For Immediate Release

October 9, 2004

HOUSE GIVES FINAL APPROVAL FOR
RELOCATION OF FOX ISLAND NAVY LAB

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the passage of the Military Construction Appropriations bill today, the House has given final approval of the plan to relocate the Navy’s research laboratory on Fox Island to Navy owned land on Submarine Base Bangor, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Saturday.

            The approval by the House came after the final version of the bill was adopted on Friday by a House-Senate conference committee, said Rep. Dicks, a member of the panel. 

            The bill endorses the decision made in by the House July to add $6.85 million in initial funding to relocate the laboratory, which conducts research, development, testing and evaluation projects for the Navy's Deep Submergence Program.  The relocation was proposed by Rep. Dicks in lieu of proceeding with a controversial plan to replace moorings and expand an existing pier on the Island.  The relocation will cost a total of $18 million and it will also involve the consolidation of several Navy research components that are currently housed in facilities at Bangor and at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. 

            Rep. Dicks noted that the House also passed the Defense Authorization bill today included the authority for the full $18.3 million relocation project, making it easier to fund the remaining increments of the plan in future years.

            The Navy has been examining various proposals to replace rotting moorings and expand a pontoon-supported pier that extends into Carr Inlet in the southern portion of Puget Sound.  Neighboring landowners on the Island were concerned about the impact of the expansion and of the construction on existing beachfront areas, as well as by the increased Navy activity on the small island, which has a population of 2,803.

            Rep. Dicks said that the consolidation achieves savings by bringing together several other elements of the same research function – operated by the Navy’s Surface Warfare Center, Carderock, MD --  to a new facility at Bangor.

            The agreement on the final version of the Military Construction Appropriations bill also includes major housing improvements at Fort Lewis and Naval Station Bremerton.  A total of $146.5 million was approved for construction projects at Washington state defense bases in the bill, including:

  • The second increment of a barracks complex at Fort Lewis, to be constructed for $48 million.
  • A new $34.13 million Bachelor Enlisted Quarters for shipboard personnel at Naval Station Bremerton.
  • $35.77 million to build a production and storage complex at Submarine Base Bangor.
  • $20.31 million for a carrier maintenance complex at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
  • $1.4 million will pay for additions and alterations to the Readiness Center at Camp Murray, headquarters of the Army National Guard.


            The bill also includes a provision advocated by Rep. Dicks eliminating a limitation currently in place on the Defense Department's  Family Housing Privatization program, which was pioneered successfully at Fort Lewis.  Raising the cap on this program will allow the Navy and Air Force projects in Washington state to proceed in the next year, including a major private housing initiative that is planned at McChord Air Force Base, according to Rep. Dicks.


Home >> Newsroom >> Press Releases

 

Follow Norm's RSS Feed Follow Norm on Facebook
Follow Norm on Twitter Follow Norm on LinkedIn

Privacy Policy

Site Map

 

Washington DC
2467 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5916

Tacoma
1019 Pacific Ave. Suite 806
Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone: 253-593-6536

Bremerton
345 6th Street, Suite 500
Bremerton, WA 98337
Phone: 360-479-4011

Port Angeles
332 East 5th Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Phone: 360-452-3370

 
Toll Free Number: 1-800-947-NORM (947-6676)