INDIAN ISLAND — Elected officials from Jefferson County and the city of Port Townsend took a guided VIP tour of Naval Magazine Indian Island on Tuesday and were told by Navy officials that residents have nothing to worry about when it comes to explosives safety and depleted uranium.
“We’ve got very tight control of our inventory,” said Capt. Jonathan Kurtz, commanding officer of the ordnance base.
“There’s a prescribed procedure for everything we do here,” Kurtz said, holding up a thick three-ring binder titled “Standard Operating Procedure.”
Taking Tuesday’s tour were County Commissioners Phil Johnson, D-Port Townsend, and David Sullivan, D-Cape George, County Administrator John Fischbach, Port Townsend Mayor Mark Welch, City Manager David Timmons and City Council members Frank Benskin, Geoff Masci and Michelle Sandoval.
Also on the tour was East Jefferson Fire Rescue Chief Mike Mingee.
Result of petition
The tour by city and county officials is an outgrowth of a petition filed with county commissioners in December by members of the Port Townsend Peace Movement, who were protesting Navy plans to supply newly refitted, 500-foot Ohio-class submarines at Indian Island once or twice a year.
Port Townsend Peace Movement spokesmen expressed concern about how safe the Naval Magazine is and its proximity to Port Townsend.
Kurtz, who appeared Monday before a Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce audience at Fort Worden State Park, said Indian Island is one of the main conventional weapons depots for warships and cargo ships in the Pacific Fleet.
Bullets, bombs, cruise missiles and torpedoes are stored in climate-controlled concrete and earthen bunkers.
He touted Indian Island’s safety record as the Navy’s best, and said a 2005 safety inspection of the installation received a score of 99.6 percent.
