Assistance Panel was formed to help address the contaminated water issues. Pease Development Authority In 1990, a majority of the former Pease AFB, other than property retained by the Air National Guard, was transferred to the Pease Development Authority (PDA) for reuse as a civilian airport and commercial center. The PDA was created in response to local economic impact from the base closure; many area residents believe that the recession of the early 1990s affected the region more than the Great Recession of the late 2000s. The airport opened for civilian use in July 1991, and became an FAA-certified airport for commercial air carrier operation under FAR Part 139 in October 1992. Pease has a Foreign Trade Zone with access to the East Coast and international trade corridors by land (Interstate 95), by direct air cargo from Pease, or by sea via the Port of New Hampshire in Portsmouth. An international/domestic passenger terminal has Federal Inspection Services including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agriculture and immigration. As of 2015, just shy of its 25-year anniversary, nearly 300 economically diverse businesses employing just under 10,000 workers have settled in the Tradeport, and another 4,000 people outside the tradeport support those businesses. Wildlife refuge In 1992, a former weapons storage area in Newington, approximately with frontage on Great Bay, was turned into a wildlife refuge. Pease Greeters The Pease Greeters are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization whose members greet troops landing at Pease en route to, or returning from, overseas deployment. Since meeting a flight in 2005, the group has met over 1,500 flights through mid-2018. Staffed primarily with retired veterans and local residents, the group was joined by former President George H. W. Bush in greeting a flight in October 2010. References Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ). Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. . Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989 George Adams, former Sgt 509 FMS, Pease AFB (1987–1990) Jim Rusch, CMSgt USAF (Ret), 509 MMS, Pease AFB (1981–1989) Further reading External links 157th Air Refueling Wing homepage Boston-Portsmouth Air Show 2010 Boston-Portsmouth