DATE: Friday, October 24, 1997              TAG: 9710240779

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH,STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   62 lines

OCEANA GROWTH TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT HERE COASTAL BOMBING RANGE CAN EXPECT SLIGHTLY MORE ACTIVITY, THE NAVY SAYS.

If some 180 F/A-18 aircraft are moved from Florida to Oceana Naval Air Station, it will mean only a slight increase in activity at the Dare County Bombing Range, and no impact on the surrounding environment, the Navy said Thursday night.

An informational session, followed by a public hearing, was held at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island concerning a draft environmental impact statement on the proposed shift. Only one Dare resident attended.

The Navy wants to consolidate its F/A-18 operations, moving them from Cecil Field, near Jacksonville, Fla. Five scenarios are under consideration. Under the Navy's preferred alternative, all would be moved to the Virginia installation.

Such a shift would mean an additional 1,500 to 2,000 operations or ``sorties'' annually at the Dare County Bombing Range, a 46,000-acre facility surrounded by the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge used primarily by the Navy and Air Force.

The Navy classifies an operation as a takeoff, a landing or a pattern - meaning that even the shortest, simplest flight can constitute several operations.

``The thing to remember is that the 2,000 operations are spread over an entire year,'' said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike McDonald. ``That's not a big number compared to the number of operations being done at the Dare County Bombing Range now.''

According to the report, some 7,297 sorties will be flown at the range this year. If the F/A-18 Hornets are moved, the number of operations would increase at the range to between 8,617 and 9,233, depending on the final scenario selected by the Pentagon. But, the report said, with the decommissioning of the A-6 aircraft, that would mean a maximum of six additional flights per day.

Despite its proximity to the Alligator River Refuge, the Navy report said there will be no impact on endangered or other species of wildlife in the area, and no change in noise levels from the range.Wildlife living in the surrounding area have largely adapted to the noise, the report said.

Dan Cecchini, an environmental protection specialist for the Navy, said noise levels are calculated on a day-night average. The additional flights will have no significant impact. The aircraft will not use ``live'' ammunition.

``As for its effect on waterfowl, there was a comprehensive study done by North Carolina State University, and it was inconclusive,'' Cecchini said. ``But the bombs we use are inert, so there won't be anything different to what's now being done at the range.''

The move of the F/A-18 was necessary after the Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended in 1993 that Cecil Field be closed. While the Navy wants to move 11 fleet squadrons (132 aircraft) and a fleet replacement squadron (48 aircraft) to Virginia, other options include splitting the F/A-18s between Oceana and installations at Cherry Point, N.C., and Beaufort, S.C.

A final decision will not be made until the spring of 1998.

More public hearings on the proposed move are scheduled Monday at the Virginia Beach Pavilion and Tuesday at Butts Road Intermediate School in Chesapeake. Navy personnel will be available from 3:30 to 7 p.m., and a public hearing will be held from 7:30 to 10 p.m. both nights. KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY F/A-18 HORNET AIRPLANE

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