Judge temporarily halts work on Navy landing field in N.C. [Migratory Snow Geese vs. Super Hornets]

Norfolk, Va Virginian-Pilot ^ | 4/20/2003 | Jack Dorsey

[Al B.]

The Navy wants to build an outlying landing field for Super Hornet jets amid this farmland in Washington County, N.C. Drew Wilson / The Virginian-Pilot file

 

A federal judge today ordered the Navy to stop negotiations for land, all site preparation and construction of its proposed practice landing field in Washington County, N.C.

The temporary injunction was issued in Raleigh by U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle pending a full hearing on a lawsuit, likely late this summer.

The Navy wants to construct a single-runway landing field on more than 30,000 acres of farm land near Plymouth in northeastern North Carolina to be used primarily by F/A-18 “E” and “F” model Super Hornets coming to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and at Cherry Point, N.C., Marine Corps Air Station. The field would augment a similar facility the Navy uses, the Fentress Auxiliary Field in Chesapeake.

Opponents have argued the proposed outlying landing field, or OLF, is in the heart of the Atlantic flyway for migratory snow geese that feed in large flocks in Washington County and that the Navy downplayed the risk of collisions between the aircraft and birds.

“We are extremely pleased with the judge’s ruling ,” said Michelle Nowlin of Chapel Hill, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. The nonprofit center represents the three environmental organizations that filed suit in January: the National Audubon Society; the Defenders of Wildlife; and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. A similar suit has been filed by Washington and Beaufort counties.

“It is a very important moment for us and an important victory, not only for the refuge and the birds and wildlife, but also for the community in that region,” Nowlin said. “It is an important victory for the citizens of the entire country where the judge has required the military to comply with the law.”

A Navy spokesman at the Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Ted Brown, said the service was aware of the judge’s ruling, but felt it would be “inappropriate to comment.” It could not be determined whether the Navy planned to appeal to the U.S. Fourth Circuit.

In his decision, Boyle said the plaintiffs “have raised serious, substantial and difficult questions as to whether the Navy acted arbitrarily and capriciously in deciding to construct the OLF (in Washington County), such that the Navy failed to provide the environment with the kind and quality of consideration it is due under law.”

“Plaintiffs have provided significant evidence that the Navy may have failed to take a hard look at the environmental effects of its decision,” Boyle wrote in his 20-page decision on the joint motion.

He said that while the court recognized the duty of the Navy to “protect the public, to train its pilots, and to maintain national security,” such considerations don’t automatically prevail over the National Environmental Policy Act’s environmental impact statement provisions, even if the issue is military in nature.

“While the Navy argues that the public will be harmed by delaying the construction of the OLF, the court finds that the Navy has failed to present evidence of any harm tangible harm that will be caused by the delay,” Boyle wrote.

He said the public would suffer greater harm from construction of an OLF at the proposed site without a full consideration of the potential environmental impact and consequences by the Navy.

The Navy has proposed completing construction of the $186.5 million landing field by 2007. So far, the Navy has paid about $3.7 million for five tracts of land in Washington County, totaling 1,157 acres and had hoped to acquire about 3,000 acres for the first phase of the project.

[Viking2002]

I was listening to Neal Boortz talking about how those damned geese are fouling up Lake Tahoe. He said he chases them through the sky in his Decathalon - it's supposedly great pilot training. LMAO

[Al B.]

FYI. BTW, got the date wrong. Article was just posted at the Pilot.

[TaxRelief]

Something about this whole project has "smelled", but no-one seems to be able to pinpoint the problem exactly.

It comes back to the age-old question, who really would gain if this project carried forward?

[EGPWS]

Opponents have argued the proposed outlying landing field, or OLF, is in the heart of the Atlantic flyway for migratory snow geese that feed in large flocks in Washington County and that the Navy downplayed the risk of collisions between the aircraft and birds.

The defense of Human freedoms or possible geese ingestion leading to the death of a goose.

I guess I'll have to contemplate that "decision of a lifetime" for a nanosecond to give the benefit of the doubt to the discussion.

[TaxRelief]

What DOES happen to an F/A-18 when it has an altercation with a goose or two?

NC *Ping*

Let MYkdsmom, Constitution Day or Taxrelief know if you want on or off the NCPing list, or if you think you've been accidentally dropped, or ....

