In this Academy Award Shortlist film, Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger reveals…
Plane Truths
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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The recent expansion of Navy training activities in the Northwest has many local residents concerned. Will more of our communities become collateral damage?
Community members on Whidbey Island, the San Juans, and the Olympic Peninsula are disturbed by an increase in noise caused by new EA-18G 'Growler' jets based at Naval Air Station Whidbey (NAS) — and a significant proposed expansion of daily Growler test flights. On Whidbey, communities have been additionally impacted by water system pollution caused by chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) used for firefighting on NAS landing strips.
PLANE TRUTHS explores a variety of perspectives on these issues from farmers, current and retired military personnel, environmentalists and other citizens of the affected areas. Viewers will learn how the noise of the Growler jets has affected daily life and business operations in many communities, the regional environmental impacts of expanded Growler flights and newly approved Navy training in Olympic National Forest, potential economic ramifications of increased Navy activity and associated population growth, and the status of — and Navy response to — water system pollution on Whidbey Island.
'Plane Truths bores deeply into the 'war zone' created by a Navy training site amidst rural farms, marine reserves and Olympia National Park in the state of Washington. The film, which explores all sides of this human and ecological tragedy - justified in the name of national defense - is ideal for classroom instruction, debate and strategic community planning.' Patricia Hynes, Professor Emerita of Environmental Health, Boston University, Director, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice
'America's dirty secret is being exposed only through stories like Whidbey Island. Our addiction to the Pentagon is destroying communities. Plane Truths helps to uncover American-style-militarism and its devastating impact on ordinary citizens.' Will Griffin, Veterans For Peace, The Peace Report
'Plane Truths is brilliant...simmering...Coupeville is like literally hundreds of other places around the US and the world where military operations have polluted the community's water, assaulted its ears with deafening aircraft noises, and inserted war games into parks and onto beaches. Pentagon planners who launched the assault on Coupeville now face their anger and organized resistance.' Catherine Lutz, Professor of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University, Author, Homefront: A Military City and the American Twentieth Century
'Plane Truths is a powerful and beautifully made film that I wish could be publicly screened at the volume of a Navy jet without the health damage such volume causes. World Beyond War will look forward to planning events around this film.' David Swanson, Director, World Beyond War, Author, War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War
'Concern over growing contamination by firefighting foams has galvanized many communities to seek testing, cleanup, alternative water sources, regulations, and phase-outs of these hazardous chemicals. Washington State residents also deal with the noise pollution and potential crash zones from Navy training exercises, making for an interesting and complex challenge. Plane Truths does a great job of showing the potential of a community alliance working through these challenges through the voices of every kind of affected person as they seek justice and safety.' Phil Brown, Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences, Director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University
'An important film revealing the human and environmental damage caused by daily training by the U.S. Navy in the otherwise gorgeous setting of Washington state's Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. Jet noise loud enough to cause hearing loss, drinking water contamination, and underwater noise pollution dangerous to whales and other sea life are among the harms suffered by locals. So far, the Navy seems to have callously ignored protests demanding it protect local safety and security -- although this film is a helpful demand for change.' David Vine, Associate Professor of Anthropology, American University, Author, Base Nation: How U. S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World
Citation
Main credits
Young, Melissa (film producer)
Young, Melissa (interviewer)
Other credits
Photographer/editor, Mark Dworkin.
Distributor subjects
Anthropology; Community; Environment; Geography; Global Issues; Health; Law; Mental Health; Military; Pollution; Sociology; Toxic Chemicals; War and PeaceKeywords
WEBVTT
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[ocean waves splashing]
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[birds chirping]
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[jet engine roaring]
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- The hardest thing for a pilot to do is to land
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and takeoff from an aircraft carrier- especially landing.
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In the Navy we called it a \"controlled crash,\"
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and that\'s basically what it is.
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They have to decelerate at an incredibly rapid rate,
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get in the right path
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and you\'re putting it on a postage stamp
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in the middle of the ocean.
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It takes a very rare breed of individuals to do that
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and they have to train to do it safely.
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[jet engine roaring]
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- Most of the people that live here
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felt like we tried to live with the amount of noise we had.
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Unless you were right under the flight pattern,
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it was a livable situation.
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[jet engine roaring]
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But then we were talking about
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five times as much flying.
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- Our little airstrip was not built for these jets.
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That wasn\'t the plan back in the \'40s.
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And so the area around that airstrip has been
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developed all these years accordingly.
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And I really don\'t know how you go backwards.
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[jet engine roaring]
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- My deceased husband was a Navy pilot.
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I actually love watching the Blue Angels,
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but I had never experienced touch-and-go noise.
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It is the most horrendous noise you have experienced,
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and it goes on some days and nights
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for six to eight hours.
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- You can\'t avoid the fact that we\'re an airport
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and that we\'re gonna have airfield noise.
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All airfields, civilian and military,
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are very conscious of that
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and we work closely with local officials
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to make sure that we lessen that impact
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of the noise itself.
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[birds chirping and waves splashing]
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[jet engine roaring]
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- We get calls at our organization,
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people who are concerned
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who want us to do something
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to decrease that noise that they\'re hearing.
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The noise the kids have to deal with
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when they\'re out playing their baseball game in the spring.
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[jet engine roaring]
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- I usually feel my body start to vibrate
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before my ears hear the noise.
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It can vary from a few hours a day to eight hours
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or 10 hours a day.
