Case 2:19-cv-01059-RAJ-JRC Document 45 Filed 02/13/20 Page 1 of 5

1
The Honorable Richard A. Jones
2
3

6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASffiNGTON
7
AT SEATTLE
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON, CITIZENS
9 OF THE EBEY'S RESERVE FOR A
HEALTHY, SAFE AND PEACEFUL NO. 2:19-cv-01062-RAJ-JRC
10 ENVIRONMENT; and
PAULA SPINA,
11
DECLARATION OF
12 Plaintiffs, BABETTE THOMPSON

13 v.
14 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
THE NAVY, et al.,
15
16 Defendants.

17
DECLARATION OF BABETTE THOMPSON
18
Pursuant to 28 U.S. C. § 1746 and under penalty of perjury, I, Babette G. Thompson, declare as
19 follows:
20
1. I am over the age of 18 and competent to testify in this matter. The information in this
21 declaration is based on my personal knowledge.

22 2. I reside at 250 Kineth Point Place just south of the Coupeville town limits, between
Coupeville and the Outlying Field ("OLF") where Field Carrier Landing Practices
23 ("FCLPs") take place.
24
3. I have lived in this home since June, 2007 with my husband and pets.
25
4. I am a member of COER. I joined COER and have financially supported COER since its
26 inception in 2012, because at that time, it was the only organization trying to find a
solution to the extreme pain the FCLPs were inflicting on us.
Bricklin & New1nan, LLP
Attomeys llt Law
1424 J:?ourth Avenue, Suite 500
Deel of Thompson, Case No. 2:19-cv-01062-RAJ-JRC - 1 Se11ttle WA 98101
'I'el. (206) 264-8600
Fax. (206) 264-9300
 Case 2:19-cv-01059-RAJ-JRC Document 45 Filed 02/13/20 Page 2 of 5

1 11. In 2012, one such plane flew so low as it accelerated and turned over our roof that a glass
object in our house shattered, and the flying glass nearly decapitated our cat. If evidence
2 is needed, I have copies of the complaint I filed with the Navy under the Federal Tort
Claims Act and the Navy's response.
3

4 12. From a financial perspective, the Navy has inflicted extensive damages on our property,
which we have had to pay to repair, in addition to the shattered glass mentioned above in
5 paragraph 11, which they refused to reimburse. Our double pane windows have lost their
seals due to the vibrations, and we cannot afford to replace them. The vibrations have also
6 caused leaks in our plumbing. Just this past February, 2019, we had to have an entire
corner of our home rebuilt, because the vibrations from the Growlers caused a very slow
7
leak in the master bath shower which our insurance company said had been occurring
8 over years, and would not cover (they cover only sudden leaks). The leak damaged not
only the master bath floor, the garage walls and ceiling below the master bath, but the leak
9 rotted out the joists, beams, insulation and siding of that entire corner of our home, which
cost us in excess of $15,000 to repair, and there is no way to prevent future damage.
10 Additionally, the water filtration system we put in recently to try to ameliorate any
poisoning by OLF chemicals also sprung a lealc which we were able to repair before any
11
major damage occurred. That system cost over $1000, but we determined it was necessary
12 to our health and safety.

13 13. Further, since we can no longer keep our windows open because of Growler noise and
exhaust fumes, and as a malaria survivor I cannot tolerate heat, we had to spend over
14 $6000 converting our propane heating system to a heat pump which can cool the house in
the summer. Sleeping with open windows is just one more pleasure the Navy has stolen
15
from us.
16
14. But the greatest financial cost has been the loss in our home's market value. If one looks
17 at the estimated value of our home before the release of the EIS "allowing" the Navy to
drastically increase the number ofFCLPs and base all Growlers here on a Whidbey, it was
18 over $750,000 on Zillow. After news of the EIS was released, it dropped to $517,000. Our
19 next door neighbors suffered a similar drop in market value. I have retained screen shots
of that rise and fall in market value. As retirees in our ?O's, how does the Navy expect us
20 to recoup that loss of our major asset, our home?

