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The U.S. Navy will conduct real-time noise monitoring of aircraft-in-flight at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, WA and at NAS Lemoore, CA in 2020, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020. Reports will be submitted to the congressional defense committees by December 1. Monitoring will continue through the summer of 2021.

As required, monitoring will use American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Acoustical Society of America guidance. The Navy reports it will place at least 10 Sound Level Meters (SLM) at pre-determined locations “along and in the vicinity of flight paths” as directed by the NDAA. Local elected officials and federal agencies will be consulted when SLM monitoring locations are set to ensure community concerns are addressed by the noise monitoring effort.

The Navy does not plan to conduct public meetings, however.

The Sound Defense Alliance, a coalition of organizations comprising thousands of members from northwest Washington and across the nation, worked with Washington’s U.S. Senators and Puget Sound Congressional Representatives, including Rick Larsen (D-Everett), and state officials to gain the monitoring requirements after the Navy used a computer model that averaged the sound of the jets over time, thus misrepresenting the actual effects of Growler jets overhead. In 2018 the Navy terminated consultation toward an agreement with local, state and tribal governments, agencies and citizens groups.

Rep. Larsen, in an email, wrote, “I am happy to see the Navy will conduct real-time sound monitoring at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. I worked with House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith and Senator Maria Cantwell to include language in last year’s defense authorization bill to require this testing.”

In a press release SDA writes “We appreciate the Navy’s desire to ‘make sure (its) noise monitoring effort is comprehensive and that the data collected meets the intent of Congress and local concerns.’ To accomplish that goal SDA requests a seat at the table with the Navy to ensure local concerns are represented in the process and end result.”

The SDA notes that the raw data will be available to the public for analysis and thanks “our federal legislators again for making sure this was mandated.”

For more information: SoundDefenseAlliance.org.