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I sometimes think,
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okay I\'m just living on Navy time now.
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They\'re setting my schedule.
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[water flowing and birds chirping]
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- I\'ve been out camping on the Hoh River
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and it was drowned out by jets.
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It echoes off the mountains
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\'cause the Navy flies right in at 2000 feet.
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And when you\'ve got a Growler on afterburners at 2000 feet,
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that can break windows.
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[traffic noise]
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- Central Whidbey is a lot different than it was
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when the Navy came here during the war
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and there\'s a lot more people living here,
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and their airplanes are a lot noisier than they were.
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- The previous airplanes may have been 85, 90 decibels.
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The other day the planes were flying overhead where we live
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and they were at 132 decibels.
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We cannot be exposed to that more than
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approximately five seconds before it can cause hearing loss.
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And much of the hearing loss is permanent.
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- As the worlds evolves,
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as the threat capabilities evolve,
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we also need to evolve our platforms
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and our capabilities
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and measure the quantity of aircraft
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that we need based on the threat.
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[traffic noise]
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- This is Sherman Farm here,
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this is Hancock\'s over here-
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some of the original farmers from Donation Land Claim era.
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Our place is the white house with the
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big red barn behind it over here.
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The entire reserve is a network of trails
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that have incredible vistas.
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Trail networks go through the working farms
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and through the town of Coupeville.
00:05:05.410 --> 00:05:09.070
- The oldest part of the family was my mom\'s side
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and they bought this farm out here in 1885.
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\'Fact my grandson\'s sixth generation on the farm.
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We got federal money
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and we bought development rights off of the farm land.
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You can look out across this farm land,
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there will never be any houses on it.
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Amazing.
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- A lot of people made a lot of sacrifices
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40 years ago by selling their development rights,
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in effect placing restrictions on what they can
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and can\'t use their land for
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and a very conscious decision to protect agriculture
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and protect this rural landscape
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and this rural lifestyle.
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And a lot of people move here because of that.
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[jet engine roaring]
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- To ask our community,
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which has been designated by Congress
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as a National Historical Reserve,
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to become more of a military reserve
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than a historical reserve
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is a bridge too far.
00:06:12.580 --> 00:06:14.297
- ...A recent report warning of a, quote,
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\"epidemic of toxic contamination at U.S. military bases.\"
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Now hundreds of military bases across the country
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using a firefighting foam linked to serious health problems
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such as liver damage and cancer.
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- I\'ve been receiving complaints
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and pleas for help from our returning soldiers
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for years, from at least a dozen bases.
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- The water contamination seems to be
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coming from firefighting foam,
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where the foam has been used in training
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or to actually put out a fire.
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Then it has seeped into the ground
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and then into the groundwater.
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- We stopped training
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with those well over a decade ago.
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When we were training with it
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we had no knowledge that there were
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any potential health effects.
00:06:58.030 --> 00:07:01.400
But if we did have to use it for an actual emergency-
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us or any other firefighting agency,
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civilian or military-
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we understand that there would be
00:07:07.460 --> 00:07:09.423
a cleanup requirement afterwards.
00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:13.260
- I worked on those very chemicals in four
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or five different states on the East Coast.
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Once they get in the groundwater they go down,
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they don\'t break down,
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they last forever,
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they get in our bodies
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and stay in our bodies.
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We didn\'t ask for these chemicals to be there,
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we didn\'t put \'em there
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and we don\'t want to be drinking \'em.
00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:36.750
- We\'ve had teachers talk about the impacts on children-
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flying for multiple nights in a row
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and then the children\'s behavior
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and performance at school the next day.
00:07:42.660 --> 00:07:46.210
- My grandparents came here in 1918
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and bought the general store in Coupeville,
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Prairie Center Mercantile.
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So I\'ve been in Coupeville
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pretty much all my life.
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- When the transition to the Growlers
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was to occur the Navy told us-
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and we believed them- that there were gonna be
00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.440
fewer flights with quieter planes.
00:08:05.440 --> 00:08:07.210
It turns out the Growlers are
00:08:07.210 --> 00:08:09.913
significantly louder than the Prowlers.
00:08:09.913 --> 00:08:13.210
[jet engine roaring]
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- They\'re bringing in almost half again
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the number of aircraft they have here already
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and, as everybody knows,
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the noisiest aircraft in the inventory.
00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:26.319
And people that are pro-Navy and very supportive
00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.603
of the Department of Defense readiness concerns,
00:08:29.603 --> 00:08:32.308
they are now getting very concerned
00:08:32.308 --> 00:08:37.308
and becoming part of the voice in opposition.
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- I\'ve lived my whole life
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with a great deal of respect for the Armed Services
00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:44.059
and the veterans
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and the young people who are serving,
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and in particular the Navy.
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I\'ve always had a special fondness for the Navy.
00:08:51.180 --> 00:08:53.032
But they\'re cheating.
00:08:53.032 --> 00:08:55.380
- Like right now we\'re sitting on my back porch
00:08:55.380 --> 00:08:56.213
and they\'re not flying,
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so it\'s very quiet.
00:08:58.280 --> 00:08:59.117
- Yes, it\'s beautiful.
00:08:59.117 --> 00:09:02.340
- But when they are flying it\'s extremely noisy.
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But they average that flying time out
00:09:05.030 --> 00:09:07.070
with the non-flying time
00:09:07.070 --> 00:09:08.920
and over a year\'s time they say,
00:09:08.920 --> 00:09:12.350
\"Well that\'s not hazardous, it\'s only 65 decibels.\"
00:09:12.350 --> 00:09:14.810
But when they\'re flying it\'s over 100 decibels.
