Ed Friedrich has the story in the Kitsap Sun:
POULSBO — More people seem concerned about whether Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor needs a second explosives-handling wharf than whether it would harm the environment.
A steady trickle of people made the rounds of Navy experts and displays Tuesday evening at the Poulsbo fire station during an open house about the environmental impact statement for the facility. The Navy provided information about the proposed $500 million-plus project and took written comments about what the public would like to see addressed in the environmental analysis.
The explosives handling wharf is used to load and unload missiles from Bangor’s eight Trident ballistic submarines. Each sub can carry 24 D-5 missiles. The subs were upgraded a few years ago from C-4 missiles to more sophisticated D-5s, which the Navy says take more than twice the time to maintain and handle.
Joe Graf of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs said that the base can manage its workload today, but is looking ahead to its future workload. The existing wharf, he said, is 30 years old and needs some work. It will have to be shut down. A new wharf will be needed while the existing one is unavailable.
