Got Jet Noise?

Council asks Citizens to Help Report Jet Noise Problems

The San Juan County Council is asking county residents to help assess how noise from military aircraft taking off and landing at the Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island is affecting activities and the quality of life in the County. Beginning Friday, May 16, residents will be able to use an online application on the County website to enter jet aircraft noise reports. (http://sjcgis.org/aircraft-noise-reporting)

Council Members have received complaints from residents who say they have had to pause conversations or even move activities indoors to avoid disruptive jet noise from the base. Over the past year the Navy has been transitioning from its EA-6B Prowler jets to the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft that at some of its neighbors regard as a more troublesome noisemaker.

At its regular meeting on May 13, the County Council viewed a demonstration of an easy-to-use online form developed by the County’s GIS Coordinator Nick Peihl. The application allows users to enter the location, time and the intensity of disruptive jet aircraft noise from any computer or smartphone that can connect to the Internet. Users have the choice of entering an address, finding the address on a map or asking their smart phone or computer to enter the current location, then filling in the other basic information.

The Council asked that the application be deployed on the County website soon as possible and urged residents to use the system to report incidents as promptly and accurately as possible.

“We totally support and appreciate the important role this base plays in this country’s defense,” said Council Member Jamie Stephens. “Its commanders have told us they want to be good neighbors, and one thing that will help is having good information about how their operations are affecting us.”

Stephens, Council member Bob Jarman and County Manager Mike Thomas visited the Naval Air Base and spoke with officials there earlier this month.

The base is in the process of gathering data for an environmental impact statement (EIS) in association with a planned expansion. The data accumulated by the San Juan County aircraft noise reporting system over the next six months will be forwarded to the air base for use in conjunction with the EIS.

In addition to reporting information through the County’s system, interested citizens can report jet aircraft noise complaints directly to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island by phone at (360) 257-6665, or via e-mail addressed to: [email protected]

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