Navy delays EIS for landing field sites

WASHINGTON - The Navy on Friday announced it will delay the expected release of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) examining five potential sites in Virginia and North Carolina for an outlying landing field (OLF) to support training for aircraft stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana.

In a statement, the Navy said various delays have pushed the OLF timeline back to a point where it now coincides with the commencement of the EIS process for homebasing of the F-35C Navy Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

According the Navy, since NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach is the East Coast master jet base and the home for the F/A-18 C/D aircraft, the Navy will likely consider whether it should be identified as a potential candidate site for the JSF.

Including JSF data in the OLF EIS will ensure the Navy incorporates all relevant factors in the analysis in a fiscally responsible manner, the Navy said. The National Environmental Policy Act process will inform the Navy and provide the public access to all information necessary to understand and comment upon the potential environmental effects of the proposed action.

The Navy has been exploring the development of an OLF since 2000 and says it will continue to work closely with the Congress, state and local officials, and the public to determine the best possible site.

Navy officials have claimed that a lack of training capacity at Oceana and the current OLF, Fentress Auxiliary Landing Field in Chesapeake, is one of the chief reasons for their plans to build another landing field.

Oceana and Fentress have been encircled by suburban development. The Navy contends that it needs another strip to relieve the pressure on the two facilities.

Sites for the potential OLF are in Surry, Southampton, and Sussex Counties, in Virginia;, and in Camden and Gates Counties in North Carolina.

In response to Friday's announcement, Randell Woodruff, Camden County Manager, issued the following statement:

"We are hopeful the Navy will use this time to consider alternatives to Camden County, based on the mounting evidence an OLF here would cause severe economic and environmental damage to northeast North Carolina. Congressional, state, county and local officials have made it clear the Camden County site should not be considered as a potential site. Now is the time to remove Camden from consideration."

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On the Net : Outlying Landing Field (OLF) Environmental Impact Statement