DABOB BAY — A final plan for the expansion of three underwater test ranges — on Dabob Bay and Hood Canal, and off the Olympic Coast from Kalaloch southward in West Jefferson County — is available for public comment.
The Navy will use the areas to test unmanned underwater vehicles.
The secretary of the Navy is expected to authorize the proposal through signing a record of decision no later than July, said Diane Jennings, spokeswoman for Keyport Naval Undersea Warfare Center.
That will be followed by a 30-day waiting period before the Navy can begin operating in the new areas.
Public comment on the final environmental impact statement must be received or postmarked by June 21.
They will be considered in the preparation of the record of decision, the Navy said.
“We haven’t made any changes to the extensions proposed,” Jennings said, referring to the plans last shown to Jefferson residents in October 2008.
As proposed:
• The Dabob Bay Range Complex on Hood Canal — comprised of the north and south military operating areas near Naval Base Kitsap Bangor and the area in Dabob Bay — would increase from about 32.7 square nautical miles to 45.7 square nautical miles, and the number of days used per year would remain the same, at 200.
The proposed extension from the southern boundary of the existing range to the mouth of the Hamma Hamma River, and from the northern boundary of the current range to within one nautical mile of the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, would afford a straight run of about 27.5 nautical miles for testing.
• The Quinault Underwater Tracking Range between Pacific Beach in Grays Harbor County and Kalaloch in West Jefferson County, would increase from about 48 square nautical miles to 1,840 under the preferred alternative to the full size of a current military air space on nautical charts.
The proposed extension is beyond 12 nautical miles from shore.
The average annual number of days of use for offshore activities would increase two days, from 14 to 16 days per year.
• The Keyport range site in Kitsap County would increase from 1.7 square miles to 3.7 square miles, and the average use would increase by five days, to 60 days per year.
The proposal would enable the undersea warfare center “to continue fulfilling its mission of providing test and evaluation services and expertise to support the Navy’s evolving manned and unmanned undersea vehicle program,” the Navy said.
“We need a larger operating area to support the test and evaluation in support of research and development for the Navy,” Jennings said.
Vehicles to be tested
Specifically, the ranges would be used for testing “autonomous undersea vehicles” or unmanned submarine and submersible robotic devices used for underwater or sea-to-land surveillance.
The proposal would cover hand-held to torpedo-size unmanned underwater vehicles, the latest in underwater warfare technology.
They include air or surface launches, underwater tracking signals from sensors via radio-linked buoys, unmanned kayaks, even “surf crawlers” — unmanned vehicles that can be launched at sea, tumble through the surf to the beach and crawl up onto the shore to relay environmental data and visual images back to a ship.
Remote operating vehicles or Navy divers are used to recover unmanned vehicles lost at sea.
As technology grows, so does the need for additional testing area, Jennings said.
Residents at a Quilcene public forum in October 2008 raised concerns about areas being cut off to public recreational and commercial access during testing, but Navy officials said that, while delays might occur during tests, public access would not be prohibited.
Unarmed torpedoes
Since 1914, the Keyport base has provided facilities and capabilities to support testing of torpedoes — which are unarmed and with no explosives — other unmanned vehicles, submarine readiness, diver training and similar activities critical to Navy undersea warfare.
The Quinault coastal proposal includes a 7.8 square nautical miles of surf zone area at Pacific Beach, a shoreline the Navy owns and maintains for recreational use.
It would include a surf zone stretch of about a mile of beach south of Kalaloch, inside the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
The average annual use of the surf zone area would be about 30 days.
The operation of the range in Dabob Bay would remain the same, with lights continue to be posted at key points on the shore line to inform boaters of Navy range activities.
Navy representatives said the draft study found that if California sea lions and harbor seals come in contact with testing vehicles, they could be temporarily affected.
There would be no impact to seabirds during testing, officials said.
The Navy is consulting with federal fish and wildlife officials to ensure that marine fish and wildlife impact is minimal, according to Navy representatives.
Preparation of the environmental impact study began in 2003 with four public scoping meetings in Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, and Grays Harbor counties.
How to comment
The final 1,134-page environmental impact statement on the proposal is posted at http://tinyurl.com/28e2pne.
Written comments will be taken by e-mail, with links on the website, or can by sent via the postal service to Kimberly Kler, Naval Facilities Command, 1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, 98315-1101, or faxed to her at 360-396-0857.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
