Top 10 stories of 2014: Grumbles grow over Growlers
Published 3:51 pm Tuesday, December 23, 2014
That distinct, persistent, low rumble emanating from San Juan Island’s neighbor to the south, Whidbey Island, underscored what evolved into an increasingly volatile dispute over economics, politics, national security and the quality of life in the Salish Sea, in 2014.
Whidbey remained the epicenter of the clash over the new-era fleet of electronic warfare aircraft stationed at its Naval Air Station, aka Growlers, but as the year wore on islanders became ever more drawn into the clash over noise from the thousands of engine tests and training flights of the 94 Growlers stationed on Whidbey.
A website created by San Juan County to track noise complaints drew 871 entries in the span of several months.
County Democrats threw their endorsement behind U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen’s primary election opponent in large part because of his ongoing support of the Growler fleet. In early October, the Congressman, who earlier backed a full-scale environmental impact statement of the Grolwers, faced sharp criticism at a town hall meeting on Lopez.
The Navy, under police escort and with about two dozen representatives in tow, conducted its first-ever EIS meeting on Lopez in early December. Results of the EIS, which is intended to quantify and determine the Growlers impact, are expected sometime in 2015.
