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 n February 15, 2000, an estimated one hundred and
fifty people, including members of several major environmental
groups, attended a hearing of the California Coastal Commission
(CCC) to raise concerns about the environmental and community
risks of home-porting two more nuclear carriers in San Diego
Bay. Many were adorned with badges that stated "CCC Protect
our air, water, and community safety," and carried signs
reading "Navy Nuclear risks are growing, it is time to speak
out." During the four-hour hearing, more than 30 people
testified in opposition to the project
 Testimony
was given in Spanish by several Logan and Sherman Heights community
members, for which the CCC provided translation services free
of charge (originally, the CCC staff had declined to provide
translation for Spanish-speakers, but they agreed after a direct
request to Commissioner Cecilia Estolano from EHC a few days
prior to the hearing). Overall, the opposition to this project
had an overwhelming amount of support from residents of many
of San Diego County's cities and communities, as was evident
by the end of the hearing, when it was still standing-room-only.
In contrast,
the establishment did not turn out in public for the Navy project.
The Navy had very few community speakers on its behalf, in addition
to their cadre and civilian personnel, and the Mayor and Fire
Chief of Coronado.
Presentations
by the Environmental Health Coalition and its members and allies
were joined by Bob Filner's staff, who read a very strong and
supportive statement from the Congressman demanding public accountability
and disclosure of information from the Navy. Also, a strong letter
was submitted by Port Commissioner David Malcolm, who was concerned
about the fact that the Navy is being held to a lower standard
than private industry and local government with regard to storm
water discharges.
Once again,
Commissioners demonstrated their concerns about the impacts of
the project. Commissioners Pedro Nava and David Allgood opened
a long and rigorous line of questioning of the CCC staff and
the Coronado Fire Chief. The issues of concern were insufficient
stormwater monitoring and the lack of availability of emergency
plans in different languages, respectively. In both cases, the
Commissioners were able to put the spotlight on some of the serious
inadequacies of the Navy's plan.
In the
end, however, the final vote was 5-2 in favor of consistency,
with Commissioners Nava and Allgood voting against the Navy's
plan. While this was not the result we wanted, it did go a long
way in terms of exposing the Navy project as harmful to the bay
and unsafe for San Diego. As Chairperson Wan stated at the hearing,
thanks to EHC's and the public's involvement, the Navy was held
to a higher standard than ever before. Additional improvements
were obtained around stormwater pollution prevention, and at
least a verbal commitment was made by the Navy to raising the
standards and awareness in our communities for emergency planning.
The issues
of emergency planning were heightened, and there was an agreement
to include Coronado's emergency plan in the County plan. This
is still insufficient, and we must continue to hold the Navy
accountable for each action in this matter until we are satisfied
that their plan and its measures are effective and appropriate
for San Diego.
The community
appears to be almost evenly divided on this issue. Channel 10
conducted a survey of 500 San Diego residents and asked whether
they think nuclear carriers pose a danger to the area. They found
that 44 percent said they thought it did pose a risk, while 46
percent said they thought it did not. What is interesting is
the demographics of the respondents: women, young people, Asians,
and Hispanics tended to believe there is a danger; middle-aged
and senior white men tended to say there is no threat.
Clearly,
our aggressive efforts created a very strong and overt presence
at the hearing, which put the opposition solidly on the map.
The supporters of this cause are dedicated and numerous, and
we will continue our efforts until the impacts of this project
on neighboring communities and the bay are minimized.
The Environmental
Health Coalition filed a lawsuit against the CCC in early February.
Since the CCC did not act to improve the project so that it did
not impact environmental quality, the lawsuit is expected to
move forward. A Navy and CCC response is expected in early March.
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environmentalhealth.org.