00:09:14.810 --> 00:09:17.490
[jet engine roaring]
00:09:17.490 --> 00:09:20.550
- It is realy disruptive to our
00:09:20.550 --> 00:09:22.513
work activity and our crew.
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I can watch everyone, including myself,
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just freeze in the fields.
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You can feel your whole stomach start to knot up
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and it\'s like, oh no, here they come.
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And often it\'s a day like this.
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We\'re listening to the birds
00:09:35.010 --> 00:09:39.430
and we\'re enjoying the magnificence of Whidbey Island,
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and then there\'s this invasion
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or intrusion that we\'re unable to control.
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- We\'ve been here 17 years
00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:50.698
and for the most of that it\'s been
00:09:50.698 --> 00:09:53.807
a pretty peaceful coexistence with the Navy.
00:09:53.807 --> 00:09:56.330
And I feel like when we moved here
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we knew that that was the situation,
00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:58.830
we would coexist with the Navy.
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And I feel like the Navy\'s really pushing
00:10:01.247 --> 00:10:04.446
to break that contract with the community.
00:10:04.446 --> 00:10:07.529
[jet engine roaring]
00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:12.140
- Noise affects not only our hearing
00:10:12.140 --> 00:10:14.800
but it also affects other aspects of our health.
00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:16.961
So this is a real public health issue.
00:10:17.760 --> 00:10:19.670
Higher incidences of divorces,
00:10:19.670 --> 00:10:22.503
higher incidences of mental health issues.
00:10:24.430 --> 00:10:27.640
- Environmental noise, particularly around airports,
00:10:27.640 --> 00:10:30.352
can be related to cardiovascular disease.
00:10:30.352 --> 00:10:33.960
There could be problems for people\'s sleep
00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.420
and particularly if people are very annoyed by the noise
00:10:37.420 --> 00:10:39.055
and it\'s causing stress.
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[motorcycle engine revving]
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- These are in-ear plug inserts.
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They\'re the foam ones that go deep inside your ears.
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Often we\'ll put these inside
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and then slip additional set of headphones on over them.
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Of course now that renders us completely
00:10:58.040 --> 00:10:59.340
unable to speak with one another when
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we\'re in the fields, so we\'ve gotten fairly
00:11:01.230 --> 00:11:02.703
good at sign language.
00:11:03.630 --> 00:11:05.050
I was certainly concerned about us
00:11:05.050 --> 00:11:07.110
working in those conditions
00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:10.970
and filed with the National OSHA.
00:11:10.970 --> 00:11:13.120
Their suggestions and conclusions were that
00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.930
we should find indoor activities
00:11:15.930 --> 00:11:18.663
for our farmers during flight times.
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- Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Airway Heights
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and communities actually around the country
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are being directly affected by
00:11:28.470 --> 00:11:30.360
groundwater contamination today
00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.159
and I\'m worried about not getting enough resources
00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.482
to address this problem.
00:11:35.482 --> 00:11:40.482
- We\'re trying to address any past usage
00:11:40.850 --> 00:11:44.490
of the firefighting foam that had
00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:47.030
PFOS and PFOA in it.
00:11:47.030 --> 00:11:48.310
[water flowing]
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- The EPA has set a lifetime health advisory
00:11:50.870 --> 00:11:52.630
for those two chemicals.
00:11:52.630 --> 00:11:54.440
It\'s not something that you would be exposed to
00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:56.250
and then feel sick immediately,
00:11:56.250 --> 00:11:57.880
but what we want is to make sure
00:11:57.880 --> 00:11:59.940
that the levels don\'t build up in your body
00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:03.492
over time to an extent that it becomes toxic.
00:12:03.492 --> 00:12:06.400
The Navy has been providing bottled water
00:12:06.400 --> 00:12:08.599
to people whose wells are above
00:12:08.599 --> 00:12:10.003
the health advisory level.
00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:12.130
- Some of those families
00:12:12.130 --> 00:12:13.360
have been on bottled water
00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:16.379
since November of 2016.
00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:18.260
That\'s what they use to cook with,
00:12:18.260 --> 00:12:20.446
that\'s what they brush their teeth with
00:12:20.446 --> 00:12:23.810
and that\'s what they drink.
00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:29.470
- There\'s about 40 local families that chose to have
00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:31.260
their water independently tested
00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.520
for six of the known chemicals
00:12:34.520 --> 00:12:36.283
down to two parts per trillion.
00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.730
For ourselves, but also for our customers,
00:12:39.730 --> 00:12:42.150
we need to be able to look them in the eye
00:12:42.150 --> 00:12:45.140
and say unequivocally that we have tested
00:12:45.140 --> 00:12:46.830
and we know that the water we are
00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:48.580
producing your food with is clean.
00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:54.421
- Our main well showed some results for PFOA,
00:12:54.421 --> 00:12:58.250
and then when that water is blended with other wells
00:12:58.250 --> 00:12:59.995
what goes out to our customers
00:12:59.995 --> 00:13:02.640
still has a reading for PFOA
00:13:02.640 --> 00:13:04.490
but it\'s even lower.
00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:06.830
The town ran a test in November,
00:13:06.830 --> 00:13:09.390
the Navy ran their test in December
00:13:09.390 --> 00:13:11.200
and we have since done two more testings.