[cajun-jack]

all the local people that would get good paying jobs for the next 3 yrs..that's who!! and also, their landlords, mortgage holders, supermarkets, 7-11's, mcdonalds, burger kings, good resturants...everyone in the area but the john f'ing geese.

this judge is a depends wearing whiny baby and should be relegated to cleaning up geese poop at the local park.

[microgood]

Obviously the Navy has not paid this judge off yet, or not as much as the other side.

[GATOR NAVY]

possible geese ingestion leading to the death of a goose.

Sucking a goose into an aircraft engine could result in a lot more than the death of the goose. Loss of the aircraft and/or pilot are possible. Not that I think that's really a concern of the type of people who bring up these environmental suits.

[Rebelbase]

Bird strike photos:

[Windom Earle]

I don't know where cajun-jack and microgood are from, but neither knows the area, the issue, the public attitude or this Judge.

The vast majority of the region opposes the OLF, for the simple reason that it will bring noise AND NO ECONOMIC SPINOFF. All the support will remain in Norfolk. This is just a place for planes to practice landing. There will be no jobs or substantial money coming into the county.

If you don't believe me, go to Plymouth and find out for yourselves.

As to this Judge, your descriptions are ridiculous. Terry Boyle is a hard nosed, conservative (you read that right)law and order jurist who follows the book. Years ago, he was an aide to Senator Helms.

If there's a judge out there who could never be bought off, it's Terry Boyle.

What ignorance.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Temporary my ass. The airfield will be built in 20 years if at all. The greenies and their activist judges win again. Their goal is to shut down everything, turn America into a 3rd world nation, and open us up to invasion.

[cajun-jack]

ok fair enough..I'm from Louisiana and not entirely familiar with your situation.

I didn't know Judge Roy Bean was on the case...the article said it would take 3 years to build the runway...someone is going to be working during that time.

I also don't know the area or the people or the geese..so if i am that uninformed and made a rash judgement, then I apologize and accept my "leg striping" and will go sit in the corner and be quiet.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

He said that while the court recognized the duty of the Navy to “protect the public, to train its pilots, and to maintain national security,” such considerations don’t automatically prevail over the National Environmental Policy Act’s environmental impact statement provisions, even if the issue is military in nature morally corrupt judges and radical greenies, whose mission is to shut down anything and everything that protects our country.

[X-FID]

These geese are everywhere, they never used to be but now they are and you can't touch them. Personally I would twist the stupid heads off of everyone of them I caught if I could get away with it, they foul up everything.

[TaxRelief]

Why does the OLF have to be moved from its present location in Virginia?

The defense of Human freedoms or possible geese ingestion leading to the death of a goose is not the real issue, it's the excuse to keep the Landing Field in VA.

This is an interstate NIMBY war!

[Mr Rogers]

If there was a significant chance of mid-air between the geese & the F-18s, the Navy wouldn't WANT to build the field. Hitting something that big is a great way to lose a pilot & a jet. The lawsuit is stupid.

[TaxRelief]

But this judge is not an activist judge. Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye, like emminent domain issues and land takings or an interstate feud or something?

[microgood]

There will be no jobs or substantial money coming into the county.

I thought this was for National Security, not a jobs or welfare program. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for National Security.

As to this Judge, your descriptions are ridiculous.

I apologize to the judge if he is a good man. I currently have no respect for the federal judiciary and I although should be not attacking all judges, even though I believe it really does not matter if there are good ones as the situation is hopeless at the federal level.

Since the Navy is being sued by environmental organizations, which have done a lot of damage to national security, I thought he might have been one of those stopping a process well down the road by legislating from the bench to please his environmental buddies but I am apparently wrong on that.

Bottom line is this should not be decided by the locals but by the laws of this country and the needs of national security. This is why we cannot close bases we do not need and cannot build ones we do. Millions of taxpayer dollars will be spent litigating this (no doubt the taxpayer will pay for both sides) and we will either end up compromising in some unholy way or will be back at square one after spending all this money.

I worked for the Navy for years and saw a Minesweeper base set up in the most ridiculous place in the world (Ingleside, Texas) all because of a Senator - note it is now being closed a few billion dollars later.

[leprechaun9]

I think we should convene a meeting on the 37th floor of the WTC with all the tree huggers and vent everyones feelings!