Massachusetts lawmakers ask the FAA and Amazon for a local environmental review before Prime Air flies from Westborough

Massachusetts Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan sent matching letters on October 14 to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. The letters concern Amazon Prime Air's proposed drone delivery hub in Westborough. They ask the FAA to require a site-specific environmental assessment of the hub, with a public comment period, before it authorizes Prime Air operations in Massachusetts. They ask Amazon to work with the FAA on that review. Each letter asks for a written response by October 29.

The letters give three reasons. First, the 23 site-specific assessments behind the national finding covered communities in Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas, Arkansas, Utah, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina, and none in New England. The lawmakers point to Westborough's dense historic town center, its forests and wetlands, and Massachusetts weather and daylight. Second, they cite local opposition. A September 23 community meeting on the zoning changes drew what they call unprecedented turnout, and an independent resident survey found 92 percent of more than 1,200 respondents opposed the hub. Third, they say the national study did not analyze hazardous materials in detail, though delivery drones run on lithium-ion batteries. They cite an October 2025 crash in Tolleson, Arizona, where an Amazon drone hit a crane and a battery fire followed.