The Winooski City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking Vermont's congressional delegation to make an inquiry to the secretary of the Air Force about changing the Vermont Air National Guard's mission to something that causes less harm to surrounding neighborhoods.
Chittenden County residents have been raising concerns about noise pollution since the Air National Guard's F-35 jets took to Vermont skies in 2019. For those who live or spend time in areas in line with the runways, the rumbling of the jets is hard to ignore. They seem to fly all times of day, even being heard into the night.
This Winooski vote comes a few weeks after the Burlington City Council passed a similar resolution creating a committee to follow up with Vermont’s congressional delegation on the F-35s basing at Burlington International Airport. The resolution also calls on Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak to meet with the airport and the Guard to discuss the ongoing noise mitigation efforts.
Developed by Lockheed Martin, F-35s are single-seat, single-engine, stealth combat aircrafts designed for strike or attack missions. The fighter jet has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, according to the Lockheed Martin website . The F-35 is loud due to its high thrust-to-weight ratio and powerful engines. At takeoff, the F-35 is twice as loud as an F-16, which were based at the Burlington airport before the arrival of the new jets.
Other projects in the works to mitigate F-35 impacts
F-35 opponents have been trying to enact a change in different ways. Construction kicked off last year by Burlington International Airport to initiate a voluntary Residential Sound Insulation Program to mitigate the effects of aircraft noise for properties surrounding the airport. This involved up to 2,500 housing units near the airport − many in Winooski and South Burlington − getting updated insulation, new doors and windows.
Funded in part by the Federal Aviation Administration, completing the updates is expected to take years.
A study from the program highlights noise exposure maps, detailing how loud the jets are for homes, schools and businesses in the flight path. It’s broken into what’s called the day-night average sound level that ranges from 65 to 75 decibels, the latter of which can be harmful for prolonged periods.
Will these resolutions bring a change?
The Burlington City Council voted in 2023 to extend the Vermont Air National Guard’s lease at Burlington International Airport by 25 years. While the Guard will likely remain there for the duration of the lease, it is possible for missions to change, which is what the councils are asking for.
But residents appear to be fed up. The public forum at Burlington's Aug. 12 City Council meeting lasted over an hour, with dozens of speakers asking the council to vote unanimously in support of the resolution.
While the resolution passed 11-1, it has a tall ladder to climb before any change can happen. The Vermont Congressional Delegation will now have to contact the secretary of the Air Force and request that the Air Force replace the current F-35 mission with another, one "less harmful" to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Sydney P. Hakes is the Burlington city reporter. Contact her at SHakes@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Winooski and Burlington pass resolutions after residents fed up with noise of F-35s
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