Federal Judge Michael McShane has dismissed as moot the Newport Fishermen’s Wives case challenging the Coast Guard’s proposed decommissioning of its Newport rescue helicopter. The lawsuit was filed last fall shortly before the planned closure of the Newport Air Station and resulted in an injunction for several days before President Obama signed legislation prohibiting removal of the rescue helicopter prior to January 1, 2016. “The lawsuit was instrumental in providing our Congressional delegation with enough time to secure a short-term solution in the Congress,” said Ginny Goblirsch, a Newport Fishermen’s Wives board member. “We also believe that the case demonstrated that the Coast Guard violated environment laws when it decided to decommission the Newport rescue helicopter after 27 years of service based only on a written checklist with no public involvement. We are hopeful that the Coast Guard will not try that tactic again.” In a decision issued on April 29, Judge McShane concluded that the case was moot because there was no “reasonable expectation” that the Coast Guard will reengage in the allegedly unlawful behavior. His opinion goes on to state that if the Coast Guard reengages in unlawful action to remove the rescue helicopter, “plaintiffs may seek to enjoin such behavior at that time.” In addition to the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, plaintiffs in the case include the City of Newport, Lincoln County, the Port of Newport and the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. “The judge’s decision is a clear signal that the plaintiffs can refile their case and secure an injunction if the Coast Guard repeats the truncated decision-making process in early 2016 that led to the now abandoned closure decision of last fall,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Mike Haglund. “To remove an important aviation asset that is relied on by so many first responders along Oregon’s central coast, the Coast Guard will have to develop a comprehensive environmental assessment, a process that involves considerable public involvement,” added Haglund. If the Newport Air Station were closed in the future, rescues in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean along Oregon’s central coast would have to be covered by Coast Guard helicopters from either Astoria or Coos Bay. According to evidence developed in the Newport Fishermen’s Wives case, helicopters from those locations cannot be deployed quickly enough to save fishermen or recreationists during the 30-45 minute survival window that exists in waters that average 53 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year.
