Mugu Missile Program Target of Pollution Issue

In an unlikely scenario, Point Mugu Navy base’s sea range missile testing program finds itself squarely in the middle of a push to clean up Southern California’s air pollution.

On Thursday, representatives from the shipping industry, environmentalists, federal regulators and the Navy met in San Pedro to discuss ways of reducing air pollution caused by the thousands of ships that sail to and from Los Angeles County.

Several studies conducted last year to satisfy federal and state mandates to reduce pollution concluded that air pollution would be significantly reduced if ships on their way to and from Los Angeles County sailed outside the Channel Islands instead of the current practice of sailing between the islands and the shore.

But if the ships are required to sail 25 miles offshore rather than the current eight miles off the Ventura County shoreline, the Navy’s missile testing program would be jeopardized.

On Thursday, officials said they hope to coordinate a study with the cooperation of the Navy to determine whether air pollution would be significantly reduced by requiring ships to sail farther offshore.

“We need a study that involves the Navy to determine if this is a viable situation,” said Bob Kanter, manager of environmental planning for the Port of Long Beach. “We need to find the solutions that have promise and find out what the benefits will be and how they can be implemented.”

Kanter added that the Navy’s sophisticated weather tracking systems and radars could provide information, arguing that the existing studies need more scientific data.

Environmental Protection Agency officials have said they hope to get a new study completed by June of next year.

In recent weeks, Navy officials made it clear to the EPA and port officials that they would not be able to continue their missile range testing if commercial ships sailed in those waters. Last year, about 5,500 vessels sailed in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The ships, most coming from or going to ports along the Pacific Rim, carried cargoes ranging from cars to vegetables to scrap iron. “It is to our disadvantage to put the ships out there,” said Alan Alpers, a spokesman for the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station. “It would impact our testing because it is much easier to coordinate the safety issues and range clearance on the far side of the island,” where most of the testing is done, Alpers said.

Last week, Navy officials gave a tour of Point Mugu to EPA and port representatives, hoping to stress the importance of their sea range testing program and to show some of their data tracking systems.

Last year, the Navy conducted about 2,500 tests in the area, including hundreds of missile launches.

The Navy is now conducting its own study of the proposed shift of the shipping lanes. The study will take several months to complete, Alpers said, because scientists need to determine how many ships would sail through the area and analyze the amount of emissions released per ship and how that contributes to air pollution.

“Moving the shipping lanes out farther may not reduce any of the pollutants into the county,” Alpers said.

In an era of tight budgets and military scrutiny of bases around the country, any threats to Point Mugu’s sea range testing program would be devastating, said John Evans, a board member of the county’s regional defense task force, which has lobbied on behalf of Point Mugu.

“If you take an asset away from Mugu, it can have nothing but a negative effect,” he said.