Washington, D.C. — On the heels of a meeting with Navy Secretary Donald Winter regarding the proposed Outlying Landing Field, Congressmen G. K. Butterfield and David Price have requested more time for alternative sites to be investigated.
“If there’s willingness on the part of the Navy to fully explore alternative sites, it’s going to take more than a week to gather all the needed information,” Butterfield said. “Extending the deadline would seem to make sense.”
Butterfield and Price have written to Winter asking that the public comment period that is currently open as part of the Navy’s draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process be extended for 45 days beyond the current May 9, 2007 deadline.
Butterfield said that he and Price want to allow sufficient time for state and local stakeholders to fully examine the Navy’s operational requirements and other potentially viable alternative solutions. They have also asked that the Navy provide formal written guidelines about its operational requirements for the Outlying Landing Field (OLF) site.
“Our hope is that this process will enable thorough consultation between the Navy and the State of North Carolina on the decision about the OLF site, as we have requested all along,” Butterfield said.
Butterfield said that he and Price agree that the public comment period has the potential to generate important information both about the sites considered in the SEIS and about possible alternative solutions.
“It’s a process which could hold the key to finding a solution that is mutually beneficial to the Navy and the people of North Carolina,” Butterfield said.
The Navy has already purchased and condemned more than 2,000 acres in Washington and Beaufort counties as part of a 30,000-acre OLF the Navy says it needs in order to train pilots to land on aircraft carriers. The proposed site lies just west of an area that was established specifically as a waterfowl sanctuary where thousands of birds winter annually. At peak, there are about 25,000 tundra swans and more than 65,000 snow geese which regularly fly out to feed in the farm fields just west of the site.
Butterfield and Congressman Walter Jones, Jr. today met with Winter to discuss their concerns about the Navy’s preferred site in Washington and Beaufort counties. Butterfield said he was encouraged by Winter’s “willingness to consider alternative solutions and his commitment to choosing a site that is acceptable to the people of North Carolina.” Price and Rep. Chet Edwards, (D-Tex.), chairman of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, met with the secretary last week.
“As we move forward I am increasingly hopeful that a more suitable site will be found,” Butterfield said.