(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The U.S. Navy will be holding a public meeting Tuesday, March 11, at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center Lobby in Ketchikan for the public review and comment period for the Northwest Training and Testing Draft Environmental Impact Statement (NWTT EIS).  Testing activities conducted at the Navy's Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility on Back Island north of Ketchikan are included in this study.

The open house portion of the meeting is from 5 to 8 p.m.  At 6:30 p.m., the Navy will make a short presentation summarizing the analysis presented in the Draft EIS. The Navy will accept oral comments during a formal oral comment session following the presentation.

Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility (SEAFAC) near Ketchikan, Alaska
File Photo By Carl Thompson©2006

The Navy is proposing to conduct training and testing activities, to include the use of active sonar and explosives, within the NWTT Study Area. The Proposed Action also includes pierside sonar maintenance and testing within the NWTT Study Area, one of the study areas is Back Island, north of Ketchikan.

Marine mammals rely on underwater sound to survive. Similarly, the U.S. Navy depends on sonar for defending our ships at sea. To continue its mission and protect marine mammals, the Navy has studied the potential effects of its sonar activities and developed protective measures to minimize potential impacts to marine mammals.

The project's website at www.NWTTEIS.com contains information on how the Navy is employing protective measures to reduce environmental effects from military training and testing activities.

The purpose of the Navy's Proposed Action is to ensure that the Navy accomplishes its mission to maintain, train and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas. This mission is achieved in part by training and testing within the NWTT Study Area. The NWTT EIS/OEIS also supports the renewal of federal regulatory permits and authorizations for current training and testing activities and future activities requiring environmental analysis.

The Navy has prepared the Draft EIS/OEIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of military readiness training and testing activities conducted primarily within existing range complexes, operating areas and testing ranges in the NWTT Study Area. The Navy invites the public to comment on the NWTT Draft EIS/OEIS.

Eight public meetings have been scheduled in the Pacific Northwest, including the one scheduled in Ketchikan for tomorrow, March 11, 2014. Again, the public is invited to attend and comment.

The Navy is accepting comments throughout the 60-day public comment period, since Jan. 24, 2014, to March 25, 2014. All comments must be postmarked or received online by March 25, 2014, for consideration in the Final EIS/OEIS.

Written comments may be submitted via the project website at www.NWTTEIS.com, in person at the public meetings or by mail to:

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest
Attention: Ms. Kimberly Kler – NWTT EIS/OEIS Project Manager
1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203
Silverdale, WA 98315-1101

On the Web:

The Draft EIS/OEIS and more information
http://www.NWTTEIS.com

Direct Link to Submit Online Comments
http://nwtteis.com/GetInvolved/OnlineCommentForm.aspx

Direct Link to Draft EIS/OEIS Documents
http://nwtteis.com/DocumentsandReferences/NWTTDocuments/
DraftEISOEIS.aspx

Source of News: 

United States (U.S.) Department of the Navy (Navy) official website for the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS)
http://nwtteis.com/

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