00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:14.300
We\'re kind of trying to do this on a quarterly basis.
00:13:14.300 --> 00:13:17.693
All four sets of results have been very consistent.
00:13:19.270 --> 00:13:22.450
- The safe levels that EPA talks about
00:13:22.450 --> 00:13:24.144
are levels that are deemed to be
00:13:24.144 --> 00:13:28.190
dangerous by scientists and researchers.
00:13:28.190 --> 00:13:29.180
Coupeville for instance,
00:13:29.180 --> 00:13:30.650
the water that people are drinking there,
00:13:30.650 --> 00:13:32.480
if it was in Vermont
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:36.460
or New Jersey it would be deemed to be not healthy
00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.373
and not even healthy for livestock.
00:13:39.373 --> 00:13:41.990
- Well, we now go to the grocery store
00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:43.493
and buy our drinking water.
00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:48.190
The city of Coupeville is blending
00:13:48.190 --> 00:13:50.840
the water from the contaminated wells
00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:53.672
with the three uncontaminated wells.
00:13:53.672 --> 00:13:54.917
- And I just forget all ...
00:13:54.917 --> 00:13:57.850
To think that everyday doing something
00:13:57.850 --> 00:14:00.180
so innocuous as drinking a glass of water
00:14:00.180 --> 00:14:02.080
that doesn\'t taste poisonous
00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.600
or look poisonous, but we know
00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:07.773
that this is harmful to our bodies.
00:14:09.830 --> 00:14:12.610
- One of the wells that\'s on the Navy property
00:14:12.610 --> 00:14:14.940
tested originally back in November
00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:18.171
for about 17 parts per trillion.
00:14:18.171 --> 00:14:21.270
Recently, like about a month ago,
00:14:21.270 --> 00:14:24.970
it tested for over 1100 part per trillion.
00:14:24.970 --> 00:14:27.160
And this is a really solid example
00:14:27.160 --> 00:14:29.900
about why we need ongoing testing
00:14:29.900 --> 00:14:32.350
and we need the Navy to clean our aquifer
00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:36.342
before they add 35,000 flights.
00:14:36.342 --> 00:14:38.700
[jet engine roaring]
00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:39.533
- They\'re in the environment,
00:14:39.533 --> 00:14:40.366
they stay in the environment
00:14:40.366 --> 00:14:41.430
and they move around,
00:14:41.430 --> 00:14:44.563
and they move around quite a bit in a water table as well.
00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.440
The Navy is going to have to work
00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:50.960
with the EPA to clean it up.
00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.740
They\'re not going to be able to wait
00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:54.390
for these chemicals to break down.
00:14:57.923 --> 00:15:00.756
[water splashing]
00:15:03.203 --> 00:15:06.286
[jet engine roaring]
00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:09.510
- They\'re gonna be flying over
00:15:09.510 --> 00:15:12.333
the Olympic Peninsula 260 days a year-
00:15:13.630 --> 00:15:15.590
over the quietest place maybe
00:15:15.590 --> 00:15:17.880
in the whole United States.
00:15:17.880 --> 00:15:20.950
- That kind of jet noise is going to impact birds
00:15:20.950 --> 00:15:23.870
and animals in the Olympic National Park
00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:25.413
and Olympic National Forest.
00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.708
If you have bears and other large mammals,
00:15:28.708 --> 00:15:32.680
they\'re obviously going to be disturbed by that noise.
00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:34.590
Feeding habits are going to be changed,
00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:37.260
sometimes reproductive habits are going to be changed.
00:15:37.260 --> 00:15:39.200
Certainly, where they live
00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.750
and where they try to sleep is going to be changed.
00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.220
- Guests who stay out at places like Kalaloch
00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:49.232
and other places on the West End
00:15:49.232 --> 00:15:51.593
have been leaving early.
00:15:52.640 --> 00:15:54.020
Paid up rooms and everything,
00:15:54.020 --> 00:15:55.570
but they can\'t stand the noise.
00:15:57.245 --> 00:15:59.995
[dramatic music]
00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:05.550
- There are over a dozen of these
00:16:05.550 --> 00:16:07.210
mobile emitter trucks that they\'re
00:16:07.210 --> 00:16:08.350
going to be driving around on the
00:16:08.350 --> 00:16:10.250
western Olympic Peninsula,
00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:13.490
largely in Olympic National Forest lands,
00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:15.820
that are emitting large amounts
00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:17.450
of electromagnetic radiation
00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:19.160
and then the Growler aircraft
00:16:19.160 --> 00:16:21.903
are flying above trying to find them.
00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:26.300
Even low levels of electromagnetic radiation
00:16:26.300 --> 00:16:28.553
are harmful to a biological organism.
00:16:30.970 --> 00:16:33.850
[explosions]
00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:37.545
- They will occasionally use live munitions,
00:16:37.545 --> 00:16:40.920
including bombs and torpedoes
00:16:40.920 --> 00:16:43.740
and very loud active sonars.
00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:45.180
So they\'re not just listening,
00:16:45.180 --> 00:16:49.906
they\'re making very loud high screechy sonar pings.
00:16:51.780 --> 00:16:53.450
- Sonar can rupture tissues
00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:56.500
and many times when whales beach themselves
00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:58.640
and they do necropsies on shore,
00:16:58.640 --> 00:17:01.606
they find that the tissues inside the head
00:17:01.606 --> 00:17:03.453
have been ruptured.
