U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole answered criticism from Gov. Mike Easley that she wasn't advocating aggressively for North Carolinians by charging Thursday that the Easley administration and the Navy mishandled the process of picking alternative sites for a Navy airfield.

She said Easley now wants to dump the controversy on the congressional delegation.

Dole, responding to pointed criticism by the governor, said the Navy and the Easley administration should have conferred with local officials about potential sites for the airstrip before announcing them to unreceptive residents in September.

"I think that was a very big mistake, and the governor and the Navy have now paid the price for that mistake," Dole said in a teleconference with reporters. "They've wasted the last few months on something that was known from Day 1, had they only talked to the local communities. And now there is an attempt to throw this mess on the laps of the delegation, and I think that is just wrong."

The Navy wants to build a $230 million airfield in a remote area for fighter pilots to simulate night landings on aircraft carriers. It initially targeted five sites in Eastern North Carolina but chose as its preferred location a 30,000-acre expanse of farmland near a wildlife refuge straddling Washington and Beaufort counties. That site was blocked by broad political opposition.

As a result, a new effort was started to find alternative locations for the outlying landing field. The Easley administration worked with the Navy to identify six additional sites in Eastern North Carolina. The Navy is also considering 10 sites in Virginia.

The Navy had focused primarily on two sites in Gates County and two in Camden County. They are within about 50 miles of Naval Air Station Oceana, where most of the fighter jet squadrons would be based. But the response from local residents was overwhelmingly negative, with most complaining that the jetway would disrupt their rural communities and add little economic benefit.

This week, Easley sent a letter to the congressional delegation, calling for other alternatives.

Easley turnaround

"It's rather bizarre," Dole said. "The governor is opposing OLF sites that he selected."

Sherri Johnson, a spokeswoman for Easley, said the Navy's earlier plans for the landing field included a much larger project and the unspoken prospect that there would be a larger base to follow. That would have brought jobs and economic opportunities. Now, she said, the Navy has made clear it simply wants to find a runway.

Easley said that makes the landing field far less appealing -- and a much harder sell. The landing strip alone would bring only 52 jobs.

"The Navy has completely changed the package so that Virginia gets the gold mine and we get the shaft," he said. "And Senator Dole knows that. The new OLF proposal is merely a dumping ground for Oceana, with no economic benefit for any of the sites the Navy has selected. I am opposed to that, the people are opposed to it, and our congressional delegation should be as well."

Brian Nick, Dole's chief of staff, said the senator had never received anything concrete from the Navy about developing a larger base. "That was just not the case," Nick said.

The Navy initially proposed buying up to 30,000 acres in Washington and Beaufort counties. In the recent discussions, it has proposed building a runway on a 2,000-acre core area and limiting development on 14,000 acres as a buffer zone.

Johnson said the congressional delegation should make the Navy understand it needs to develop an alternative package or go elsewhere. She said Dole, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in a position to work with the Navy on that issue.

The Navy announced Thursday it was delaying a decision about which additional sites in North Carolina and Virginia it would consider for more in-depth study.

"The Navy continues to review and consider the information provided by North Carolina and Virginia, including the recent letter that Governor Easley sent to members of the North Carolina Congressional delegation and public comments," the Navy's statement said. "There is no prescribed time frame for the Navy's decision on this matter, and we will make announcements when future decisions are made."

Dole said she expressed concerns to the Navy about the lack of public comment in a Sept. 27 letter after the six alternative sites were announced. She said she would oppose any site that didn't have general public support.

Randell Woodruff, Camden County manager, said Dole had expressed opposition to the northeastern sites during a meeting with local officials in early October.

"She was critical of the Navy and said she thought they would have learned more from their previous experience with the Washington County site," Woodruff said.

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