Project '99 Newsletter, August 1997
A Note from Larry Agran Chair of Project ’99
Dear Neighbor,
When people ask me if I believe we’ll win — will we stop El Toro International Airport and adopt a sensible, non-aviation reuse plan for the 4700-acre Marine Corps Base? — I answer “Yes!” But I always add that it may take 10 years to achieve final victory. We’ll suffer setbacks along the way. But we’ll win our share of battles too. This past month proved the point.
In July, the State Court of Appeals ruled against the South County cities’ challenge to Measure A — the 1994 countywide initiative, adopted on a 51% to 49% vote, that calls for an airport at El Toro. A setback? Yes. But the case will be appealed to the California Supreme Court.
Now, noteworthy victories:
Victory No. 1. Remember the outrageous County proposal to conduct an $800,000 taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign — to shore up sagging support for El Toro Airport? On July 22, the Supervisors were forced to shelve the scheme after hearing from hundreds of angry citizens.
Victory No. 2. The County has also been forced to put off a “flight test” at El Toro. The County’s “plan” was to do a few commercial jet flyovers and take some noise readings on the ground. This scaled-down, inadequate “test” plan was dropped by the County after Project ’99 and others objected. We demanded a real flight test — a 48-hour flight test. (See the adjacent lead story.)
Victory No. 3. A victory of technology. Project ’99 has produced a compact disc! Called Under the Flight Path, the CD is a recording of commercial airliners as they take off and land at John Wayne Airport and at LAX. This handy tool — now available to Project ’99 supporters — will allow you to conduct your own “noise test” at home. To order this CD, just use this month’s enclosed reply form.
Remember, small victories pave the way for bigger victories ahead. As always, thanks for your continuing support!
It’s Time to Quit Guessing and Put El Toro to a Real Test
The following article, written by Project ’99 Directors of Communications and Media, Karen Byers and Alan Ellstrand, first appeared in the Los Angeles Times on June 29, 1997. Calling for a comprehensive and realistic test of the proposed El Toro International Airport, the article — and the public support it generated — caused the County to abandon plans for its own inadequate, scaled-down flight test.
Not long ago, a friend passed along a letter that he had received from Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson which proclaimed that there was some “good news” concerning the proposed El Toro International Airport.
Wilson’s letter indicated that the County was prepared to sponsor a flight test at the El Toro site to gather information about the impact of the proposed international airport. We agree that this is good news. However, we would like to issue a challenge to Supervisor Wilson and the other supervisors on the board:
Let’s get some real answers to our many questions about the effects of a proposed airport. Instead of having a couple of planes fly in and out to monitor noise levels, let’s organize an honest-to-goodness test that will tell us whether the airport is workable and environmentally acceptable, as the proponents say it is.
Let’s organize a 48-hour test; two consecutive 24-hour periods. The challenge is a simple one: In each of these 24-hour periods, there should be a total of 1,225 air cargo and passenger takeoffs and landings at El Toro, just as the Community Reuse Plan proposes. These flights should be around-the-clock, with most of the cargo flights taking place at night. The test should include a mix of aircraft, including 747’s, heavily weighted with fuel and cargo to reflect the realities of everyday flight.
That’s it. No other conditions. As airport proponents have pointed out again and again, the runways at El Toro are ready to go — they’re available for the test at no cost. Takeoffs should be to the east and north (toward the Santa Ana Mountains), just as the reuse plan provides. Or, they can take off to the west (over Irvine), as many of us believe they will. Pilots should land from the south, over Dana Point and Aliso Viejo and Leisure World, as the Reuse Plan provides. Or, depending on wind conditions or other factors, they can land from any other direction.
Instead of taking a few isolated measurements from a few takeoffs and landings, we’ll be able to learn so much more from measuring the actual noise levels and air pollution. Apart from the quantitative measurements, this test will enable us to glean qualitative, on-the-ground information from thousands of residents throughout Orange County. The citizens of the directly affected communities can tell us what they think of the 24-hour takeoffs and landings.
Of course, this test won’t tell us everything. It won’t tell us about the expected 305,000 added average daily automobile trips; it won’t tell us about the long-term effects on our health and our property values. And this test won’t settle any questions about jobs. But a properly organized 48-hour test will tell us a lot more than any EIR or EIS could ever tell us about the effects of noise and air pollution on schools, churches, work and home life.
