Navy May Study Noise in Imperial Beach Neighborhood Ahead of Helicopter Activity Increase

The U.S. Navy wants to increase helicopter activity 30 percent by 2016 at Naval Air Station North Island and the Naval Outlying Field in Imperial Beach (NOLF IB).

As part of the expansion, an environmental assessment was put together by Navy personnel over the course of the last two years.

A draft version was released Feb. 25 detailing things such as impact to wildlife, environment and the increase in traffic or noise in certain neighborhoods. Public comments can be made in support of or in opposition to the project until March 28. .

A final version of the report will likely be released in May or June. Results then go to Navy leadership, who make a final decision.

The biggest complaints so far, said Lisa Padgett with the U.S. Navy at an open house on March 10 to discuss the plan, were from Imperial Beach residents about an increase in noise.

                    Proposed Helicopter Flight Increase

Using data from a study done in 2006, Sound Exposure Level studies were included in the environmental assessment that measured noise in seven different areas near the helicopter's flight path in Point Loma, the city of Coronado, beach houses on Seacoast Drive and the Coronado Cays and Silver Strand, but not in the Seaside Point neighborhood which directly borders NOLF IB and its five helicopter pads.

"This is a draft document. We aren't finished. And we're going to look at putting one in there [SEL study in Seaside Point] if it's an issue," she said.

Noise levels would stay roughly the same, she said, but be more frequent.

CNEL, or community noise equivalent level, measures total noise exposure over a 24-hour period and is considered the standard method of noise analysis for the U.S. Navy.

Testing was performed in 2010 and projected for 2020 in the assessment, and found that in both years, noise does increase but within the boundaries of NOLF IB.

An increase in helicopter activity or demolition and construction of a new hangar is not expected to greatly impact noise nearby NAS North Island, the report said.

The environmental assessment states that naval air stations in Washington and Nevada were also considered for the increase but was decided against so three new anti-submarine squadrons can be based at NAS North Island, the only master helicopter base on the West Coast.

When it comes to perceptions that the helicopter increase is a done deal, that couldn't be further from the truth, said Captain Yancy Lindsey, commanding officer of NAS North Island.

"We look at it, we analyze it, to make sure of the impacts we anticipated and whether they're significant or not or accurate. And that's why the public's participation is vital in this process, so I don't agree that it's a fait accompli," he said.

Lindsey said the increase is necessary to fulfill the Navy's missions as part of the Pacific fleet. It's also more cost effective and "easier to pair up the helicopters with the ships."

Other features of the plan include:

• a new 112,000-square-foot $65 million hangar at NAS North Island to house three newly created helicopter squadrons.
• demolition of facilities at NAS North Island beginning this summer to make way for the new hangar.
• number of helicopters will go from 151 to to 203 by 2016.
• total 800 new sailors.
• four helicopter squadrons would be based at NAS North Island and primarily train at the NOLF IB.
• hours of operation are expected to remain the same. Normal hours of operation for flight training at NOLF IB are currently Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m, the report said.

The report also said "the field has the capability to operate 24 hours a day, and flight operations could be conducted at any time" but that currently 70 percent of flights are in the daytime.

The potential impact to property value was not evaluated in any portion of the study because there are too many variables to measure such a thing, said Ted Brown, a public relations officer with the U.S. Navy.

"It's impossible to quantify because there are so many impacts to [property value]," he said.

Steps are being taken to discourage endangered species such as snowy plovers and least terns from congregating or nesting near NAS North Island and NOLF IB, such as controlling trash, not allowing grass, removing nests and even using trained dogs or small remote control boats to shoo birds, a Navy environmental official said.

Currently, NAS North Island averages two bird strikes a year while NOLF IB averages eight run-ins with a flock of birds annually.

The assessment found little overall impact to wildlife.