THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408170429
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, N.C. LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
A planned expansion at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in Havelock over the next three years could increase the presence of the military in the skies over Beaufort County as well as other areas.
But most of those at a meeting on Tuesday of Marine Corps and U.S. Navy officials and the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners wanted the military to stay out of the area.
``We have a problem with noise from aircraft they are flying into the area now,'' said Julia Ottesen, who lives near Belhaven in eastern Beaufort County. ``I hate to think of what's going to happen when you release a myriad of aircraft in the area.''
``People come from all over the country because of the beauty of the area,'' she said. ``That's why we moved here and now it's going to be gone.''
Two sites in Beaufort County are among three most promising sites for an off-base landing field to be used for day and night training flights in conjunction with its operations in Havelock and Jacksonville, according to Marine officials.
Military aircraft will use the field to simulate landings on aircraft carriers.
A site in Gum Swamp in southeastern Beaufort County near Pamlico County, a site in northern Beaufort County in the Dismal Swamp east of N.C. Rt. 32 and an area in Carteret County near Beaufort are among the sites being considered for the landing field.
The three are among a group of nine sites - including an area in the Croatan National Forest, three existing off-base landing fields in eastern North Carolina and two additional private parcels of land - that the Marines have evaluated for the landing field.
The three are most promising because they are agricultural lands and are not subject to as stringent environmental regulations as land at the other sites, Marine spokesmen said.
The Navy and Marine Corps did not originally intend to place the off-base landing field in Beaufort County but when other sites closer to the base proved unsuitable, the military expanded its search, according to Lt. Col. Mark Robbins, a Cherry Point representative at the meeting.
Civilian flights are already restricted in much of the airspace over eastern Beaufort County and the landing field could lead to additional restrictions on airspace within five miles of the field, Robbins said.
The Marine search for the additional off-base landing fields was prompted by the October 1993 congressional action closing and realigning the nation's military bases.
The Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station is scheduled to receive about 170 additional F-18 fighter jets and along with as many as 13,000 military personnel and their dependents by 1997 primarily from Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla.
To cope with the increase in air traffic, the Marines plan to build an off-base landing field, known in military jargon as a Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field, or MCCOLF, in eastern North Carolina to handle training flights.
The Navy is in the process of preparing an environmental impact statement on the effects of the expansion at Cherry Point on the environment, including a review of the effects of an off-base landing field, Robbins said.
The report should be completed in September, with public hearings scheduled in October or November. The Navy should reach a decision on where to locate the field in early 1995.
``On Sept. 30, 1999 the gates close at Cecil Field and we have from today until 1997 to get ready,'' said Robbins. ``We cannot dig one spade of dirt out of the ground until this report is done. It's very, very tight because we have to be ready for the Navy to arrive at Cherry Point on time.''
A spokesman for the Marines said he did not know the number of flights that would be involved in the training operation at the field.
This is not the first time the military has considered expanding its operations into Beaufort County.
In the mid-1980s the Marines considered extending military control to about 90 percent of the airspace in the county in conjunction with a proposed Mid-Atlantic Electronic Warfare Range in eastern North Carolina.
That proposal prompted an outcry from some residents and business owners who said that action would hurt the local economy by restricting flights into Warren Field, the local airport, and would make life miserable for residents because of the increase in noisy and dangerous military overflights into the area.
And some of those at the meeting had similar concerns about the airfield. ``It kind of looks like they're trying to make Beaufort County the outhouse of Cherry Point,'' said Chris McLendon, chairman of the Warren Field Airport Commission. ``It would certainly be restrictive to commercial and general aviation traffic.''
The latest proposed expansion is a $20 million to $40 million operation that would include an 8,000-foot runway, a taxi area, parking for five or six airplanes and a maintenance shop that would employ 30 to 40 workers. ILLUSTRATION: COMMENTS
The Marine Corps will accept comments on environmental concerns
that the public wants included in the impact study on the proposed
off-base airfield until Aug. 29.
To comment on the proposed expansion areas or for answers to
questions about the project contact Commander, Atlantic Division,
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 1510 Gilbert St., Norfolk, Va.
23511-2699 (Attention: Jim Haluska, Code 2032JH) or telephone
1-804-445-2307.
KEYWORDS: U.S. CHERRY POINT MARINE CORPS AIR STATION
by CNB