21 15. The greatest loss, however, is the damage the Navy has done to our health, our way of life
and our peace of mind. We are people who enjoy the out of doors, a major reason we
22 chose Whidbey Island for our retirement.
23
16. Our primary outdoor activity is gardening. We now must garden based on the Navy's
24 published schedule to which they do not always adhere, to do any work at all outside in
the beautiful gardens we created. That means we cannot sleep in on the mornings the
25 Navy is scheduled to fly in the afternoon, often after they have flown past midnight the
night before, and since there are many days when the Growlers are scheduled to fly all
26
day long, we must work many more hours on those rare days they are not scheduled to

B1icldi11 & Newman, LLP

Attorneys at Law
142~ Fourth Avenue, Suite 500
Deel. of Thompson, Case No. 2;19-cv-01062-RAJ-JRC - 3 Seattle WA 9S101
Tel. (206) 264-8600
Fax. {206) 264-9300
 Case 2:19-cv-01059-RAJ-JRC Document 45 Filed 02/13/20 Page 3 of 5

My husband and I moved to Whidbey Island because I have a mast cell disorder that
renders me chemically sensitive and I am a malaria survivor who can no longer tolerate
hot weather.

We moved here from a suburb of Philadelphia where our home was just about the same
distance from the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, as our current home is from the OLF.
In the 16 years we lived there, we never had a complaint, let alone made a complaint,
about any activities, including frequent flights over our home. Of course at that time, we
were unaware of the pollution of the area's water supply by the Navy. That polluting
chemical would not have affected the water supply to our home which derived from
another source, but would have affected the water supply to my office which was in
Horsham, PA. My mast cell illness began when we lived in that home and I worked in
Horsham. I do not know if exposure to that chemical contributed to this chronic disease.

We spend our time here on Whidbey Island reading, gardening, playing bridge, bird and
wildlife watching, having dinner with friends and volunteering for several island
organizations. My husband just completed his last term as president of the island animal
shelter, and we are both third generation animal rescuers.

We never received any disclosures about the Navy or potential noise prior to purchasing
our property on Whidbey. We did not know that there were required disclosures until we
later read about them in the local newspaper. When we asked our real estate agent what
the OLF was prior to purchasing our home, she told us it was an old WW2 airstrip where
the Navy parked planes when Ault Field was overcrowded. However, based on our
experience in Pennsylvania I do not know if the disclosures, had we received them, would
have prepared us for the vibrations and sounds made by the Growlers. We most likely
would have assumed a similar level of noise and vibrations as experienced on the property
from which we were moving.

The level of noise and vibrations emanating from the Growlers is unimaginable to anyone
who has not experienced them first hand maldng a tum directly over your roof Indeed, in
a face to face discussion I had in 2012 with Captain Michael Nortier, then then base
commander, he explained/admitted to me that due to the short wing span and lack of any
form of muffler in the Growler's construction, in order to turn, the planes have to
accelerate, and that shrieking noise and the acute vibrations that emanate from the plane
are not comparable to anything.

We have friends from South Whidbey who lived for 20 years on an air force base in
California where he served, who stood at the gate of the OLF to watch .FCLP practice (the
planes merely touch down and do not turn) and told us the level of noise wasn't any worse
than what they experienced at their home in California. A few weeks later, they were
having dinner in our home when a Growler accelerated and turned over our roof, and were
shocked at the difference, and he finally understood our anguish.

Bricklin & Newman, LLP

Attorneys a_t L1tw
1424 flourth Avenue, Suite 500
Deel. of Thompson, Case No. 2:19-ev-01062-RAJ-JRC - 2 Seattle WA 98101
Tel. (206) 264-8600
F9X. (206) 264-9300
 Case 2:19-cv-01059-RAJ-JRC Document 45 Filed 02/13/20 Page 4 of 5

1 fly. As people in our 70's, we physically cannot work for more than a couple of hours
each day. So we have had to incur the additional expenses of putting in a watering system
2 and hiring people to help us maintain the gardens at a cost of over $2000 per year.
3 We have two beautiful decks, one outside our dining room/kitchen where we used to dine
17.
4 in the summer and entertain friends. The other shaded deck off our bedroom is where we
used to be able to spend the afternoons reading. The Navy has taken both from us, as we
5 simply cannot be outside during FCLPs.

