Dole: Residents must support OLF site

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has cautioned Navy officials that the site they choose for a landing field must have the approval of the local community.

In a letter to the Navy, Dole "expressed her dismay" that the Navy has not consulted the communities near the six recently chosen alternative sites for a practice airfield, according to a news release from her office.

The airfield would allow pilots to practice landing planes but would not be home to a Naval base. Plans to site it in Washington and Beaufort counties stalled due to opposition from local residents and environmentalists over the noise and potential harm to migratory birds.

Dole said she was "hopeful that the Navy had learned from past mistakes" after the first setback, but has since heard from local residents opposed to the alternative sites.

"I cannot stress enough that broad local support for an [outlying landing field] is essential, and I will oppose the Navy's efforts to acquire any site in North Carolina that fails to meet this standard," Dole, a Salisbury Republican, said in the release.

Dole hinted that the Navy may need to include more than just the landing field in its plans to appease nearby communities. The landing fields have virtually no economic benefit, while a Naval base brings jobs and a boost for local businesses.

"...It may be time to discuss the possibility of locating more than an OLF in our state," Dole said. "In short, if there is a potential for economic benefits beyond the small number of jobs associated with an OLF, the Navy should address the matter directly and plan accordingly."

Two of the new alternative sites are centered in rural Gates County, and two are in Camden County in northeastern North Carolina near the Virginia border. Some aircraft noise could affect neighboring counties such as Currituck and Hertford.

The northeastern sites are 20 to 50 miles from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., the base for most of the squadrons of Super Hornet fighter jets that would use the airfield.

Also on the list are two sites in southeastern North Carolina. One site is in the Angola Bay game lands on the border of Duplin and Pender counties. The other is the Hofmann Forest, a research forest in Jones and Onslow counties.