Posted on 02/11/2004 8:18:40 AM PST by pabianice
RALEIGH, N.C. — Opponents of a proposed Navy landing field in eastern North Carolina said Tuesday they are asking a federal judge to stop land acquisition so residents won’t lose family farms. Attorneys for Washington and Beaufort counties and three conservation groups Monday filed a joint motion for a preliminary injunction.
If granted by a federal judge, the injunction would prevent the Navy from buying land, doing site preparation, design and construction for the $186.5 million outlying landing field.
“We realize, as the citizens in Washington and Beaufort counties realize, that the Navy is not waiting to sort this out, that they intend to buy land as quickly as they can,” said Chris Canfield, executive director of Audubon North Carolina.
“We would hate to see folks lose their farms that they’ve had for generations only find out later that the project was not feasible,” he said. “We feel it’s important to stop the Navy in its tracks right now, so the court can look at the facts in the case and make a reasonable judgment without the threat of ongoing land purchase.”
The Navy has 20 days to respond to the motion.
Navy spokesman Ted Brown at Atlantic Fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Va., said Tuesday that contract real estate teams have been in the area since last month to buy land for the 3,000-acre core of the project.
Those teams have contacted some residents, who weren’t sure what to tell them, Canfield said.
Brian Roth, the mayor of Plymouth in Washington County, said it would help residents if a judge stopped the Navy’s activity while the lawsuit against the field is decided.
In all, the Navy needs 30,000 acres of land — including the core area for the runway and buffers.
Combat pilots would practice aircraft carrier landings with F/A-18 Super Hornets. The jets are to be based at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, N.C.
Navy plans call for basing 120 Super Hornets at Oceana and 24 at Cherry Point.
The motion filed Monday said the Navy failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and related federal regulations in preparing its environmental impact statement.
It said the Navy minimized the harm to the environment, particularly with respect to migratory birds and the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge a few miles from the site. The motion said the Navy does not provide adequate mitigation of impacts and does not specify how it will reduce the risk of bird and aircraft collisions.
Two federal lawsuits alleging similar Navy shortcomings had already been filed to stop the project.
Navy officials have said the environmental impact study of the site addressed all concerns and that the Washington County site was the best choice.
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