A public open house to submit comments on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the EA-18G Growler airfield operations at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island is set for Monday, Dec. 5 …
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A Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jet from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on a low pass over Jefferson County. 2016 photo by Patrick Sullivan
Members of the Naval Aviation Requirements Group pose on May 15, 2014 in front of the 100th EA-18G Growler delivered to the U.S. Navy on the tarmac at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Hetherington
A public open house to submit comments on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the EA-18G Growler airfield operations at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island is set for Monday, Dec. 5 at Fort Worden in Port Townsend.
It is one of five public meetings to be held throughout the area with the intention of providing the public with an opportunity to submit comments on the draft EIS.
Navy representatives are to be on hand at the meeting, which is planned for 3-5 p.m., Dec. 5 at the Conference Center USO Hall, 200 Battery Way at Fort Worden.
“The purpose of this project is to augment the Navy’s existing electronic attack community at the NAS Whidbey Island complex by operating additional Growler aircraft as appropriated by Congress,” reads an advertisement on page A8 of this Leader edition.
“The Navy is analyzing three action alternatives, each of which has three operational scenarios that meet the purpose of and need for the proposed action, as well as no action alternative, per Council on Environmental Quality regulations,” according to the Navy announcement.
The draft EIS is available at
whidbeyeis.com and also is available at area public libraries.
The release of the draft EIS begins an extended public comment period that lasts 75 days, ending on Jan. 25, 2017.
There also are open houses in Oak Harbor on Dec. 6, on Lopez Island on Dec. 7, in Anacortes on Dec. 8 and in Coupeville on Dec. 9. See details of those meetings in the Navy notice on page A8.
All public comments must be received by Jan. 25 and can be sent to EA-18G EIS Project Manager, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Atlantic, Attn: CODE EV21/SS, 6506 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23508.
The Navy operates EA-18G “Growler” electronic warfare aircraft from NAS Whidbey, where it proposes to expand facilities at Ault Field, north of Oak Harbor, and Outlying Landing Field Coupeville, across Admiralty Inlet from Port Townsend. The aircraft operations are seldom seen from Port Townsend or Jefferson County, but the jets are heard overhead, particularly during nighttime training sessions. Last July, the Port Townsend City Council sent the Navy a letter asking that the Growler operational “area of potential effect” include specific mention of the Fort Worden and Uptown national historic districts, along with mentioning concerns about effects of aircraft operations on historic buildings themselves as well as on people.
