Board of Health Asked to Agree ‘Growler’ Noise Causes Irreparable Injury

— from the Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, Whidbey Island —

Proof of noise-inflicted injuries were presented to the Island County Board of Health, Keith Higman, Brad Thomas, M.D., Executive Secretary and members at their meeting on May 19th in the form of declarations from medical experts, a local practicing physician, an acoustical expert, and victims suffering health problems attributed to the hazardous noise from low-flying Navy ‘Growler’ jets.

Growlers noise on Whidbey Island represents a “health crisis” according to James Dahlgren, MD, a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Toxicology. The controversial Growlers are the loudest jets ever to fly and are the source of increasing noise complaints throughout Puget Sound.

The declarations presented to the Board of Health were attached to a Motion for Preliminary Injunction recently filed in federal Court by Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve For A Healthy, Safe & Peaceful Environment (“COER”). The Motion seeks to halt on-going Growler touch-and-go operations at an outlying field (OLF) until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. The Navy uses the OLF for touch-and-go operations where Growlers fly a few hundred feet over the rooftops of more than 600 homes and over 6,000 residents including many children.

Thousands of Growler operations, sometimes extending late into the night, have caused or contributed to a host of health problems according to declarations and testimony of experts and noise victims. The court is being asked to halt the OLF Growler operations until the impacts to people and the environment are thoroughly assessed – not after irreparable harms have occurred.

The Board of Health meets monthly to consider policies to improve the health and safety of Island County residents and visitors, and respond to Island County Commissioners — whose stated mission is to, “Provide for the long term health and safety of the people, the economy and our natural resources. With these health and safety issues as a platform, citizens make the following requests.

1. “We ask that the Board of Health of Island County give Environmental Officer, Brad Thomas, M.D. authority to review the declarations and recommend actions to be taken that will prevent citizen exposure to hazardous Growler jet noise,” stated Maryon Atwood, a noise victim and member of COER. “We would like to hear Dr. Thomas’s summary of findings at a public meeting, as soon as possible,” she added.
2. “Also in regard to public policy, we ask that the Board of Health address citizen noise concerns in the up-dated Island County Master Plan where public comments ranked noise as number 5 out of 28 of concerns needing to be addressed,” according to noise victim and COER member Jan Pickard. “This problem is not going away and people are rightly concerned. Public Health has a responsibility in any up-dated plans for Island County. Action steps are required.

The declaration of Dr. James Dahlgren, one of several presented to the Commissioners states,

“The noise from the Navy’s Growler aircraft landing and taking off from Outlying Landing Field … is causing and has caused serious adverse health effects in the residents as described in the thirteen declarations of residents living near the field. As predicted from hundreds of scientific studies of health effects from noise at the levels measured near the OLF Coupeville by JGL Acoustics in 2013, such levels of noise pressure are causing insomnia, anxiety, depression, impaired concentration, hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), hypertension, worsening diabetes, gastrointestinal difficulties and a major detriment in quality of life.”

Presented to the Board of Health were declarations from an Advanced Practice Nurse specializing in occupational and environmental health and that of a practicing local physician.

Cate Andrews from Coupeville, stated, “the problem is the noise and it must be addressed. People have been injured and in crises for too long.” Citizens deserve to know if their local agencies and elected leaders are willing to protect them,” concluded Andrews.

“Members of COER have requested a timely response to our requests for action made of the Island County Board of Health to fulfill their mandated responsibilities to Island County citizens – some of which are in the midst of a health crisis”, concluded Attwood.