Updated: Conversation with SEPA Official at Washington State Parks
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 · 9:07:51 PM +00:00 · VeganMilitia
I have just had a phone conversation with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Official for all of Washington State Parks. He himself was personally unaware of his agency’s determination of SEPA exemption and prior permit(s) issued.
Many have argued, so-what, the Navy has to train somewhere. Be that as it may, that is a separate issue from the State of Washington’s responsibilities under SEPA to adequately review proposed activities and to involve the public in that review process.
It appears that in the 2012-2014 period the SEPA exemption indicates this was not done. In 2016, we may have the opportunity to revisit the determination of exemption and bring this discussion before the public.
Truthout reported Monday that
Beginning in mid-January, Navy SEALs will be practicing unannounced and clandestine combat beach landings across Washington State's Puget Sound and many other coastal areas of that state.
The simulated combat exercises, which will include the use of mini-submarines and other landing craft, will deposit Navy SEALs carrying "simulated weapons" on 68 beach and state park areas in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington's west coast, unbeknownst to most of the relevant government agencies tasked with overseeing these areas.
Internal Navy emails, two slide shows (which can be viewed in full here and here) and other documents obtained exclusively by Truthout reveal the vast extent of the operations. They also reveal the fact that the Navy labeled the relevant files as "For Official Use Only" and emails as "Attorney-Client privilege," a move that exempts such documents from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Subsequently, the Peninsuala Daily News and the Port Townsend Leader have picked up the story, taking it out of potential tin-hat territory and into the mainstream.
The claim was extraordinary as well as extraordinarily disturbing.
In the new scenario, which the military calls "realistic military training," Navy SEALs carrying "simulated" weapons may also travel across public and private property within city limits, and may swim through public and private marinas occupied by people living on boats. They could conduct war game patrols on roads through residential communities. In addition to tribal, state, federal and county lands, there are many properties on the Navy's list of training sites marked as private.
The PDF’s linked above under the logo of the Naval Special Warfare Group 3 is titled
Proposed NSW Training Within the Pacific North West
and describes the following
Proposed Types of NSW Training
All Water Based Training
Supervisor and safety support for small submersible craft operations: 10 personnel on 2-3 Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) assigned to supervise the dive, providing medical support if required. Additionally, they maintain a safe buffer (500-1000 meters, as per the situation dictates) between the small submersible craft and other civilian craft. Other responsibilities for this group are looking out for hazards to navigation that could affect the safety of the personnel conducting the dive and recalling the small submersible craft to the surface if required.
All Land Based Training
Supervisor and safety personnel on land will be up to 10 personnel responsible for the safety and oversight of personnel conducting training. This group evaluates and maintains a buffer preventing bystanders from entering into the specific area. Two or three vehicles will be utilized by these 10 personnel; one vehicle is designated as an Emergency Response Vehicle. The vehicles will be parked in designated areas that afford optimal availability if required during the training event.
Combat Swimmer (CS)
Using small inflatable boats, divers would be inserted into waterways. They would conduct an infiltration to an objective (e.g. harbor, beach, moored vessel) and conduct a variety of tasks for up to six hours. Most combat swimmer training would be confined to the waterways, however, there could be cases where personnel would conduct OTB training in conjunction with training CS
Direct Action (DA)
This training would consist of up to 20 personnel conducting “simulated” actions against a threat or enemy within the confines of a specified area or building. It would include the use of “simulated weapons”, no live fire weapons would be used. The simulated weapons would be marking rounds, which are plastic/paint capsules that
wash away with water. No property damage would occur and cleanup would be handled by the instructors and support staff.
Insertion and Extraction (IE):
Personnel would be trained to approach or depart an objective area using small submersible craft or small boats and various tactics. This activity would train personnel to insert and extract people and equipment during the day or night. Tactics would include personnel swimming in and out of a small submersible craft or
small inflatable boat to a target objective.
Launch and Recovery (LR):
This type of training would be conducted in water areas and consists of launching and recovering up to two small submersible crafts from a boat ramp or water platform. The small submersible crafts are battery powered and very quiet. It would deliver
four-six personnel to the training area within 20-800 yards from shoreline. As part of this training, the personnel would exit the craft and swim to the shoreline. Upon completion of the training, the submersible craft would return to the area, recover the personnel and return to the launch site.
Over the beach (OTB)
The training would be conducted in conjunction with small submersible craft training or from a smallwatercraft. Personnel would exit the craft and swim to shore, cross the
beach, and quietly move into the vegetation above the high water line. Upon arrival at a pre-designated area, personnel would remain hidden for a number of hours before exiting site. There would be no tell-tale signs left of their presence.
Special Reconnaissance (SR)
This training could be land based only or water and land based. Utilizing up to two small submersibles,personnel would be delivered to training area between 20-800 yards from the shoreline. Personnel would exit the craft and conduct OTB training operations, then patrol to an objective, a predetermined location for a number of hours. Upon completion of the training on land, the small submersible craft would return to the area, the personnel would swim to the craft and then depart area. If land based only, personnel would be dropped off via a vehicle and patrol to an objective
activity similar to what is stated above.
