PACIFIC BEACH — U.S. Navy officials will conduct a question-and-answer public forum on an electromagnetic-radiation warfare range proposal from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Beach Elementary School, 11 Fourth St.
The U.S. Forest Service is considering a special-use permit to allow access to 15 logging-road sites in Olympic National Forest on which three camper-sized Navy vehicles would be dispersed.
A fourth emitter would be at a fixed site at the Navy base at Pacific Beach.
The trucks, equipped with antennas mounted 14 feet off the ground, would emit electromagnetic radiation as part of simulated targeting exercises performed by Whidbey Naval Air Station pilots trying to locate the emitters’ electronic signatures.
The forum Wednesday, in Pacific Beach in Grays Harbor County, will be moderated by Grays Harbor County Commissioner Wes Cormier.
“I’ve had a lot of people contact me expressing concern, so I took it upon myself to contact the Navy and the Forest Service,” Cormier said last week.
He said most concerns have been centered on the electromagnetic-radiation aspect of the project.
“The public meeting will really give us that information we need to digest to see if this is something we should worry about,” Cormier said.
Forest Service spokeswoman Donna Nemeth said Monday the forum also may be attended by officials from the Forest Service, which is considering a special-use road permit for the project.
Dean Millett, the Pacific District Ranger who said he will decide on the permit by mid-2015 or later in 2015, said last week the agency has received about 2,200 comments about the project, more than 90 percent of which are opposed.
Overwhelming opposition to the project has been expressed at public meetings Oct. 14 in Forks and Nov. 7 in Port Angeles, which was attended by a large
contingent of Jefferson
County residents.
The deadline on comments to the Forest Service on the special-use permit has been extended to Nov. 28.
Public comments can be emailed to Forest Service environmental coordinator Greg Wahl at gtwahl@fs.fed.us or sent to Wahl at 1835 Black Lake Blvd. S.W., Olympia, WA 98512.
The Navy’s environmental assessment found no significant impact from the $11.5 million warfare training project.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