00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:09.563
Their sonar creates 235 decibels of sound.
00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.390
The French government has labeled 140 decibels
00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:16.163
enough sound to kill somebody.
00:17:18.080 --> 00:17:20.320
- Their hearing is their primary sense.
00:17:20.320 --> 00:17:22.850
It is how they navigate,
00:17:22.850 --> 00:17:26.200
by using echolocation, to communicate-
00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:29.220
not just for social bonding purposes
00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:32.163
but also to coordinate feeding strategies.
00:17:33.850 --> 00:17:38.053
- The Navy does constant training and exercises offshore.
00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:40.270
They have to do this,
00:17:40.270 --> 00:17:41.830
but do they have to do it in the middle of
00:17:41.830 --> 00:17:45.497
the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary?
00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:51.510
- Washington State Park signed a
00:17:51.510 --> 00:17:54.100
right-of-access agreement with
00:17:54.100 --> 00:17:58.230
the Navy for five state parks.
00:17:58.230 --> 00:18:00.993
They are going to bivouac in the bushes.
00:18:02.170 --> 00:18:04.000
They are going to be carrying weapons
00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.323
that look to anyone else like a real weapon.
00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:11.040
- You can land on these beaches
00:18:11.040 --> 00:18:14.490
at night using submarines and send troops ashore
00:18:14.490 --> 00:18:18.460
and the idea is to remain on land for up to-
00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:21.657
I think it\'s 72 hours- without being detected.
00:18:21.657 --> 00:18:25.130
That means that families going on picnics,
00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:26.680
birding, things like that,
00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:29.040
you could have some guy in full combat gear
00:18:29.040 --> 00:18:30.193
hiding in the bushes.
00:18:32.020 --> 00:18:34.150
- One of the objects of what they\'re doing
00:18:34.150 --> 00:18:37.523
is to insert themselves without people knowing.
00:18:38.436 --> 00:18:41.900
And so the people who are being surveilled, basically,
00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:42.920
would not know
00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:44.200
and would not have a chance to say
00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:47.033
\"No, I don\'t want to participate in this.\"
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.440
There are people who are homeless
00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:52.813
who are living in our state parks,
00:18:52.813 --> 00:18:56.930
and a number of people who are homeless are vets
00:18:56.930 --> 00:18:59.360
who have PTSD and other issues
00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:02.241
and may be carrying weapons.
00:19:02.241 --> 00:19:03.560
What could go wrong?
00:19:03.560 --> 00:19:05.343
What could possibly go wrong here?
00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:12.700
- A Navy F-18 Jet has crashed
00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:14.000
into an apartment complex.
00:19:15.550 --> 00:19:19.240
- When you have naval jets flying
00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:21.810
around a heavily populated area,
00:19:21.810 --> 00:19:23.800
and you have naval jets
00:19:23.800 --> 00:19:26.640
that actually have a very poor safety record
00:19:27.620 --> 00:19:31.000
there is some chance that one of those jets,
00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:34.060
one of these days, is going to plow into
00:19:34.060 --> 00:19:36.570
a high school or a hospital
00:19:36.570 --> 00:19:38.118
or a fuel depot.
00:19:38.118 --> 00:19:41.106
[jet engine roaring]
00:19:41.106 --> 00:19:44.540
- The Outlying Field was built in the 1940s.
00:19:44.540 --> 00:19:47.960
It was not built for the kind of aircraft
00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:48.930
that we have today.
00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:51.580
There are a number of Navy reports-
00:19:51.580 --> 00:19:54.083
from the \'60s, from the \'80s, from the \'90s-
00:19:54.083 --> 00:19:56.150
that outline the deficiencies of the field,
00:19:56.150 --> 00:19:58.340
and the field has never been updated.
00:19:58.340 --> 00:20:01.450
It\'s not adequate for even what they\'re doing today,
00:20:01.450 --> 00:20:02.940
and it\'s definitely not adequate
00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:07.636
for some of the proposals to increase the operations.
00:20:07.636 --> 00:20:11.440
[jet engine roaring]
00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:13.250
- They haven\'t quite reached full elevation
00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:14.490
when they come over our farm.
00:20:14.490 --> 00:20:18.850
They just kind of barely clear the tree lines.
00:20:18.850 --> 00:20:20.310
That was when- last summer that was
00:20:20.310 --> 00:20:21.520
particularly frightening.
00:20:21.520 --> 00:20:23.080
One came in and there was another one
00:20:23.080 --> 00:20:24.396
right on its tail
00:20:24.396 --> 00:20:25.938
less than three seconds behind,
00:20:25.970 --> 00:20:27.600
and we literally covered our heads
00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:29.814
and thought for sure that they would hit.
00:20:29.814 --> 00:20:32.010
[jet engine noise]
00:20:32.010 --> 00:20:35.120
- They\'re landing at about 150 miles an hour,
00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:37.008
and when they take off
00:20:37.008 --> 00:20:41.850
they take off directly toward the hospital.
00:20:41.850 --> 00:20:43.900
And just to the right of that
00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:46.710
is the elementary school.
00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:49.567
Just another couple blocks to the right of that
00:20:50.462 --> 00:20:52.630
is the middle school
00:20:52.630 --> 00:20:54.683
and the high school.
00:20:56.190 --> 00:20:59.610
- I think that the pilots that fly these planes-
00:21:00.685 --> 00:21:02.089
we know a couple
00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:02.922
and they\'re our friends
00:21:02.922 --> 00:21:04.853
and we have outmost respect for them.
