Opponents of Navy Growler expansion pleased with state lawsuit

Local advocacy groups are cheering the announcement of a state lawsuit against the Navy opposing increased jet training on and around Whidbey Island.

The state filed a suit Tuesday along with Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve (COER) against the Navy under the National Environmental Policy Act, amplifying the voices of islanders who have been fighting to halt Navy training at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for decades.

"It changes everything for us,” COER director and litigation lead Paula Spina said after the filing."If it was just us filing, maybe the Whidbey News-Times would be reporting on it. (The state has) a much bigger megaphone than we could ever achieve."

The suit comes after the Navy released plans in March to add 36 EA-18G Growler jets at Outlying Field Coupeville on Whidbey Island, increasing aircraft activity from 90 to 360 hours, or about 100,000 takeoffs and landings each year.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson alleges the Navy failed to adequately measure impacts to public health and to wildlife in its review process of the proposed expansion, according to a news release from his office.