Oregon Air National Guard Proposing to Expand F-15 Training
Follow this link to an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal submitted by the Oregon Air National Guard (ANG) to expand military airspace training areas over Oregon. According to the Executive Summary, radar improvements, avionic upgrades and other changes triggered the need for additional F-15 training airspace. The proposal noted that one of reasons ANG is seeking additional airspace is to accommodate low-altitude training.
A change of this magnitude will involve expanding and modifying airspace over more than 1/3 of Oregon's 36 counties. In addition, residents of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington state are already negatively impacted by the loud, disruptive F-15 training missions flying in and out of the Portland International Airport (PDX).
Due to Pacific coast storms and inclement weather patterns, the Oregon National Guard is recommending an increase in training inland over Clatsop, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, and Lincoln counties. A change of this nature would have a direct impact on residents of Astoria and other coastal communities. A map included on page ES-4 of the Executive Summary illustrates the areas where additional training would take place.
If the proposal is approved, 7 counties in Central Oregon - Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Grant, Wheeler, Jefferson, and Wasco - will be impacted by the establishment of a new military training site. In addition Harney County in Eastern, Oregon will also experience increased military operations. The widespread nature of this change is also expected to affect counties in neighboring states - Pacific County in Washington and Humbolt and Wasco counties in Nevada.
The Executive Summary and draft EIS are available at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/details?eisId=173203.
Damaging Impact of Noise from Navy Warplanes on Human Health
Below is an excerpt from a 7/27/15 Truthout report by Dahl Jamail entitled Sounds of War: Navy Warplanes Producing Deadly Noise Around U.S. Bases. The noise from these aircraft has prompted Washington residents to seek a legal injunction prohibiting these flights over their homes and neighborhoods.
An excerpt from the article reads as follows:
In communities nearby the Navy airfields, noise levels from the Navy's E18 'Growler' warplanes have been recorded that regularly reach 130 decibels, and shockingly, even average 81 decibels inside residential homes.
The human health impacts from these levels of chronic jet noise include hearing loss, immune toxicity, insomnia, stroke, heart attacks and even death.
'The first time I heard the Growlers, in August 2012, they started flying over my house, and I developed a cardiac arrhythmia on the spot and had to go to the ER,' retired lawyer Ken Pickard, who lives on Whidbey Island, told Truthout.
To access the article in full click on this link: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32045-sounds-of-war-navy-warplanes-producing-deadly-noise-around-us-bases.
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