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White Elk Supersonic Operations Area
By
Grace M. Potorti

Rural residents of eastern Nevada will be subjected to noise and  sonic booms that would be unacceptable over a large city and thus doing  to a few what cannot be done to many.

 

The Department of Defense currently has largest contiguous overland block of supersonic airspace in the continental United States. That means that almost the entire northwest stern portion of Utah is reserved for military training (Orin Hatch, 5/3/2006).

 

F-16 jets from Hill Air Force Base and transient military aircraft would create nearly 2,000 supersonic events each year.

 

Over 1,689,062 acres will be carpeted with damaging sonic booms including the communities of McGill, Cherry Creek, Lages Station and Currie in White Pine County. Children at the McGill Elementary School will be blasted with sonic booms.

 

The boom of one aircraft flying supersonic 2 to 3 minutes can impact hundreds of square miles of land.

 Sonic boom overpressures for this type of supersonic activity range from less than 1 psf to over 12 psf (DEIS p. 160). The threshold of human hearing is approximately 0 dB, and the threshold of discomfort or pain is around 120 dB. Peak noise levels would exceed 140 decibels beyond the thresholds of discomfort and pain.

 

The White Elk Supersonic Operations Area Draft Environmental Impact Statement attempts to veil damaging health impacts from earth shattering sonic booms by providing ONLY noise levels averages while ignoring peak sonic boom noise levels. Impacts will include: startle reaction, annoyance, nuisance, dissatisfaction, interference with activities such as speech, sleep, and learning; and physiological effects such as anxiety or hearing loss.

Supersonic Operations would destroy the naturalness and solitude of 87,203 acres of Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas: Becky Peak, Goshute Canyon, High Schells, South Pequop WSA, Goshute Canyon WSA.

 

Wildlife response to noise can be physiological or behavioral. Physiological effects can be mild to severe.  Long-term exposure to noise could cause excessive stimulation to the nervous system and chronic stress that is harmful to the health of wildlife species and their reproductive fitness (Fletcher1980, 1988).

 

Decreased property values and property damage are likely, including broken glass and plaster cracks. Structural damage to historic sites located in the community could occur.

 
The Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the Goshute Indian Tribe expressed concerns over low flying aircraft. The sight and sounds of low flying aircraft disrupt sacred ceremonies and disturb livestock. These two groups have also requested that Air Force aircraft not flyover reservation lands. Concerns were also expressed about the potential danger posed to American Indian Tribes from munitions mishaps over reservation lands (Hill AFB 2007).

 

County Commissioners have expressed concerns that the Air Force proposal would have a negative impact on their economy through, restricted land development under the airspace, lost revenue and impacts to tourism due to commercial and private aircraft flight restrictions in/out of Ely and Wendover airports, impact future projects and provide no direct economic benefit.

 

Flare and chaff debris will litter private lands wilderness and public lands.F-16s would disperse 40,700 bundles of chaff (5.6 millions fibers per bundle) and 31,630 flares within the White Elk Supersonic Operations Area (DEIS, page 14).Flares pose increased fire risks and have been responsible for several fires in Nevada (Fallon NAS, Seal Fire,Sept.10,1996 / Nellis AFB, Meadow Valley Fire, 1993).Dud Flares pose injury risks when dropped over land that is not controlled by the Department of Defense.

 

 

The components of chaff, both aluminum and silica pose serious health risks if inhaled or ingested. Over time non-biodegradable chaff will degrade and fragment into inhalable particles which could be resuspended by wind or other activities.