On Tuesday night, the Jefferson County Democrats unanimously voted to ask elected officials at all levels to get the Forest Service to schedule public hearings (not public meetings which have less weight in deliberations), as required by law, on it’s environmental assessment of the Navy’s Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Range Plan and the FS’s Finding of No Significant Impacts. The EA was done without legal public input, which is required by law.
The Dems also requested that the Forest Service initiate it’s own scientific investigations and include them in an “honest and open Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process (which is not what is happening now). At present, the person making the decision at the Forest Service indicated at the Port Angeles meeting last week that he was going to approve the EA. It seems a done deal unless we demand the legal process be followed, which at present, it is not.
If you are are concerned with the process the Navy and Forest Service is following, it is recommended you phone, not email,Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Derek Kilmer in Washington and demand they push for these simple requests to be fulfilled.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Navy, Puget Sound |
As always the democrats will do a pass and this latest infringement on our rights will be approved by the Forest Service, PRESSURED BY THE NAVY. This is not a level playing field guys, you have to speak up and speak up loadly.
Thanks for the feedback. I was at the meeting, and have to disagree with the assessment though. This was not meant as a ‘pass’ but as a resolution that can be taken to elected (in our state that’s Democrats in office and other party officials along with other county and state parties) to show that the local party was strongly unified on an issue and that they want this process handled better, because currently it is being ramrodded through. By ‘better’ here I and the Dems both are saying that it can and is being challenged, and continuing to skirt the law on the process will lead to a very strong reaction that is not likely what the Navy nor the FS want.
It was certainly not meant to stop any individuals from contacting their elected officials themselves, which was strongly suggested. I think that this was a exactly what the Dems needed to and could do at this stage of the process. Look for additional follow up actions over the next two months. Also, many of the Dems in JeffCo were personally strongly against this electronic warfare plan. They will be doing additional work on this process themselves along with the Party, it sounded like to me. Every organization, whether NGO or political, has to make it’s own way based on the kind of org they are.