Locations
The PDF includes detailed maps of each of the sites below, including color-coded indications of which activities would be carried out in which locations
Requesting via NAVFAC NW that an environmental assessment (EA) and the necessary real estate support agreements be secured to allow NSWG-3 training to occur in the Pacific Northwest. A total 68 sites more or less are requested:
-
North Puget Sound Region:11
(Fort Flagler State Park, Mystery Bay State Park, Salsbury Point State Park, Shine Tidelands State Park, South Whidbey Island State Park, Port Hadlock Marina, Port Townsend Marina, Indian Island, Port Ludlow, Coon Bay, Mats Mats Bay)
Northwest Region: 8
(Deception Pass State Park, Skagit Island, Joseph Whidbey State Park, Fort Ebey State Park, Fort Casey State Park, Cama Beach State Park, Camano Island State Park, Oak Harbor)
Olympic Region: 6
(Fort Worden State Park, Fort Townsend State Park, Sequim Bay State Park, Discovery Bay, Dosewallips State Park, Triton Cove Ramp)
PacificCoast Region: 8
(Westhaven State Park, Westport Light State Park, Twin Harbors State Park, Grayland Beach State Park, Leadbetter State Park, Pacific Pines State Park, Cape Disappointment State Park, Fort Columbia State Park)
South Puget Sound Region: 32
(Manchester State Park, Blake Island State Park, Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, NUWC Keyport, Toandos Peninsula, Zelatched Point, Bremerton Ship Yard, Bremerton Marina, USS Turner Joy Museum, Kitsap Lake, Port Madison Bay, Fletcher Bay, Manzanita Bay, Point Monroe, Miller Bay, Brownsville Marina, Liberty Bay Marina, Poulsbo Yacht Club, Silverdale Ramp, Eagle Harbor, Scenic Beach State Park, Fisherman Harbor, Oyster Bay, Tracyton Boat Launch, Evergreen Rotary Park, Seabeck Elementary, Illahee State Park, Discovery Park, Kingston, Big & Little Beef Harbor, Port Orchard Ramp, Orchard Point Military Reservation)
South Puget Sound Region (Tacoma): 3
(Port of Tacoma, Point Defiance Park, Gig Harbor)
Confirmation in the Local Press
The Port Townsend Leader confirms that
Washington State Parks has issued a right of entry permit to the U.S. Navy that allows nighttime training exercises at five state parks, including Fort Flagler State Park and Mystery Bay State Park.
Brian Hageman, manager of Fort Worden Area Parks, told the Leader that the Navy has used Fort Townsend and Fort Flagler state parks and has at least once in recent years used Fort Worden.
The Washington State Parks permit was issued to Naval Special Warfare Group 3, based in California. Units would have access to submersibles and other small craft intended to help Navy special forces personnel operate clandestinely.
"It's basically coming [ashore] in the middle of the night, hiking to a location, hiding, and hiking back out," Hageman said. The Navy has a public affairs officer and communication staff on site for possible interaction with the public, Hageman said.
“This is activity that's been done for years but typically the arrangements were made as an FYI [for your information] to a particular park manager, but we decided in this case there was a request to land at five parks so we did it as a single right-of-entry permit,”
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission communications director. Virginia Painter told the Leader Jan. 12.
But the statements made by the Navy to the Peninsula Daily News seem to contradict the above statements that the such activities are already permitted and in fact have occurred in the past:
Marinas and parks in Clallam and Jefferson counties could be included in a staging area for the Navy's special forces SEAL teams.
But action won't begin Thursday, as suggested Monday by the website www.truthout.org, a Navy spokeswoman said.
“As far as I know, everything is in the very, very beginning planning stages, period,” Navy Region Northwest spokeswoman Sheila Murray said Tuesday. “There has been no decision made on anything.
“Everything is speculation at this point.”
She referred further inquiries to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, media officer for Navy Special Warfare Command in San Diego.
Walton did not return repeated calls for comment Tuesday.
Confirmation from Washington State Parks
http://www.ptleader.com/permit/pdf_f14dc3fc-b98c-11e5-a4f7-c35f2daebc41.html
Initial Public Reaction
Environmental activist Connie Gallant of Quilcene, president of the board of the Olympic Forest Coalition, likened the proposal to the Navy's planned expansion of electronic warfare range activities over the Olympic Peninsula and noise-generating Navy jet flights emanating from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. “It really is all kind of connected,” she said.
“The Navy has tried to segment and say, 'Oh, this is Phase 1 and this is another phase,' but when you put it all together, everything is a whole and everything is affected,” Gallant said. “We have no objection to training activities, but in areas that are targeted and have been set aside for recreation activities for the public, we just don't believe they should be happening in such areas.”
This is not new. It's a credit to the SEALS that you never knew they have been doing this for years. That isn't planned to change.
The only thing that appears to be new is that they want to use more locations. -Shardar Uxxx via Facebook
They've been doing the SEAL exercises on the Peninsula for years. As in, decades. Unless you happen to be SCUBA diving at the secret exercise site in the black of night, you'd never know they were there. Which is the point of it all.
Unlike jets screaming over in afterburner, SEALS get in and out before anyone hears or sees anything.
But if you want to stake out the potential exercise sites at 2:00am, underwater, you might get lucky. — Shadar Uxxx via Facebook
You sound like a conspiracy theorist. Who even cares about this, and how is this even in the news. They're not firing weapons, likely not even carrying. They're not harming anyone. You won't even know they're there. That's what they do. They stay hidden. At least the article had something right in it. If you don't support the navy, why in god's name would you live so close to 3 different naval bases? Sounds like you should move to me. — John Dxxx via the PT Leader
It's not exactly news, but the real story here is that the Navy doesn't know or accept limits in ways that the rest of society must. In spite of controlling key real estate at NAS Whidbey/Ault Field, OLF Coupeville, Indian Island, Bremerton, Keyport, Bangor, Port of Everett, it's still not enough--the Navy has quietly, almost surreptitiously, stalked 68 more locations in our region for expanding activities, using the blank check given each budget cycle by Congress to spread rehearsal-for-war into our skies (Growlers), public lands (Olympic National Forest), harbors (Ediz Hook), and now, State Parks and other public-access shorelines. And it attempts to do this without the kind of open public process we expect in a free society. All the while, our infrastructure crumbles because we can only "afford" growth in the military sector. -Forest Sxxx