Organizing this test shouldn’t be too difficult. There are plenty of people and plenty of government agencies presumably interested in getting some honest answers. In fact, as the federally recognized and state recognized Local Redevelopment Authority for El Toro, it would seem logical that the Orange County supervisors would take the lead. But the supervisors and county residents should also call on our congressional delegation for help. And we should ask the Federal Aviation Administration, the Marine Corps and the Navy to help as well. In addition, we should seek the cooperation and support of the cities of Orange County. And we should ask the Air Transport Association to donate commercial aircraft for the test and the Air Line Pilots Association to recruit crews.
Yes, the commercial airline pilots and others have told us that even with all this help the 48-hour test might cost as much as $3 million. (That amounts to a little more than $1 for every resident in Orange County.) That’s a lot of money, but the county just received a $3 million federal grant to help pay for a new master plan for El Toro, and county supervisors recently considered a plan to spend up to $1 million on a public relations campaign to disseminate the “truth” about the proposed airport. The FAA funds are probably restricted, but the million dollars targeted for consultants to spend on focus groups, brochures, newsletters, videos and kiosks would be much better spent on a realistic test at El Toro. What better way could there be to disseminate the “truth” than to demonstrate the reality of an El Toro Airport?
The Negative Effects of Airport Noise on Children and Seniors
Noise is one of the key concerns of residents near the proposed El Toro International Airport, and Project ’99 addressed that issue at the July 25th press briefing.
Dr. Dan Stokols, Professor and Dean of the School of Social Ecology at UCI, presented the findings of Dr. Gary Evans and Dr. Lorraine Maxwell — colleagues at Cornell University. This research, which attracted coverage in the June 2 issue of Newsweek, confirms that children who are exposed to frequent aircraft noise don’t learn as well as children in quiet schools. One major reason is that children not only tune out distracting background noise but speech as well.
Evans’ and Maxwell’s soon-to-be published research compared students from a school in the flight path of an international airport in New York to students from a school in a quiet area. They tested both groups in both areas and found that the children from the noisy school were significantly less able to distinguish words from background noise under all conditions although their hearing was not necessarily impaired.
Based in part on these research findings, Crystal Kochendorfer, Trustee with the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD), recently won unanimous Board approval of a resolution opposing El Toro Airport. The resolution specifically urged the adoption of reuse alternatives that will not negatively impact the health and learning of students. Kochendorfer encourages other school boards to oppose El Toro.
There is also widespread information that shows the negative effects of noise on the elderly. At the July briefing, Dr. Eric Walther reviewed the noise impact of El Toro as described in the Environmental Impact Report — then compared those assertions with data revealing the real impact of noise. Additionally, Dr. Walther summarized a 1993 study showing that proximity to noise from LAX caused cardiovascular disease to increase 18 percent for people over 75; accidental deaths to increase 60 percent for people over 75; suicides to double for people between 45 and 54; and overall, that approximately 60 more people than expected in the study area died each year due to the effects of aircraft noise.
Bulletin Board
The El Toro Coalition: Groups opposed to the airport have proliferated, so it’s time to make sure that our efforts are coordinated. Project ’99 strongly supports the newly-formed El Toro Coalition. The Coalition provides a monthly forum where representatives of anti-airport groups meet. In furtherance of our unity, we urge our supporters to attend the next fundraiser for Taxpayers for Responsible Planning which will be held at the Improv on September 17 at 7 p.m. For information, call Sergio Prince at (714) 472-5414.
Press Briefing: Project ’99’s next press briefing will be held at the University Club at UCI (Berkeley Road and Los Trancos) on August 29 at 10 a.m. The issue will be the questionable process for the closure and reuse of the Marine Corps Base at El Toro, which is in stark contrast to the properly conducted base closure in Tustin. The luncheon following the briefing is $10. If you are interested in attending, please call us at (714) 559-5423. Space is limited.
The Website: For more information about noise impacts and other issues, visit the website at http://www.eltoroairport.org.
Project ’99 is a special project of the Tides Center, a duly registered public charity. Donations to Project ’99/Tides Center are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Project ’99 Newsletter Director of Communications, Karen Byers Director of Media, Alan Ellstrand
Project ’99 • PO Box 252 • Irvine CA 92650 • Phone (714) 559-5423