PORT TOWNSEND — The Navy does not routinely dispose of munitions on Indian Island, said Capt. Jonathan Kurtz during a taped interview for PTTV that will air on Cable TV Channel 48 later this month.
The Navy does dispose of munitions on the island in rare cases, said the commanding officer of Naval Magazine Indian Island during the taping of the interview by former Jefferson County Superior Court Judge William Howard on Friday.
The taping was the second in a planned series of three shows being produced at the city of Port Townsend-owned PTTV studio in the Gael Stuart Building, 1610 Blaine St.
Kurtz said he was taping the show because, “Basically, there’s a lot of misinformation circling in the community.”
Howard, who compiled questions from both Navy and civilian sources, asked about air pollution from disposal of munitions on the base.
Kurtz grinned.
“This is a good example of the misinformation I’m talking about,” he said.
“We do not dispose of munitions on Indian Island,” said Kurtz.
Expired munitions routinely are shipped to a different facility for disposal, he said.
In rare cases, when ordnance is too hazardous to ship to another facility, it is disposed of on the island, Kurtz said.
