Plan for more Growlers in the sky

La Conner residents will be able to hear and see America’s national defense become more high-tech, if plans to deliver a new flock of war birds to Whidbey Island materialize.

The U.S. Navy is looking to add up to 36 Growler aircraft to its collection at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Public comments are now being accepted on a recently finished Environmental Impact Statement, and the Navy has scheduled five open-house meetings for people to learn about and comment on the project.

The EA-18 Growlers are designed to improve the Navy’s electronic attack capabilities in classified operations. Though the exact details on what they’ll be used for are secret, Mike Welding, the station’s Public Affairs Officer, says the planes have the capability to jam electronic signals and suppress enemy airfare defenses.

“There’s a growing need for electronic attack capability,” Welding said.

The environmental review process designed to evaluate potential environmental effects began three years ago. The draft was officially released last Thursday, launching the 75-day public comment period that closes on Jan. 25.

Should the current plan to add 35 or 36 planes to the Whidbey Island base need to be altered, the Environmental Impact Station lays out three solutions, which involve distributing the field carrier landing practice throughout the locations of Ault Field at Oak Harbor and Naval Outlying Field at Coupeville.

Welding said the Navy encourages people to come to one of the public meetings, where they can ask questions or submit comments. The open houses will be held in five different locations including one scheduled in Anacortes, 3 to 6 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 8 at Seafarers’ Memorial Park Building at 601 Seafarers Way.

“There will be stations with subject matter experts dealing with the things analyzed in the Environmental Impact Study,” Welding said. “It’s actually a very good way for people to come and learn about what’s going on.”

According to the Navy, the additional aircraft will restore the base’s operations to mid-1990s levels.

“The community has always opened its arms to Navy families and shown its support for the Navy and Naval Aviation, and for that I am both humbled and grateful,” Commanding Officer Capt. Geoff Moore said in a written statement. “Whidbey Island has been the home for the Navy’s EA mission for more than four decades and is now the nation’s center of excellence for this crucial capability... Growlers’ deploy globally to protect U.S. and allied military forces throughout the world and perform a key role in the effectiveness of our military forces.”

But not everyone is pleased with the expansion, especially a Coupeville area group, Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve, who oppose the new Growlers.

“In our opinion, it’s an absolute catastrophe,” the group’s president Ken Pickard said. Their concerns include degraded property values, the increase in noise, low tourism and the environmental impact. He said that public health would top his list of concerns and that people have been told by their doctors that they’ve been harmed by the existing jet noise exposure.

The group plans to submit comments after wading though the 1,000-plus page Environmental Impact Statement document.

“We have a number of experts who are going to comment in terms of noise, health and economic impact,” Pickard said.

A print copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is available at La Conner Regional Library; the online version is at http://www.whidbeyeis.com, where people can also submit comments.