Editorial: Use noise study to get Navy, neighbors to table
While strident voices and repeated refrains of “move to strike the last word” dominated the Capitol in Washington, D.C., this week, Congress did move forward with vital work, including a vote that could serve to quiet the din on the other side of the country, specifically at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and its surrounding communities.
As Congress works to approve spending in the National Defense Authorization Act, which supports service members and military families, one provision included will require the U.S. Navy to monitor and report on noise levels from EA-18G Growlers based at NAS Whidbey’s two island airfields.
A decision to base 36 additional Growlers — used in electronic warfare — with the 82 currently based at the naval air station had raised a debate between base supporters and those concerned about the noise and other impacts from the increase in jets and their flight operations at Ault Field, north of Oak Harbor, and at an outlying field near Coupeville, which would see a significant increase in takeoffs and landings, part of pilot training for carrier landings.
The dispute had progressed to the point of lawsuit with the filing earlier this summer of a legal challenge by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, claiming the Navy had not followed federal procedures required to protect human health, the environment and historic resources.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-use-noise-study-to-get-navy-neighbors-to-table/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=452ede6114-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-452ede6114-228635337
