Mayor Miro Weinberger backhandedly admits mass suffering from F-35 noise

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger provided backhanded admission that the extreme noise of F-35 training flights from the Burlington International Airport causes pain, injury, distress, and suffering. Of course, he never directly acknowledges the abuse the F-35 flights daily inflict on 2,963 families exposed to its extreme noise in three of Vermont’s cities and 2 of its towns. Instead, he indirectly makes the admission by touting his efforts at “sound mitigation.”

For example, in an October 29, 2020 press release the Mayor touted a $4.5 million FAA grant for sound insulation in Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski. Insulation of homes masks some of the noise of the F-35. But the mayor’s press release omitted direct mention of why costly noise reduction is necessary: mass suffering. See the article, “In their own words: 73 Vermonters describe their exposures to F-35 noise.” Also see the news article in VTDigger, “Panic attacks. Ringing ears. Shaking walls. Happy 1-year anniversary to the F-35s”.

While the 1,300 word press release was long on self-praise it did not mention the mayor’s own role, as one of the chief advocates of using the city’s airport for the F-35 training flights. Or his continuing position as a chief proponent of F-35 flights low over this densely populated area, in violation of the military’s own rules, US and Vermont laws, US and Vermont constitutional rights, ratified treaties protecting civilians, and international law.

Also omitted from the press release was the fact that the city obtained more than $50 million in FAA grants to buy up and demolish 200 affordable homes near the airport in anticipation of the extreme noise of the F-35 training flights, opening 40 acres of commercially valuable land for redevelopment. So far, South Burlington has not changed rezoning from residential to commercial. If and when it does, a bonanza for developers (satire).

Also omitted was the cost to sound insulate each home ($50,000) and how few homes this grant would insulate (90 homes) compared to the number of homes in the extreme noise zone (2,963 homes). Also omitted was how many years (30 years) it would take to insulate that many homes, even if applications for such grants were approved by the FAA each year. Nor did the press release mention the total cost to the taxpayers for home insulation (more than $100 million). Instead of simply moving the F-35 training flights away from any populated area, an idea requested by a large majority of Burlington voters (6,482 to 5,238 votes) at town meeting in 2018.

The mayor further omitted mention of whether home insulation is even effective. Such as, when windows are open (nope). Or when children play outside (nope). Or when adults walk their dog (nope).

The mayor also failed to mention how many children (1,300 children) are being repeatedly exposed to the 115 decibel F-35 noise (p. BR4-23) that is capable of permanently damaging their hearing (p. C-25) and inflicting trauma on their brains. The Vermont National Guard says F-35 jets take off 8 to 16 times a day, 4 days a week plus one weekend a month. That is between 300 and 600 takeoffs and landings each month. Yet the Vermont National Guard further says 5% of those F-35 training flights will use afterburner for takeoff, increasing the noise to a level that can cause “immediate and permanent hearing damage” (p. C-4).

The mayor also omitted mention that the harm from the F-35 training flights falls almost exclusively on working class and minority populations (p. BR4-83), and that such tony neighborhoods as the Hill Section, where the mayor lives, are sufficiently outside the extreme noise danger zone.

Although the press release was silent on all that, the announcement of the costly FAA noise mitigation program effectively admitted the magnitude of the suffering the Mayor’s advocacy for the F-35 training flights at Burlington’s airport is now causing.