On the F-35s: Noise pollution as an environmental injustice
Since the arrival of the F-35s at Burlington International Airport in late 2019, we have seen the noise map shift in a dramatic way. According to an article by VTDigger, there are 2,600 houses affected and it would take fifteen years to mitigate the noise along with $85 million in costs. As for funding for all the mitigation the city is going to have to do, there is still a 10 percent gap that the citizens of South Burlington and Winooski are afraid will fall to them. If so, this will be an even bigger hit on the people of Winooski due to residents already having to relocate and now possibly having to pay the price of jets that they did not even want.
F-35 opponents make it clear that this is not only a social, but environmental justice issue. Environmental Justice, as defined by the EPA, is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
Many people in the community have taken to Front Porch Forum to discuss their own personal experiences. “These are our homes and our community, and if you love this little City, please stand up to save it. Winooski needs your voice and your participation to stop this wrong-headed, environmentally polluting decision,” A.L Jillson wrote.
The community even took it upon themselves to make a F-35 Summer Report which members of Front Porch Forum used to express their experiences with the jets. James Elhers, a Winooski resident and one of survey administrators shared some of the survey’s results: “the in-your-own-words statements reveal pain, distress, and suffering from these F-35 training flights in a city.”
The survey found that three-quarters of respondents find the flyovers unreasonably loud, over half of them find the noise distressing, and over a quarter find the noise unbearable.
The F-35s are making a big impact on one of Vermont’s most diverse cities and the community has had enough. “All I know is that qualitatively the experience left me almost nauseous and with a feeling of vertigo that if I stood up I my knees might buckle. And we live on the flight path so I am no stranger to the take-offs and landings of all kinds of aircraft through the decades,” community member Paul Rabidoux recalled.
Jimmy Leas, South Burlington City Counselor and avid protester in this movement has raised the justice issues surrounding the F-35s: “The Air Force report admits disproportionate impact on low income and minority populations.” The Air Force also admits “that hearing damage is “credible” for people living in 260 homes in the loudest part of the F-35 noise danger zone,” according to Leas.
Leas believes that the F-35s placement is no accident.
“The Air Force report understates the disproportionate impact by including the entire city of South Burlington and not just the working-class Chamberlin School area affected.” Leas said. “If the wealthy parts of South Burlington or the Hill Section of Burlington, where the mayor lives, were as impacted as Winooski and the Chamberlin School neighborhood of South Burlington, there would be no F-35 basing at the airport.”
Winooski, Vermont is located right outside of the Burlington International Airport and is one of the “most densely populated areas in Vermont,” according to the Burlington Free Press. With a population of 7,023 people, 13.1 percent of which are foreign born, it is also a highly diverse area. According to the World Population Review, Winooski has an overall poverty rate of 31 percent.
Leas has seen firsthand the effects of the F-35s and the divide between Burlington and Winooski. “As long as the airport has been governed by Burlington, which owns and controls all aspects of the airport even though it’s located in South Burlington. This contradicts fairness, justice, and Articles 6 and 7 of the Vermont constitution that require that government officials be accountable to the people and that government is instituted for the common benefit of the people,” Leas said.
When discussing ways to fight the F-35s, Leas’s biggest suggestion is to soldier on: “as with any campaign the key is persistence.”
Much of the community believes they must take their wellbeing into their own hands, as they don’t believe that it is a military priority. “Environmental factors (like excessive noise) that negatively impact struggling families make it even harder to break out of that cycle and that should be a major concern. The military does not, and never will care about these families so that's up to us,” Mac Lynch, a Winooski Community member, posted on Front Porch Forum.