Webinar set on Air National Guard plans to lower jet training altitude

LOCK HAVEN, PA – The Monday, April 24 public webinar for Maryland Air National Guard plans to lower the flying height for jets training over Clinton County and elsewhere in northcentral is being sponsored by the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship. An earlier version of the story indicated the Maryland Air National Guard was the webinar sponsor; that was incorrect.

County commissioner Jeff Snyder provided that information at the Thursday commissioners’ meeting. The webinar will be held Monday, April 24 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. but participants must register in advance. Final public comment date on the proposal is May 17.

All three commissioners at their work session on Monday expressed outspoken concern for information contained in a final draft environmental assessment produced by the Maryland Air National Guard.

Draft report particulars had been outlined Monday by county planner/engineer Steve Gibson. The draft says the Guard plans to lower the altitude airspace for its jets from 1,000 to 100 feet. Gibson noted the county previously opposed the proposal as it would increase and lower jet flights over the Pennsylvania Wilds tourism area, which includes Clinton County among its member counties.

He did say the Guard made two concessions relative to flights over the county, proposing not to allow flights below 1,000 over the Kettle Creek and Hammersley Fork environmental areas; also the Leidy gas operations would remain a no-fly zone. Gibson said the proposal will allow two-flights-a day for two hours a day for 170 days a year and the agency “would try to avoid” flights on Sundays. He said the proposal still calls for flights over the state’s elk rehabilitation area to the west of Clinton County and the Guard study said the flights would not affect hunting. He said the draft included 2,000 pages of opposition to the proposal.