The California Coastal Commission backed off its commitment to public health and safety on March 14, despite overwhelming community support for emergency response planning around Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado.

Last year, the Commission ordered the City of Coronado and the Navy to develop an adequate, site-specific, independent emergency plan for the areas impacted in exchange for its concurrence with a Federal Consistency Determination for the home porting of additional nuclear carriers in San Diego Bay.

However, an October 2000 Commission staff report found that these conditions of the emergency plan had not been met. Evidence presented at the March hearing confirmed that neither the City nor the Navy has invested the time or resources in meeting the conditions set in place by the Commission.

Following compelling testimony by Environmental Health Coalition members and Coronado residents detailing the inadequacy of the actions taken by the Navy, the Commission voted 7-5 against further review of the emergency plan. Several commissioners acknowledged that conditions of the plan had not been met and argued to hold the Navy accountable, but others said that further review of the program lay outside the legal bounds of the Commission.

"This was a sad day for San Diego," said Marilyn Field, a Coronado resident. "If it wasn’t clear before, it is crystal clear now. The Navy does not care about its neighbors’ heath and safety, and the law will not protect us either. We have to fight to protect ourselves."

EHC expresses its gratitude to Commissioners Estolano, Nava, McCoy, Reilley and Wooley for standing up for community safety with their votes.

Thanks also to U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, State Assembly-member Christine Kehoe, and City Councilmember Toni Atkins for their letters of support and to the following individuals for their testimony: Marilyn Field, Molly Rhodes, Carol Cahill, Carol Jahnkow, Ron Flisher and Earl Callahan.