Meetings announced for proposed bomb range expansion

The Marine Corps has announced an additional round of public informational meetings to answer questions about the proposed expansion of training operations and restricted areas at the Bombing Target 11, Piney Island in Carteret County.

Meetings will be held on Monday, October 6 at Smyrna Elementary School Gymnasium in Smyrna, and on Tuesday October 7 at Pamlico High School Cafeteria in Bayboro. Both meetings will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The public is encouraged to attend these meetings, as Marine Corps subject matter experts will be on hand to answer questions and hear comments.

"The intermittent expansion proposal for BT-11, is defined to include a block training schedule of one-week per month during the months of February through November.  Proposed operational times of live fire have been established as 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on scheduled days.  The proposed block training times would be scheduled two weeks in advance of the actual start date for the proposed training," said the Cherry Point Public Affairs Office in a release Friday.

According to the release, "the Marine Corps is proposing to expand a specific water restricted area which would be periodically off limits to the public only when live fire exercises are underway.  We understand this may impact commercial and recreational fishing in this area during these periods and want your involvement in this process."

Since the 1940s, the armed services have used BT-11 and Bombing Target 9 at Brant Shoal as training ranges for ordnance delivery.

"In early 2007, it was determined that the Marine Corps needed to study the impacts of training activities on its ranges, including BT-9 and BT-11.  We determined that the scope of the study as it relates to the bombing targets should include the effect of weapons currently used, as well as weapons proposed to be used in the near future.  The scope of the study also required us to follow the guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)," the release stated.

The Marine Corps is conducting an environmental assessment to determine whether or not to prepare an environmental impact statement.

"Since the proposed action takes place in waters that are economically and environmentally critical to North Carolina, the USMC decided that involving our regulatory partners and the public very early in the process was an important additional step for this EA," the release said.

The Marine Corps has determined that "current safety restrictions at BT-11 are insufficient for training with proposed weapons."

The Marine Corps release said that proposed water restrictions at BT-11, if adopted, will not be full-time restrictions, and that the water restrictions would only be imposed for a limited number of hours during block training times.

"No change is currently proposed for BT-9 Brant Island Shoal," the release stated.

Both ranges are in the vicinity of the juncture of the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound on the Carteret County side of the river.