00:21:05.810 --> 00:21:09.000
Unless you can get to the ocean if you\'re in trouble,
00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.430
I think those pilots feel they have to ride those planes
00:21:12.430 --> 00:21:14.303
right down to the ground.
00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:19.030
- We have over 400 homes filled with young families,
00:21:19.030 --> 00:21:23.850
retired people, in Crash Zone One, APZ1,
00:21:23.850 --> 00:21:25.350
at the south end of the field.
00:21:27.110 --> 00:21:29.960
- Underneath the flight patterns of the planes,
00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:32.040
those areas would be designated
00:21:32.040 --> 00:21:34.480
Accident Potential Zones.
00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.580
There a number of things that aren\'t compatible
00:21:36.580 --> 00:21:39.840
within those zones, including residential housing.
00:21:39.840 --> 00:21:42.000
So in other communities,
00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.270
the towns and municipalities have been required
00:21:45.270 --> 00:21:47.870
to buy out people who live under the flight pattern.
00:21:50.260 --> 00:21:54.320
- If the Navy increase results in up to
00:21:54.320 --> 00:21:57.800
1000 local families being displaced,
00:21:57.800 --> 00:22:01.210
then it comes in conflict with the intent
00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:03.050
of the legislation that established Ebey\'s Reserve
00:22:03.050 --> 00:22:05.663
to preserve and protect our community.
00:22:07.510 --> 00:22:10.610
- My sons, some of their best friends are military kids
00:22:10.610 --> 00:22:12.683
and just good people.
00:22:13.620 --> 00:22:15.576
Very community-minded.
00:22:15.576 --> 00:22:17.658
Very active.
00:22:17.658 --> 00:22:19.330
Volunteering.
00:22:19.330 --> 00:22:20.370
Coaching.
00:22:20.370 --> 00:22:22.230
Working with the kids in the school district.
00:22:22.230 --> 00:22:23.830
They\'re just a pleasure to have.
00:22:26.570 --> 00:22:29.350
- You will not find a better relationship
00:22:29.350 --> 00:22:30.920
between an installation
00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:33.650
and a host city than the one we have
00:22:33.650 --> 00:22:35.763
with Oak Harbor anywhere in the world.
00:22:36.690 --> 00:22:39.670
The support of our retirees
00:22:39.670 --> 00:22:40.960
and our sailors that live in
00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:43.070
Anacortes, Oak Harbor and Coupeville
00:22:43.070 --> 00:22:45.243
is absolutely phenomenal.
00:22:47.290 --> 00:22:50.963
- No public officials have really challenged the Navy.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.250
None have said to the Navy,
00:22:54.250 --> 00:22:58.450
\"You need to stop flying those jets over people\'s rooftops.
00:22:58.450 --> 00:23:01.673
You need to find another place to fly.\"
00:23:01.673 --> 00:23:03.740
[jet engine roaring]
00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:05.020
- I think the first step would be
00:23:05.020 --> 00:23:06.460
to have the Navy sit down
00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:09.240
and have an open honest conversation with the community
00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:10.480
about what they\'re proposing,
00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.320
about what the real impacts are that people are feeling.
00:23:13.320 --> 00:23:15.970
I don\'t think that\'s happened to date.
00:23:15.970 --> 00:23:19.000
And if you\'ve attended any of their Open Houses,
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:21.050
I don\'t think you\'d feel that way either.
00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:24.453
- We do need the Navy.
00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:31.140
The people that I\'m involved with are not naive to the
00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:32.500
issues in the world today.
00:23:34.120 --> 00:23:38.490
But I would expect our Navy
00:23:38.490 --> 00:23:41.580
to work with the citizens
00:23:41.580 --> 00:23:45.170
that are being so severely impacted.
00:23:45.170 --> 00:23:48.090
- They meet with community leaders.
00:23:48.090 --> 00:23:50.060
Of course, the community leaders
00:23:50.060 --> 00:23:52.990
are generally Chamber of Commerce business types
00:23:52.990 --> 00:23:55.110
that are so dependent on this federal welfare
00:23:55.110 --> 00:23:57.380
that rolls in here twice a month at payday-
00:23:57.380 --> 00:24:01.133
but they won\'t meet with the affected citizens.
00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:04.910
- I think it would have been maybe
00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:06.630
a little bit more appropriate to have
00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:10.140
that community input before they made the decision
00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:14.280
to single-site all Growlers on Whidbey Island.
00:24:14.280 --> 00:24:18.960
\'Cause that was really were the impacts came in.
00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.660
Once that decision was already made
00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:24.530
then the number of flights that need to be flown-
00:24:24.530 --> 00:24:26.143
that\'s a simple math formula.
00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:30.570
- The OLF Coupeville is a perfect place for landing.
00:24:30.570 --> 00:24:32.850
It best simulates the conditions
00:24:32.850 --> 00:24:34.570
that we see at the carrier,
00:24:34.570 --> 00:24:35.729
mean sea level
00:24:35.729 --> 00:24:40.533
and the technical precision that we need on these landings.
00:24:42.300 --> 00:24:46.230
- They really didn\'t talk about other options,
00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.260
and those of us who\'ve lived here all our life
00:24:49.260 --> 00:24:51.688
think there are other options.
00:24:51.688 --> 00:24:55.420
And we think they know there are other options,
00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.564
and it\'s a cost factor.
