Washington AG Filed Lawsuit against U.S. Navy Over Failure to Adequately Assess Noise Impacts of Increased Growler Jet Operations

JULY 9, 2019

In July 2019, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy over its failure to sufficiently analyze the noise impacts of its recent decision to increase operations of EA-18G Growler jets at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. In the complaint, Attorney General Ferguson warned that the increased activity will “significantly impact the people, landscape, and wildlife of Whidbey Island and the broader region,” and will “adversely affect public health, public schools, and historic areas” as well as local populations of birds, land animals and marine species. Attorney General Ferguson asserted that the Navy’s environmental impact statement failed to meet the National Environmental Policy Act’s requirements that federal agencies take a “hard look” at the impacts of their proposed actions on public health and wildlife, and consider appropriate measures to mitigate those impacts. Attorney General Ferguson also asserted that the Navy violated the National Historic Preservation Act by failing to “make a reasonable and good faith effort” to mitigate the adverse impacts of increased jet activity on the Central Whidbey Island Historic District and Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.

In August 2022, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Navy’s environmental review process for the program expansion illegally failed to analyze the impacts of the noisy, low-flying jets on classroom learning and local birds — a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. Washington then filed a motion for remand and vacatur.

In September 2023, a federal judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Washington remanded the case to the Navy to reconsider the environmental impacts of the program, but did not vacate the decision.