Bay blasting approved to make way for submarine traffic between Quonset, New London
Despite opposition from Save The Bay, the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has approved blasting a portion of Narragansett Bay to accommodate the construction of nuclear submarines.
The project, put forth by the Quonset Development Corporation (QDC), includes a new pier, Navy vessel construction facilities, and a 395-foot custom barge that will move parts of a new class of ballistic missile submarines between Quonset and New London, Conn., for defense contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat.
At its Dec. 8 meeting, the CRMC board gave a full-throated endorsement of using explosives to dislodge undersea rock to complete a new shipping channel, saying QDC had done its homework on the application. Three CRMC board members, including chair Jennifer Cervenka, cited national security as part of their reasoning to approve the project, despite the fact that military readiness isn’t something council members are asked to consider when weighing coastal development proposals.
National security, Cervenka said, “added support for this project that there is a compelling security interest here.”
CRMC board member Donald Gomez said the project should be approved for “the greater good.”
“The greater good is really the protection of the United States and getting so that we are on a parity again with the Chinese and especially the Russians,” Gomez said.
Fellow board member Michael Hudner agreed with Gomez’s “greater good” assertion, saying that new submarines serve “a compelling national interest.”
https://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/westerly/bay-blasting-approved-to-make-way-for-submarine-traffic-between-quonset-new-london/article_912deb56-5e1d-11eb-af97-83f933a2e6a2.html