Injunction upheld on proposed Navy field

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A federal appeals court upheld a judge's injunction that stopped work on a proposed Navy jet landing field near a wildlife refuge in eastern North Carolina.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond issued the brief order Thursday that upheld the injunction by US District Court Judge Terrence Boyle.

Boyle -- a figure in the debate over US judicial nominations in the Senate this week -- ruled in February that the Navy poorly analyzed the harm the $186 million project could pose to a nearby wildlife refuge and minimized the risk of bird-aircraft collisions.

The Navy wanted the appeals court to overturn Boyle and allow it to continue buying land from willing sellers and doing other work amid the lawsuit brought by counties and environmentalists.

The Navy wants the 33,000 acres near the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge because there are few artificial lights on the rural landscape, simulating the nighttime darkness around an aircraft carrier at sea.

Chris Lam, a lawyer for the counties, said the ruling would allow opponents to ''rest a little bit easier."

The Navy had no immediate comment on the order, spokesman Ted Brown said. Because of court delays, plans to start construction next month have been pushed back until early 2007.

The judge has not indicated when he might rule on the lawsuit.

Boyle was nominated to the federal appeals court by the first President Bush in 1991. Democrats blocked Boyle then, and President Clinton's nominees from North Carolina were subsequently blocked by Republicans. The second President Bush revived Boyle's nomination to the appeals court in 2001; it is still pending.