From Undocumented wetlands and rare mussels could block Navy plans to build a practice airfield in northeastern North Carolina.
Undocumented wetlands and rare mussels could block Navy plans to build a practice airfield in northeastern North Carolina.
Sep. 6–CAMDEN COUNTY, N.C. — Undocumented wetlands and rare mussels could block Navy plans to build a practice airfield in northeastern North Carolina, representatives of OLF opponents said in separate statements.
Both announcements came a few days after the Navy said it would delay the release of an environmental impact study until spring.
The study was expected to name the Navy’s preferred airfield site from among five — three in Virginia and two in North Carolina.
Wetlands at both North Carolina sites have been underestimated and the necessary permits could be denied, according to a July 21 letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Navy.
The Navy has been told “several times” about this deficiency in their environmental study so far, the letter said.
“The study is not good enough at this point,” said Glenn Dunn, an environmental attorney with Raleigh-based law firm Poyner Spruill. “If the Navy does not conduct a thorough analysis of the wetlands, I don’t see how the Corps of Engineers can issue a Clean Water Act permit, and that would stop an OLF from being built.”
Agencies such as the Corps of Engineers often review environmental studies before they are released.
Camden and Currituck counties hired Dunn’s firm to help oppose an outlying landing field proposed for the Hales Lake area where jets would practice aircraft carrier landings. Dunn got the letter from the corps and released it this week, he said.
The Navy is working closely with the Corps of Engineers and will meet the wetlands requirements, Navy spokesman Ted Brown said.
The Navy said in a release Friday that ” environmental planning which would lead to a decision to establish an OLF has been a challenging process.”
“Various delays” have pushed release of the airfield environmental study back to coincide with a study to determine where to base the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, the Navy release stated.
In Gates County, a study in the Chowan River found a mussel listed as endangered in North Carolina — the Lampsilis cariosa, or yellow lampmussel — and five others listed as threatened.
“The Navy should remove Gates County from the list based on the rare mussels and the wetlands,” said Ryke Longest, director of Duke University’s Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. “The Chowan River basin is one of the few examples where we can say things have gotten significantly better since the 1970s.”
The Duke clinic and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice are helping a Gates County residents group oppose the Navy airfield.
Freshwater mussels are like filters for the environment and are early indicators of pollution, therefore necessary to protect, said the study, conducted by Alderman Environmental Services.
The study found 13 freshwater mussel species in a section of the lower Chowan River included within the noise contour area of the proposed airfield. The river is globally significant for its diversity of freshwater mussels, said the study, commissioned by the Gates County residents group.
The Navy’s study will take into consideration all endangered and threatened species, Brown said.
In 2002, the Navy selected farmland in Washington County as its preferred site for an airfield.
A residents group teamed with environmental organizations to file suit and wo n, forcing the Navy to withdraw its choice and start over.
In January 2008, the Navy announced it was considering five other sites.
Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
Source: VA Pilot
From http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-government/12842444-1.html