THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608170298
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Metro Briefs
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 28 lines
The Navy will hold a public hearing Tuesday on its proposal to shock-test the submarine Seawolf off the Virginia coast.
The hearing, part of the Navy's environmental impact statement, will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. at Lafayette-Winona Middle School, 1701 Alsace Ave.
The test, if staged in the area, would take place nearly 30 miles offshore and involve a series of five underwater, 10,000-pound explosions in 500 feet of water.
A Navy study has acknowledged that the detonations would kill or injure fish, sea turtles, marine mammals and possibly birds near the test zone.
The Seawolf, the first in its class of three fast-attack submarines, is scheduled to be commissioned later this summer. Work on additional subs of the class cannot proceed beyond initial production until realistic survivability testing of the Seawolf is completed, the Navy said.
Waters off Mayport, Fla., have been the Navy's first choice for the test, because the potential danger to marine life is eight times smaller than off Virginia's shores, according to a Navy environmental assessment. The service has eliminated testing at three other sites, off Groton, Conn.; Key West, Fla.; and Charleston, S.C.
KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY SEAWOLF SUBMARINE by CNB