00:24:57.564 --> 00:25:01.010
[jet engine roaring]
00:25:01.010 --> 00:25:02.350
- I think most people will agree
00:25:02.350 --> 00:25:07.350
they don\'t want 20,000, 25,000 operations overhead.
00:25:07.385 --> 00:25:11.610
It will drastically affect the agriculture
00:25:11.610 --> 00:25:12.720
in Central Whidbey.
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:15.923
That is outside work that has to be done year-round.
00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:20.000
It will affect our tourism industry,
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.683
which is huge to Coupeville.
00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:27.560
- I have one chef in particular who loves to come out
00:25:27.560 --> 00:25:28.740
and walk the farm with me,
00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:31.160
and that\'s how he places his order.
00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:33.060
And there\'s been a few days where
00:25:33.060 --> 00:25:34.940
he\'s just like, \"Yeah, we can\'t do this,\"
00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:38.120
gotten back into his vehicle and left.
00:25:38.120 --> 00:25:39.986
We\'ve also seen customers arrive,
00:25:39.986 --> 00:25:41.880
go to shop the store,
00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:43.210
get out, the planes go over,
00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:46.277
they cover their ears and race back for their car.
00:25:46.277 --> 00:25:48.910
[jet engine noise]
00:25:48.910 --> 00:25:50.400
- When the jets are flying,
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.103
whether it be the roar or the overflight,
00:25:54.060 --> 00:25:59.043
the tourists that I encounter are just absolutely appalled.
00:26:00.350 --> 00:26:02.350
People don\'t come to the San Juans
00:26:02.350 --> 00:26:03.983
to be in a war training zone.
00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:07.780
- I\'ve heard stories of people leaving
00:26:07.780 --> 00:26:09.790
Deception Pass State Park,
00:26:09.790 --> 00:26:11.410
leaving their campgrounds in the middle of the night
00:26:11.410 --> 00:26:13.610
because they came there to camp
00:26:13.610 --> 00:26:14.730
and enjoy that quiet
00:26:14.730 --> 00:26:16.313
and it\'s completely disrupted.
00:26:17.268 --> 00:26:19.480
[waves splashing]
00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:22.970
- If Whidbey Island starts to acquire
00:26:22.970 --> 00:26:26.590
a reputation as the place where you cannot
00:26:26.590 --> 00:26:29.100
actually spend a night under the stars
00:26:29.100 --> 00:26:32.060
without the jets flying overhead,
00:26:32.060 --> 00:26:34.640
and is also a place where the water table\'s
00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:37.629
contaminated by PFAS,
00:26:37.629 --> 00:26:41.010
you can be absolutely sure that
00:26:41.010 --> 00:26:44.008
nature-loving hikers and so forth
00:26:44.008 --> 00:26:47.153
will beeline to other locations.
00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.270
- The establishment of Accident Potential Zones
00:26:52.270 --> 00:26:54.525
will probably result in the downzoning
00:26:54.525 --> 00:26:56.200
of somewhere between $300
00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.481
and $400 million dollars worth of property value.
00:26:58.481 --> 00:27:01.730
The county will either lose that revenue
00:27:01.730 --> 00:27:04.000
and have to decrease their services,
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.350
or they will take that tax burden
00:27:06.350 --> 00:27:08.310
and put it on the rest of the county
00:27:08.310 --> 00:27:10.820
so that they can maintain the services
00:27:10.820 --> 00:27:12.403
that they currently provide.
00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:16.330
- In spite of the fact that the Navy people
00:27:16.330 --> 00:27:18.870
come into town and do business,
00:27:18.870 --> 00:27:20.430
most of the business that they do
00:27:20.430 --> 00:27:23.190
is really on the Navy base itself-
00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:26.740
where you have the only department store on Whidbey Island
00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.510
and the largest grocery store on the island.
00:27:29.510 --> 00:27:31.868
We have thousands of Navy families
00:27:31.868 --> 00:27:34.840
living in military housing,
00:27:34.840 --> 00:27:36.073
which is not taxed.
00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:39.950
Those costs- for fire protection
00:27:39.950 --> 00:27:41.430
and police protection
00:27:41.430 --> 00:27:44.233
and roads and sewage protection systems
00:27:44.233 --> 00:27:47.230
and all those things- are funded by the taxpayers
00:27:47.230 --> 00:27:48.263
and not the Navy.
00:27:51.057 --> 00:27:56.057
- Something like $5.7 million dollars a year
00:27:56.381 --> 00:27:59.455
should be paid by the Navy if it were
00:27:59.455 --> 00:28:02.313
a normal private industry.
00:28:03.530 --> 00:28:07.300
That\'s a small fraction of the 3/4
00:28:07.300 --> 00:28:11.280
of a billion dollars the Navy pays in salary every year,
00:28:11.280 --> 00:28:12.463
but it\'s a huge number.
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:15.800
- The growth has many
00:28:15.800 --> 00:28:18.420
impacts across the whole economy
00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:22.140
and so we\'re not adding right now any base housing
00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:24.270
or capabilities, so all of those people
00:28:24.270 --> 00:28:26.870
that are coming are actually living out in town
00:28:26.870 --> 00:28:30.170
where they\'re providing property taxes and school.
00:28:30.170 --> 00:28:32.150
So management of the growth
00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:35.610
works with Island County
00:28:35.610 --> 00:28:37.493
and the various cities.
