A North Carolina congressman said the U.S. House has eliminated the Navy's authority to build a jet practice landing field in Washington County.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson, said in a statement released Wednesday that the House took the action because the project posed dangers for the Washington County community, pilots and aircraft.

"This is a clear message that if the Navy wants to move forward with an OLF it must have the support of the community," Butterfield wrote about the outlying landing field.

Butterfield said that language in the 2008 defense spending bill, which passed the House on Wednesday, means the Navy must have local support for a landing field in Eastern North Carolina. He represents the 1st Congressional District, where several of the proposed landing field sites are located.

The Navy's first choice for the practice airstrip, estimated to cost $230 million, is on 30,000 acres in Washington and Beaufort counties, near Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which attracts tens of thousands of migratory birds each year. The Navy has bought about 2,000 acres at that location.

The Navy is considering alternate sites in Eastern North Carolina and Virginia.

The Senate intends to vote this week on the defense spending bill and send it to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.