While most government agencies and boards have denied they have authority to act on a local activist group’s concerns with jet noise, members of the Island County Board of Health disagreed on how to respond to the issue on Tuesday afternoon.

Members of Citizen’s of Ebey’s Reserve, or COER, once again brought their requests for action to the board’s monthly meeting.

“Based on the information presented to the board of health, there is no clear public health crisis,” Commissioner Jill Johnson proposed in a motion. “And there is no need for further action by this body in response to the requests made by COER.”

And while Commissioner Rick Hannold supported the motion, the remaining voting members struck it down.

Instead, Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson and Hospital Commissioner Grethe Cammermeyer both said the board has a responsibility to further look into the health impacts high noise levels may have on residents, both young and old.

“We are not the content experts as we sit here on the board of health,” Cammermeyer said. “We have people who present studies that have been done and have already gone through that whole process.

“What we haven’t had, I think at least not since I’ve been here, is an analysis of (jet noise) with the same sort of breadth that other topics are presented here to the board of health.”

Hannold staunchly disagreed, insisting that to address the issue was not within the board’s purview.

“Jet noise is regulated by the federal aviation administration,” Hannold said. “The United States naval air space above this island is regulated by the federal aviation administration.

“It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Board of Health because we have no jurisdiction over the Navy nor its air space.”

The failed motion followed several public comments by COER and community members urging the board to respond to the noise-related health concerns. Most individuals asked the board to at least move forward with COER’s previous request to post caution signs warning the community of areas with high jet noise levels.

COER member Rick Abraham reminded the board members that they’ve been shown video recordings depicting noise readings in Rhododendron Park upward of 115 decibels.

“We’ve been taking those readings around this island including… in parks with toddlers playing under low flying jets where those noise levels hit as much as 134 decibels peak,” he said.

“Information is being gathered… and you’re going to be asked what you have done about this problem.”

In response, Cammermeyer asked the board to look into whether they can legally post the requested signs. The request seems reasonable, she later added, considering the board posts similar signs concerning water pollution.

“It seems to me that noise, like many other things, is an environmental and a health concern,” she said. “And as a board that is our concern.”

For Price Johnson, the two-part motion was a step in the wrong direction.

“I do think that further discussion is needed, further information is needed…” she said. “Some reasoned conversation and some more data is worth our pursuing.”

Still, Hannold and Johnson felt the board, and past agencies, have sufficiently looked into COER’s concerns and have found no evidence to support their claims.

“Information has been provided back to answer some of their concerns, and they choose not to accept it,” Johnson said of COER.