00:28:39.892 --> 00:28:41.940
[helicopter blades whirring]
00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:44.690
- I remember one day when I was in the Pentagon,
00:28:44.690 --> 00:28:46.060
one of the generals I worked with
00:28:46.060 --> 00:28:47.813
walking down the hall saying,
00:28:47.813 --> 00:28:49.763
\"I need four billion dollars
00:28:49.763 --> 00:28:51.907
and I need it before lunch.\"
00:28:53.280 --> 00:28:55.820
The Navy could offer to drill
00:28:55.820 --> 00:28:58.483
a new well for the town of Coupeville.
00:29:00.110 --> 00:29:02.510
The Navy could put in filtration systems
00:29:02.510 --> 00:29:05.273
for all the people on private wells.
00:29:06.250 --> 00:29:09.810
The Navy can even contract with the companies
00:29:09.810 --> 00:29:11.740
that can actually remove these chemicals
00:29:11.740 --> 00:29:12.790
from the water table.
00:29:14.847 --> 00:29:17.560
I\'ll guarantee the costs are less than
00:29:17.560 --> 00:29:19.688
the cost of one F-35.
00:29:22.026 --> 00:29:24.940
[waves splashing]
00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:26.690
- What we really want
00:29:26.690 --> 00:29:29.180
is for them to stop involving communities
00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:31.086
in combat training,
00:29:31.086 --> 00:29:35.659
to stop causing further endangerment
00:29:35.659 --> 00:29:39.164
of various species that depend on hearing
00:29:39.164 --> 00:29:40.823
and to be a better neighbor.
00:29:42.690 --> 00:29:45.140
They\'ve become a terrible neighbor.
00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:46.790
They used to be a great neighbor.
00:29:49.360 --> 00:29:51.770
- I\'ve seen the Environmental Protection Agency,
00:29:51.770 --> 00:29:54.340
the National Marine Fishery Service
00:29:54.340 --> 00:29:56.780
and NOAA make suggestions
00:29:56.780 --> 00:29:58.000
and recommendations to the Navy-
00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:59.880
that they mitigate impacts,
00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:02.190
change where they do their training-
00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:04.280
and time and time again I\'ve seen the Navy
00:30:04.280 --> 00:30:06.860
just completely blow off these recommendations
00:30:06.860 --> 00:30:08.150
from these federal agencies.
00:30:08.150 --> 00:30:10.546
Or maybe pay them lip-service.
00:30:10.546 --> 00:30:13.850
[jet engine roaring]
00:30:13.850 --> 00:30:15.250
- I want them to move.
00:30:16.320 --> 00:30:18.670
Base these planes at another base.
00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:20.320
Somewhere out in the desert.
00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:21.153
Somewhere to train them
00:30:21.153 --> 00:30:23.100
where they can train like they need to train
00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:25.340
without exposing all of us
00:30:25.340 --> 00:30:28.710
to crash zones, fuel dumping,
00:30:28.710 --> 00:30:30.300
120 decibels of noise
00:30:30.300 --> 00:30:32.588
and ruining our property values.
00:30:32.588 --> 00:30:35.293
[jet engine noise]
00:30:35.293 --> 00:30:39.470
- The Navy probably will lose in court,
00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:43.600
either a political court or litigation.
00:30:43.600 --> 00:30:45.600
And they\'ll lose the opportunity to train the way
00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:46.850
that they would like to train,
00:30:46.850 --> 00:30:48.450
in a responsible way that doesn\'t
00:30:48.450 --> 00:30:51.493
negatively impact the population and the environment.
00:30:53.010 --> 00:30:54.810
- You know, we\'re all patriotic.
00:30:54.810 --> 00:30:59.380
We all support our guys and everything.
00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:03.410
But this is a decision
00:31:03.410 --> 00:31:05.300
that\'s made at a higher level.
00:31:05.300 --> 00:31:07.060
\'Course they always go back to 9/11
00:31:07.060 --> 00:31:10.290
and they tell you it\'s something to do with security.
00:31:10.290 --> 00:31:12.643
Well, show me.
00:31:14.150 --> 00:31:16.560
You know, I just don\'t believe it.
00:31:16.560 --> 00:31:18.665
So... [laughing]
00:31:18.665 --> 00:31:21.250
[jet engine roaring]
00:31:21.250 --> 00:31:23.420
- I don\'t feel like it\'s either a pro
00:31:23.420 --> 00:31:25.480
or an anti-Navy position.
00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:27.860
Any corporation, any business that would come
00:31:27.860 --> 00:31:29.002
into our community
00:31:29.002 --> 00:31:33.000
and impose this noise intrusion
00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.710
and this pollution within our community
00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:38.433
we would stand up and speak out against.
00:31:41.770 --> 00:31:42.910
- It\'s a sacrifice zone
00:31:42.910 --> 00:31:46.210
if people allow themselves to be sacrificed.
00:31:46.210 --> 00:31:47.233
They can stop it.
00:31:48.080 --> 00:31:49.709
We can get this water cleaned up.
00:31:49.709 --> 00:31:52.936
We can get these jets from screaming over our heads
00:31:52.936 --> 00:31:54.443
and putting our properties
00:31:54.443 --> 00:31:56.150
and families at risk.
00:31:56.150 --> 00:31:59.175
But people are gonna have to fight for it
00:31:59.175 --> 00:32:01.258
or it\'s not gonna happen.
00:32:03.174 --> 00:32:06.507
[jet engine roaring]
00:32:21.134 --> 00:32:23.967
[birds chirping]