living near the runway. But the Air Force fighter jets didn’t arrive at the Guard’s base until a year later. Now, with 20 F-35s in full operation, the airport has updated its noise impact predictions with actual flight data. The result is the Burlington International Airport’s new “noise exposure map,” blessed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and released for public view earlier this month at www.btvsound.com. According to the new map, fewer residential and commercial properties in Williston are impacted by excessive F-35 noise than was predicted before the jets arrived. A portion of northwest Williston — including residential areas on Kirby Lane and
White Birch Lane as well as commercial areas on Industrial Avenue and Williston Road — is regularly exposed to 65 decibels or greater during F-35 takeoffs. The FAA considers land exposed to 65 decibels or more incompatible with residential use. “The big difference between the forecast and our updated map is using at least a year’s
The Vermont National Guard has been conducting fewer F-35 operations than was predicted in 2019. worth of data associated with real operations,” Airport Aviation Director Nic Longo said. In 2019, a total of 112 homes in Williston housing 260 people were anticipated to be exposed to 65 decibels. The actual exposure
noted in the updated map is 85 homes and 198 people. This is not because the planes are less noisy than anticipated, but because the Vermont National Guard has been conducting fewer F-35 operations than was predicted in 2019, according to an executive summary of the map prepared by Massachusetts-based environmental and transportation planning consultant HMMH. The reduction in affected land means 27 fewer homes in Williston are potentially eligible for federally funded noise mitigation grants (the Noise Exposure Map underpins eligibility determinations for the airport’s Noise Compatibility Program). Homes within affected zones are potentially eligible for grant-funded sound insulation, and in some cases government offers to purchase property. Actual eligibility is determined by testing noise levels inside the home, Longo said. The noise mitigation program is
Williston and other airport-adjacent municipalities have had a reprieve from disruptively noisy F-35 takeoffs this winter. The majority of the 20 fighter jets operating from the Vermont National Guard base at Burlington International Airport have been deployed to Japan since early January. Noise monitors surrounding the airport’s runways, including one on Route 2 in Williston, consistently show decibel readings in the 70-80 range with occasional spikes over 100 during F-35 training flights out of the airport. Noise monitor data is updated at www.btv. aero/about-btv/community. “We have many jets, pilots and maintainers currently deployed, which is why we’ve had a reduced flying schedule,” Vermont National Guard Spokesman Marcus Tracy said. Their return is expected “in the next few months,” he said, declining to offer more specific timing. “As our people return, our local flying schedule will return to normal,” Tracy said. The deployment in Japan involved about 200 members of the Vermont Air National Guard and included joint training exercises in February out of Guam with pilots from Japan and Australia. “Getting F-35s from three different countries together is a great chance to see how we work as a team, which is exactly what the jet was designed for, helping allies operate under the same playbook,” Lt. Mike Watson of the Vermont Air National Guard said in a news release. — Jason Starr
see F-35 page 8
A FARM-TO-TACO EXPERIENCE. Breakfast served Saturday-Sunday, 9-2 Chilaquiles • Tortas • Omelets • Pancakes
Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner - Take Out
(802) 497-1668
cortijovt.com