[CPEO-MEF] Summary of Navy "Encroachment" Testimony

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Vice-Admiral James F. Amerault, Deputy Chief of Navy Operations, Fleet
Readiness and Logistics, made the Navy case at the March 20, 2001 Senate
"Encroachment" hearing. He told the subcommittee:

"When our vital ranges are not available for training because they are
encumbered by encroachments, our state of readiness is at risk. This is
complicated by the fact that encroachment issues are complex, varied,
and involve multiple federal, state, and local agencies, the Congress,
non-governmental organizations and the public. In dealing with its
effects, we have borne a significant increase in administrative and
human costs (time away from home, flight hour costs, travel expense
etc.) to achieve an acceptable level of readiness. In some instances, we
have been unable to achieve the desired level. We worry that this trend
will continue."

Amerault added, "We believe that environmental regulation has limited,
and will increasingly limit our access to training ranges, and this loss
of training opportunities will reduce fleet combat readiness
proportionately. The Senior Readiness Oversight Council identified nine
areas where [Department of Defense] organizations should focus resources
to mitigate the effects of encroachment through sustainable action plans
and an active outreach program. The Navy and Marine Corps have adopted
this approach, and have completed most elements of a coherent and
comprehensive strategy that identifies core ranges and operations areas
and initiatives to sustain access to them.... We have a strong history
of successful environmental stewardship and will continue to be
environmentally responsible in all aspects of our mission performance."

Amerault linked urban growth - "the residential and commercial
development that increasingly surrounds our once-isolated installations
and ranges" - with habitat issues. He observed, "This 'encroachment' has
made many of our installations the habitat of choice for a number of
threatened and endangered species, and a times inhibits our ability to
train effectively."

He said the Navy is most concerned about restrictions at three islands
that contain important Naval live-fire ranges. The multi-issue
controversy over the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is well known;
Amerault focused on measures to protect the endangered hawksbill and
leatherback sea turtles. On the Pacific Coast, the Navy has been forced
to cut back training at San Clemente Island, near San Diego, to protect
the nation's most endangered bird species, the loggerhead shrike. And
its use of the Farallon de Medinilla Range, leased from the Commonwealth
of the Marianas in the western Pacific, is threatened by litigation
brought forth under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The Admiral explained that the Navy protects the public from unexploded
ordnance on active and inactive ranges "by performing surface sweeps...,
posting warnings, and fencing, if necessary." He added, "We are
committed to ensuring that active range operations do not present a
threat to human health or the environment off-range and see no
compelling reason to regulate munitions when used on range for their
intended purpose."

He described how even air quality regulations impact the Navy's use of
sea ranges. In southern California, environmental regulators have
proposed moving commercial shipping routes farther offshore to reduce
the impact of ship air emission. Amerault said, "This proposed offshore
route would have routed commercial traffic (about 5,000 commercial ships
per year or one every three hours) through the middle of the Sea
Range..., severely restricting use." The Navy responded by studying and
proposing alternative "reduction strategies, such as slowing commercial
vessels in the existing channel, that provided better solutions for
improving air quality."

Admiral Amerault defended the Navy's controversial  testing and training
operations using sonar and explosive sound device for the detection of
submarines: "Despite our conservative approach in assessing marine
mammal impacts, developing mitigation that satisfies regulators as well
as environmental activists has become increasingly challenging with
significant impacts on maritime sustainability.... Costs for routine
training are likely to increase dramatically due to mitigation
requirements, such as continuous aerial surveys, additional spotters,
and delay. None of these practices allow us to train as we fight.
Night-time training and training in high sea states will decrease
because of limited visual capability for spotting marine mammals. All of
these could result in significant degradation in readiness."

Amerault also listed a number of environmental constraints on Navy air
operations, including air emission rules, noise concerns, and airspace
allocation. For example, he noted local opposition to the Navy's
proposal to expand bombing at Ft. Hunter-Liggett, in California's
central coast region, "despite the fact that the range is in a sparsely
populated area of California." He cited local opposition to continued
use of the Pinecastle Bombing Range in Florida's Ocala National Forest
and "National Park Service concerns regarding aircraft overflights
enroute to the bombing ranges in Pamlico Sound" in eastern North
Carolina. Like the Air Force, the Navy is discussing its Special Use
Airspace Requirements with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Navy is the Defense Department's Executive Agent for "maritime
sustainability," and it is developing a four-pillar strategy: "sound
legal position; knowledge superiority; policy and procedures; and
education and engagement." He explained:

"We and the other Services must operate from a sound legal position - we
must comply with the law. We should be the experts in the subject area
in order to ensure that well-informed decisions are made as to the "how,
when, and where" during the planning of training and testing. [The
Department of Defense] needs policies and procedures that provide
consistency in environmental documentation and ensures that decisions
are based on the best available science. Lastly, [the Department of
Defense]  not only must engage the public and regulators to ensure that
they are provided with knowledge necessary to understand [the Department
of Defense's] different roles in National Security, but also its role in
promoting global stability and democratic ideals. In addition, [the
Department of Defense] must educate its officers and service personnel
on all issues associated with maritime operations at sea and the marine
environment to ensure environmental stewardship across the Department."

Amerault said, "We believe that some of [the nation's environmental]
laws and regulations are ambiguous and inflexible, and were drafted
without due consideration for national defense missions. Compliance,
therefore, becomes increasingly difficult as we struggle to define and
interpret the standards with which we must comply."

He continued, "We are not seeking an outright exemption from existing
laws. We are proud of our record of stewardship and intend to continue
to comply with the law. Rather, we will work with the Administration and
the Congress to address steps to reduce uncertainty and increase
flexibility in the law to balance the needs of the environment with
national security." He described how the Navy has worked in partnership
with natural resource agencies, and he concluded:

Admiral Amerault concluded, "Finally, we must train out of our deepest
obligation to the American people who provide their sons, daughters,
brothers, sisters, husbands, and wives to defend the nations. We must
also train in harmony with the environmentwhere possible. We must
determine an appropriate balance between environmental protection and
mission readiness. We look forward to working with the Administration,
the Congress and other federal agencies, to achieve our dual goals of
national defense and environmental protection."

(As we announced before, Amerault's testimony and those of his
counterparts from the other armed services can be downloaded from http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/hearings/2001/r010320.htm.)



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Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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