Regarding Judge Jones August 2nd decision, many of you have been asking, “Where to from here? So the Navy has to do a revised EIS, what does that mean”?
Well, first of all, we hope to get some sort of meaningful relief from the carrier landing practices, as well as some reduction of Growler activities over the Olympic Peninsula. If the Navy agrees to little but token concessions, though, then it will be up to the judge to decide on what concessions are to be made.
As for the EIS, the Navy will have to revise the four sections that did not comport with National Environmental Policy Act requirements, among which is the requirement to do a credible job of examining the El Centro alternative. We will hold their feet to the fire on all four.
But there are many other areas in that shoddy old EIS that were deficient and/or misleading. So, COER intends to do whatever it can to get the Navy to credibly address and correct those areas. The only persuader we may have is making it clear to the Navy that we will see them back in court if the new EIS continues ignore and twist the best available science to fit its agenda. And there will be a lot of new science it will have to bring to bear.
Finally, we are getting closer to making a decision on whether to sue the Navy for Endangered Species Act violations impacting marbled murrelets and the southern resident killer whales. Our next step will be to see if the Attorney General will join or support us in that effort, and concurrently we will reach out to targeted conservation organizations for support.
Bravo
Thank you legal team! There is more than enough grief and this favorable ruling is a bright relief-
Is COER working with the Attorney General to push and push hard for very meaningful relief. The greater the remedy, the more likely the Navy will conclude that Whidbey is not a viable location for the Growlers. Who is representing COER in working with Ferguson and influencing this process?
Many thanks to all of you who have worked on this. This is amazing news and I am hoping they will have to stop using Growlers here.
I would like to thank Whidbey News-Times for publishing Michael Monson’s excellent letter on August 31, 2022. His well written and clearly explained message revealing the Navy’s dodges over their failing recognition of the OLF Growler noise problem really spells it out. Thank you Michael
When will CORE sue the Navy for subjecting us to toxins that we breathe from the Growler jet combustion?