The U.S. Navy is seeking comments on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that will update the Navy’s Northwest military training and testing activities, including the Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility in Behm Canal near Ketchikan.
SEAFAC is the Navy’s only West Coast facility that measures underwater sounds made by submarines. The purpose of the draft EIS is to update mission requirements to fit anticipated needs for the next five years.
According to Navy Spokeswoman Liane Nakahara, no significant changes are proposed for testing activities at SEAFAC. She said that a public meeting is scheduled this spring in Ketchikan to provide details about the Draft EIS.
“It will provide a really good overview if people don’t have time to read through the whole document. It’s pretty lengthy,” she said. “And people can show up, ask questions – we will have subject-matter experts there who can answer them. If they would like to leave a comment during that time, we will have an oral comment section as well as a comment box – people can write out their comments if they choose to. If not, they can take their notes home, think about it and either mail us a copy or go to our public website and submit comments via the comment form.”
The public meeting is March 11 at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, starting at 5 p.m. The comment period for the Draft EIS ends on March 25.
In addition to the online comment form, the full Draft EIS is available at nwtteis.com.
