NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Environmentalists discussed a possible appeal of the Federal Aviation Administration’s recent Tweed Airport expansion approval at the City of New Haven’s first Environmental Advisory Committee meeting of the year.
Speakers at the conference discussed a variety of topics, from tweed to lawns.
“There have been so many issues. We recognize that it’s January 3rd and many people are still not ready to come back and start doing what needs to be done,” New Haven said. said Laura Kahn, Chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee.
One topic of discussion was the FAA’s decision to approve the expansion of Tweed-New Haven Airport despite an environmental impact study not being completed and an environmental assessment being conducted.
At this meeting, the option of fighting became clear.
“I’m glad they have 48 days to write a letter asking for an environmental impact study, even if the FAA doesn’t want one,” Khan said. “Not only will the new terminal double the estimated greenhouse gas emissions, but once it is decommissioned, the tonnage of carbon dioxide will actually triple, so that’s very worrying.” said Haven resident Lorena Venegas.
Khan said the EAC would make a formal decision on the appeal following the release of independent air pollution test results next month.
Tweed New Haven Airport Executive Director Tom Rafter said the expansion plan included a year-long environmental assessment of more than 1,400 pages.
“It has been scientifically and peer-reviewed by experts from the FAA, EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, and CT DEEP, and is the gold standard for understanding and predicting the environmental impacts of airports. “The recent finding of no significant impacts is another major milestone in this effort and another step towards the promise of a more sustainable future,” Rafter said.
Another discussion at the EAC meeting was about artificial turf. The introduction of turf at Hooker Elementary School and the Yale Golf Course is currently being considered. Kahn said New Haven already has 10 turf fields and the city doesn’t need more.
“Artificial turf is made with PFAS, a forever toxic chemical that the state has set aside millions of dollars to remediate. It’s like wrapping the Earth in Saran Wrap.” Mr Khan said.
City Council also discussed options to reduce the number of nip bottles littering the state’s roads. Mr Khan said there was an option to increase the redemption rate to match the new double interest rate on other recyclables subject to the bottle fee, as the current 5 cents would not work.
“It doesn’t motivate people enough to pick them up because I think they’ve seen them around town. Once they saw them, they couldn’t resist and started picking them up. This conference was a big talk about waste. There was a big discussion, and it’s a big waste problem that we can solve,” Khan said.
The next meeting of the New Haven Environmental Advisory Committee will be held on February 7th.