Crossing the line on Blackwater's backyard

Land surveyors and the people who hire them have all the more reason for diligence these days. Someone with a computer and Internet access just might be hovering overhead, as a recent discovery in northeastern North Carolina demonstrates.

While preparing for a battle against a proposed outlying landing field, residents in Currituck County noticed something unusual on the Navy's maps - some of Blackwater Worldwide's training facilities, said to be in adjacent Camden County, are actually in Currituck.

When Currituck officials contacted the company, Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrell said a surveyor's mistake led to the construction of part of a high-speed driving track, four shooting ranges and other facilities in Currituck. "When we built it," she told The Pilot's Jeff Hampton, "we thought it was in Camden."

The spillover puts Blackwater in an unusual position - retreat and close down the facilities in Currituck, or apply for a special-use permit that may or may not win support from Currituck residents and elected officials.

Earlier this month, Blackwater applied for the permit but has since put the request on hold.

If Blackwater does proceed with the request, Currituck officials should take care to separate the company's controversial history, including its work in Iraq, from the request. And, unless some evidence is presented to the contrary, officials should accept the company's explanation for the spillover; given the lay of the land in heavily wooded stretches of Camden and Currituck, it's conceivable such a mistake could be made, particularly when the land in question is owned by the same entity - in this case, Blackwater.

The county's decision whether to grant a permit should be based on issues such as safety and noise, as well as general compatibility with nearby land uses.

In the meantime, the story should serve a lesson for landowners everywhere. Now that Google Earth and other Internet tools provide relatively easy access to satellite maps, it's easier than ever to detect when a property owner - unwittingly or not - steps over the line.