6 18. I am deathly allergic to wasp stings, and if wearing ear protection, I cannot hear the
warning buzzing of insects, though I can still hear some Growler noise. And my husband
7 cannot wear ear protectors either, because were I to be stung, he would be unable to hear
8 me call for help. Upon being stung I would need to immediately administer an epi pen and
be taken to the ER.
9
19. We are also long time members of the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club, and spend a
10 lot of time bird watching and whale watching. We are truly horrified at what the advent of
the Growlers has done to the wildlife on Whidbey Island. Our property is a Certified
11
Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary and we have been observing first-hand the decrease in
12 numbers and varieties of birds at our feeders and water sources. Indeed, birdwatching is
an activity that the Navy has curtailed for everyone, residents and tourists alike. The
13 marbled murrelet is only one of many birds native to Puget Sound that is now officially
listed as endangered. And the entire Puget Sound population of whales is rapid! y
14 decreasing.
15
20. We haven't seen a single bald eagle in our trees, where there had been several nests on
16 our property, in over 3 years.

17 21. This past June, I developed severe migraine-like pain which began with a very low flying
Growler nearly taking off our roof as it accelerated and turned. That night I suffered a
18 sharp pain, like what I imagine it must feel like to be stabbed, in my head. I spent nearly
the entire summer in bed, under the care of one neurologist who finally referred me to the
19
doctor considered the top expert in the field in the Pacific Northwest and whose care I am
20 currently under. The financial expenses, despite having good medical insurance, have
exceeded $1000 in hospital co-pays, medication, transportation to the mainland, etc. Some
21 medications have had such extreme side effects, I have been unable to drive a car, and fell
down so many times due to loss of balance, and was so bruised, a friend asked if I had
22 been beaten.
23
22. Indeed, due to the Navy, we feel as if we have lost many of the day to day experiences
24 that make life worth !iving, and are trying to move. In 2017 we put our house on the
market, and had only 2 prospective purchasers look at the house in 6 months. Our next
25 door neighbors have been trying to sell their home for four years.
26

Bricldin & Newtnan, LLP

Attnmeys nt Ll.w
14·24 Fourth Avenue, Suite 500
Deel. of Thompson, Case No. 2:19-cv-01062-RAJ-JRC - 4 SeAtde WA 98101
Tel. {206) 26'1-8600
Fax. (206) 264-9300
 Case 2:19-cv-01059-RAJ-JRC Document 45 Filed 02/13/20 Page 5 of 5

1 23. We love our home, our community, and the friends we have made here, but fear we can
no longer live with the dread and stress that the Growlers make part of our everyday
2 experience. Just before the Navy began repairs on the OLF and stopped flying for a
month, in September, one night they practiced from 8 pm to 11 pm without a break-a
3
plane turning directly over our roof for 3 solid hours every 90 seconds to three minutes at
4 a decibel range I measured in our bedroom, with windows closed, wooden blinds drawn,
at over 100 decibels. Should a Court ever read this declaration, I strongly urge the Court,
5 with all due respect, to spend time in a home during a F'CLP practice, on the path and
pattern the Navy is actually not just flying, but accelerating and turning, so the Court may
6 experience what is it we are experiencing that has given rise to the necessity for this
declaration.
7

8 24. We cannot live like this. It is killing us.

9
10 Dated this~ day of l>c£M~ 2019, in Coupeville, WA.
11
By:
12
13
'ilak&G~
Babette G Thompson
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Bricklin & Newinan, LLP

Attorneys nt Law
1424 Fourth Avenue, Suite 500
Deel. of Thompson, Case No. 2:19-cv-01062-RAJ-JRC - 5 Seattle WA 98101
Tel. (206) 264-8600
Fax. (206) Z64-9300