The proposed low-flying training zone over the Pennsylvania Wilds for the Maryland Air National Guard is still in the works.
That’s the word on Wednesday from the National Guard Public Affairs Media Operations office regarding the Duke Low Military Operating Area.
“The environmental office is reviewing the public comments received and addressing Section 106 — that section concerns historic properties,” said spokesperson Deidre Forster. “I don’t have a timeline on when those reviews will be completed.”
After a kerfuffle with outdated contact information for the public affairs office, The Era’s inquiry on Wednesday was responded to within minutes.
The low-flying training zone over the Pennsylvania Wilds would be at altitudes of 100 feet to 7,999 feet, or realistically, between 100 feet and 500 feet, two to three minutes at a time, with two to four aircraft. The flights would be between 10 a.m. and noon, and 2 and 4 p.m., 170 days a year, including Saturdays.
The pilots with the Maryland Guard wouldn’t be the only ones using the Duke Low Military Operations Area — the 177 Fighter Wing New Jersey Air National Guard, the 193rd Special Operations Wing of Pennsylvania Air National Guard, and the 113 Wing District of Columbia Air National Guard. The New Jersey and D.C. units operate F-16Cs. The Pennsylvania unit operates C-130s.
The draft environmental assessment prepared for the project claimed no significant impact by the proposal, saying there will be increased noise, but not enough to pass a threshold of “reportable noise” to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The main purpose of the proposed modification to the Duke Military Operating Area (MOA) is to provide low-altitude airspace to accurately train and prepare for current and future conflicts in an integrated, year-round, and realistic training environment,” read a notice on the project website. “The modified low-altitude airspace will provide (Maryland Air National Guard) A-10 pilots the ability to train so they can protect American and ally troops on the ground as well as perform search and rescue missions.”
The FAA has final say over the proposal. According to the FAA’s office of communications, “The Duke Low MOA has not been brought to the FAA for consideration yet.”
Voices speaking out against the proposal as-is have included local, state and federal legislators, tourism officials, residents, farmers, business owners, camp owners and many more. U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., sent a letter requesting a full environmental study be completed before moving ahead with the project; they’ve received no response.
Casey has said he will take the matter to the Department of Defense and won’t stop asking questions until he gets answers.
