DATE: Wednesday, September 24, 1997         TAG: 9709240442

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   45 lines

BEACH TO HIRE CONSULTANT TO REVIEW NAVY'S OCEANA IMPACT

The Navy's plan to send 180 additional F/A-18 Hornet jets to Virginia Beach would put 39,000 residents and 20 schools in high-noise zones and place two other schools in accident potential zones, according to a Navy report released earlier this month.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted to spend $80,000 to double-check those findings.

In a unanimous decision, the council agreed to hire a consultant to review the Navy's environmental impact study for Oceana Naval Air Station, which was required to assess the impact of 11 more jet squadrons on the region.

``We don't have anyone technically adept enough to analyze the Navy data,'' explained Robert R. Matthias, assistant to the city manager.

Matthias said the city is conducting a nationwide search for experts in mapping and evaluating accident potential zones - areas where a plane in distress is most likely to crash - and high-noise zones - places where jets are projected to create noise levels 65 decibels or higher.

Both of these zones would be expanded if the jets move to Virginia Beach, according to the Navy's analysis.

About 22,000 acres in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and 39,000 people would be added to areas subject to jet noise. The accident potential zones also would be larger and include two schools, Brookwood and Plaza Elementary schools.

But the city hopes to shrink both zones if possible. Based on the findings of the consultant, the city may challenge some of the Navy's proposed zones. If successful, the city could prevent spending millions of dollars to move the schools out of the potential jet crash zone.

Matthias cautioned that the city will not challenge the Navy's findings at the price of safety.

``We don't want anything that restricts (the Navy's) mission. . . The Navy has always been willing to work with us,'' he said.

The consultant also will be made available to city officials in Chesapeake, where Fentress Airfield is located.

Noise and accident potential zones surrounding Fentress also would expand as a result of Oceana's expansion.

One Chesapeake school, Butts Road Intermediate, would fall in the expanded high-noise zone. Matthias said a consultant should be selected within two weeks.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu