Summary New court order mandates US Navy to update environmental studies by May 1, 2025. COER seeks to vacate 2019 Record of Decision on field carrier landing practice distribution. Moving EA-18G Growler operations may pose challenges as NAF El Centro is facing logistics issues.
On August 16, the United States Western District of Washington District Court’s Judge Richard A. Jones signed an order that, in part, requires the US Navy to study changing Boeing EA-18G Growler operations from NAS Whidbey Island in Washington State to Southern California’s NAF El Centro. The judicial order arises from multi-year litigation against a US Navy environmental impact study effort that started in 2013 due to some NAS Whidbey Island neighbors not being happy about Boeing EA-18G Growler sounds.
New court order for further study The August 16 order, document #161, in case #2:19-cv-01059-RAJ, requires the US Navy to update its 2019 Environmental Impact Study (EIS) , resulting in a record of decision with the additional data according to a reference to document 119: “Plaintiffs’ claims other than their claims that defendants violated NEPA by failing to disclose the basis for greenhouse gas emissions calculations, failing to quantify the impact of increased operations on classroom learning, failing to take a hard look at species-specific impacts on birds, and failing to give detailed consideration to the El Centro, California, alternative, are dismissed with prejudice.” In document 161, Judge Jones clarified that the new deadline for compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) is May 1, 2025. As such, unless the US Navy Department appeals the ruling, the US Navy Department will have to redo the analysis on the above things.
Keep up with the latest Simple Flying coverage of military aviation here Although the noise agitation group at the center of this controversy in Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve or COER seeks vacatur – or to vacate the 2019 record of decision (ROD) to distribute the field carrier landing practice (FCLP) to 20% at Ault Field just north of Oak Harbor and 80% occurring at OLF Coupeville, pictured below, in Ebey’s National Historic Reserve. For COER members living near OLF Coupeville, the jet noise from field carrier landing practice is not perceived as the equivalent of a free Airshow . In fact, it's training that requires a half hour of EA-18G Growlers in a precise pattern and as you can see below, even practicing a "bolter" or going around a fouled aircraft carrier deck: To some neighbors of OLF Coupeville, the sounds of EA-18G Growlers at work are unendurable without protest.
As filed with the Court in document #144-2, Kenneth L. Waters – a “retired Boeing Commercial Airplane Engineer” – said, “If the Navy returned to pre-ROD levels of Growler overflights at OLF Coupeville, it would be a huge relief to me because we could get the outside work accomplished, be able to invite friend and neighbors over for dinner in the evenings and even obtain some quality sleep at night when the jets are not flying. Look at it this way: Pre-ROD flights were very irritating but tolerable as they happened less often.
The frequency and harmful ear splitting noise of Post-ROD flights are not endurable and have forced several property owners in our neighborhood to leave the island.” Several others filed statements similar to the above as true and correct under penalty of perjury. However, in Judge Jone’s order, the clear response was, “The increased Growler presence for training at OLF Coupeville is essential for national security.
” But the Judge also ordered that the Navy study the following according to documents 140 and 161 in the case: A full analysis of EA-18G Growler fuel emissions To “quantify exactly” any increased EA-18G Growler operations on “childhood learning”. “A species-specific analysis to determine if some species would be more affected than others.” Moving all EA-18G Growler operations from NAS Whidbey Island to NAF El Centro.
Some of this is at the prompt of the Attorney General’s Office of Washington State. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in an August 3, 2022, statement, “The Navy has an important job. But that does not relieve the federal government of its obligation to follow the law and take a hard look at the public health and environmental impacts of its programs.
” Hence, the judicial order. Additionally, some factors may help keep NAS Whidbey Island growling. Moving EA-18G Growler operations poses challenges Moving EA-18G Growler operations from NAS Whidbey Island to NAF El Centro could cause serious issues.
For instance, see the below population table for the communities surrounding NAS Whidbey Island’s OLF Coupeville plus Ault Field and also NAF El Centro, respectively, based on US Census estimates for April 2020: Coupeville, Washington 1,942 Oak Harbor, Washington 24,620 El Centro, California 44,538 Source: US Census Moving over 100 EA-18G Growlers to NAF El Centro would significantly impact almost double the population of NAS Whidbey Island communities of Oak Harbor and Coupeville, which are close to low-level training routes and electronic warfare-focused ranges. Additionally, NAF El Centro, as pictured below, serves as both the winter training campus for the US Navy Blue Angels and a major US Naval Aviation training facility year-round where V-22 Ospreys, C-130 Hercules, F-35 Panthers, T-45 Goshawks, and other aircraft go to train. NAF El Centro is also close to several kinetic weapons-focused ranges.
Although the Court found the below “arbitrary and capricious” requiring further refinement, the US Navy EIS on page 2-20 wrote in part; “It is not a home base for Fleet or training squadrons and, therefore, is not resourced to provide the necessary personnel, logistics, and training support functions and facilities to support home basing of Growler squadrons and a large permanent party presence. ..
. Home-basing aircraft at NAF El Centro would fundamentally change the nature of the facility and could cost over $800 million, which is cost prohibitive.” Additionally, the US Navy claimed that facilities such as hangars, simulators, and ranges would have to be replaced, requiring also a sustained congressional commitment.
In any such analysis, impacts of increased EA-18G flight operations beyond the training use of NAF El Centro will have to cover fuel emissions, childhood learning, and bird species. NAF El Centro is in a community with far more souls, and even if just used for more field carrier landing practice, that would require more fuel and noise emissions. Why EA-18G Growlers conduct field carrier landing practice? That’s a fair question because the sounds resulting from the EA-18G Growler’s need for field carrier landing practice to deploy on aircraft carriers are COER’s reason for existing or in Latin, raison d'etre .
Below, one can watch a US Navy explanation of the need and why at OLF Coupeville. Additionally, the EA-18G Growler performs specific roles for the US Navy. One can read the details below: Waging war on the invisible battlefield.
Although some US Navy EA-18G Growler squadrons are expeditionary and only operate from land bases, the ability of aircraft carriers to project power is limited without airborne electronic attack squadrons based on aircraft carriers. EA-18G Growlers can tackle everything from jamming and suppressing radars to jamming triggers for remotely triggered bombs to spying on communications. What’s next? The US Navy can choose to appeal or carry out the judicial orders for additional analysis.
Oddly, the analysis does not include current efforts to make the Growlers quieter . But Judge Jones made clear in his order the following; “The Court reiterates this “not-in-my-backyard” approach subverts the public interest by proposing shifting noise to another, more populated community.” The court made this key point.
Additionally, according to the Oak Harbor Navy League—a civilian advocacy group advocating for the US Navy—in response to a COER-UW noise agitation study claiming melodramatic impacts, as shared with the Whidbey News-Times on May 14, the county surrounding NAS Whidbey Island is the sixth healthiest in the nation, and “The Growler enjoys broad support” in the community. Ultimately, the need for airborne electronic attack remains regardless of where the Growlers are based. Airborne electronic attack aircraft have saved countless lives by denying the electromagnetic spectrum to unfriendly air defenses, drones, and remote-controlled bombs like improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
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