Navy’s new environmental analysis keeps Washington County as preferred site for landing field

Chapel Hill, NC– Nearly 18 months after a federal court ordered a new environmental analysis of a proposed landing field in eastern North Carolina, the Navy today released its draft, again naming Washington County as its preferred site, despite increased environmental threats and community impacts to the area and after ignoring the expert opinion of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

“This document, once again, proves the Navy will never take a serious or objective look at the environmental impacts of its landing field or suitable alternative sites. North Carolinians must turn to their elected officials to end this foolishness once and for all, and spare this area an unnecessary project that is environmentally and economically damaging,” said Derb Carter, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the environmental interests in the case against the Navy’s proposal.

The preferred site is 3.5 miles from Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and hosts more than 100,000 snow geese and tundra swans, in addition to other waterfowl each winter. These birds and the nearby refuge would be greatly affected by the Navy jets that would use the OLF to practice take-offs and landings each day.

The SEIS concludes that the impacts the proposed landing field on the refuge to be “minor” and the impacts to the waterfowl to be “moderate” due to a plan to significantly redistribute the waterfowl through changes in feeding locations. The FWS, which the Navy had asked to be a cooperating agency, did not concur with these conclusions.

“In preparing the SEIS, the Navy hired someone from Sea World to help them with their waterfowl analysis but ignored the expert opinions of the US Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Carter.

The SEIS includes a new bird management plan under which 25,000 acres of farmland surrounding the proposed landing field will be prohibited from growing corn, wheat and soybeans - economic stapels of the local farming economy - as part of the Navy’s efforts to redistribute the waterfowl. Originally the Navy proposed to restrict the use of only a very small area immediately surrounding the landing strip. The Navy’s newly outlined property acquisition strategy would allow some landowners to keep their homes, but disallow them from farming these crops.

Also in the SEIS, the Navy for the first time acknowledged the proposed landing field will adversely affect endangered red wolves and may adversely affect threatened bald eagles. Some of the only wild populations of the endangered red wolf in North Carolina are on the refuge and surrounding lands the Navy has bought or plans to buy.

In September 2005, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Navy failed to take a hard look at the environmental effects of a planned Outlying Landing Field to be constructed in northeastern North Carolina and required it to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS). Following the Court’s decision, the Navy announced that the SEIS would objectively reconsider alternatives to the site in Washington County.

Earlier this month, the Navy requested $10 million from Congress for the landing field to be constructed in Washington County.

“The budget request for the Washington County site is further proof of the Navy’s refusal to objectively consider reasonable alternatives,” said Carter. We call upon the North Carolina congressional delegation to stop funding for this project until the Navy obeys the law.”

The public will have the next 60 days, until April 24, to comment on the draft SEIS.