The Department of the Navy (Navy) is proposing to provide facilities and functions to support the homebasing of 12 P-8A MMA squadrons (72 aircraft) and one fleet replacement squadron (FRS) (12 aircraft) at established maritime patrol homebases.  The Navy will be replacing 120 P-3C “Orion” aircraft with a total of 84 P-8A MMA beginning no later than 2012.

The Navy has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the effects of training operations, new base facility construction, and relocation of military personnel at each possible receiving or detachment site.
The Navy evaluated the following locations as possible receiving or detachment sites: Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida; NAS Whidbey Island, Washington; Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay; plus a training detachment site at NAS North Island, California.

Federal, state, and local agencies, and interested persons are encouraged to provide written correspondence to the Navy commenting on the analyses contained in the DEIS .  To be most helpful, comments on the DEIS should be as specific as possible.  The deadline for receiving comments is April 25, 2008.

The Navy will host four public hearings for interested persons to review information contained in the DEIS and provide comments.  Facilities will be open between the hours of 4:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.  Each scheduled public hearing will be preceded by an open information session to allow interested individuals to review information presented in the DEIS. Navy representatives will be available during the information sessions to provide clarification as necessary related to the DEIS.  Following the public information session (4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.), the formal public hearing will be held from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., during that time interested persons will have the opportunity to provide verbal comments which will be recorded by a stenographer. The dates and locations of the public hearings are as follows:

March 26, 2008
Whidbey Island, Washington
Oak Harbor School District ASC Boardroom
350 South Oak Harbor Street
Oak Harbor, Washington 98277

April 3, 2008
Coronado, California
Crown Hall, Early Childhood Development Center
199 Sixth Street
Coronado, California 92118

April 1, 2008
Kaneohe, Hawaii
J.B. Castle High School
45-386 Kaneohe Bay Drive
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744

April 9, 2008
Jacksonville, Florida
Howard Johnson Inn, Clay/Duval Room
150 Park Avenue
Orange Park, Florida 32073

There are five ways to provide comments:

  1. Fill out a comment sheet and drop it in the comment box at one of the above public hearings.
  2. Provide verbal comments as part of the public hearing and the stenographer will record your statement.
  3. Submit your comments through the mail by sending to:
    Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic
    6506 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23508-1278
    Attn: MMA PM
  4. Provide written comments via FAX at (757) 322-4894.
  5. In addition, you can submit your comments electronically on this site from the comments page.

All comments must be postmarked (if mailed) or received no later than April 25, 2008.