Special to the Plaindealer
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Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall are urging the Air Force to address concerns raised by southern and western Coloradans following a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of newly proposed low-altitude flights over Colorado.
In a letter to Terry A. Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, Bennet and Udall requested a full and more comprehensive analysis before any plan moves forward. The draft EA, which underwent a public comment process earlier this year, states that the proposed plan would not result in significant impacts to local communities or the environment. If the draft EA is made final, a full Environmental Impact Statement would not be... required.
“As you continue to analyze the comments received during the recent draft EA public comment period, we strongly encourage you to undertake a full and more comprehensive analysis that addresses these concerns and those submitted by all stakeholders in Colorado,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “Based on comments from a number of counties, private citizens, and other parties, we believe that substantive improvements to the EA must be made before a decision on this proposal is rendered.”
Because some counties affected by this proposal did not learn of the Low-Altitude Tactical Navigation (LATN) plan until after the comment period closed, Bennet and Udall are urging that these comments and others receive full consideration by the USAF and that they are taken into account before any decisions are made about moving forward.
Last year, Udall and Bennet sent a letter to the Air Force's Special Operations Command expressing their concerns about the potential impact that proposed Low-Altitude Tactical Navigation flights could have on civilian and military aviation operations and other interests in southern Colorado and urging additional coordination to ensure that the training missions don't interfere with other military, medical or agricultural operations.