Citizens Meet with Governor’s Staff on Navy Growlers

On December 20, representatives from the Olympic Peninsula, as well as Whidbey and Lopez Islands, met with Governor Inslee’s staff: Jim Baumgart—Policy Advisor, Rob Duff—Natural Resources Policy Advisor, and Tip Wonhoff—Deputy Legal Counsel. High winds forced cancellation of the PT/Keystone ferry, which resulted in the three Governor’s reps meeting in Port Townsend with two folks from Sequim (including myself), two from Port Angeles, and two from Port Townsend. The island reps met in Coupeville and joined us via speakerphone.

Baumgart summarized our requests to the governor’s as follows:

• An extension to the public comment period for the EIS
• Additional noise study for the EIS
• Including the perfluronated alkaloid compounds (PFCs) and drinking water in the EIS
• More direct engagement from the governor’s office with the State of Washington Congressional Delegation regarding the issues
• A request to combine multiple EIS in a single document to show cumulative impact
• Examining other alternatives that shift EA-18G Growler training from the Puget Sound to another location
• Stopping the Navy proposed pier expansion at USCG Station Port Angeles
• Stopping the Navy from flying over the Olympic Peninsula and stopping Electronic Warfare training in the Olympic Peninsula
• Prohibiting SEALS from training in state parks
• Establishing a multi-agency task force/commission, including stakeholders such as the organizations represented yesterday, to address issues and develop binding agreements with the Navy to resolve conflicts

We plan to have another meeting with the governor’s staff in early 2017—hopefully we’ll have fair weather.

—Steve Koehler