Friday, June 25, 2010
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Final EIS on military buildup out in July
Guam and CNMI's request to delay the implementation of the military buildup in Guam beyond 2014 won't happen until both the U.S. and Japan governments agree to it, an official at the Joint Guam Program Office told Micronesian presidents, governors and delegates yesterday.
The Joint Guam Program Office oversees the $10 billion to $20 billion military buildup in Guam.
Guam Gov. Felix P. Camacho and CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial reiterated their call for the 2014 buildup date to be pushed back, during the second day of the 13th Micronesian Chief Executives Summit yesterday.
Camacho said that, although the buildup holds promises, it also has unexpected costs that are not fully addressed, including impacts on infrastructure.
John Jackson, JGPO executive director, said both the U.S. and Japan governments are still looking at 2014 as the target date for the buildup.
“2014 is still the target date until it's amended by the U.S. government and Japan government,” he said at the summit held at the Fiesta Resort and Spa in Garapan.
Jackson also said there is no decision to relocate troops from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma in Okinawa to Tinian.
Fitial also asked whether the U.S. Department of Defense is still interested in using Pagan for training. Jackson said the viability of Pagan as a future training site hinges on the results of the different surveys ongoing in the Northern Islands.
“Once that surveys is done, the decision will be made by the U.S. Marine Corp and the Navy. They would go forward or discard the plan. If they go forward with the plan, then that's when you see a draft environmental impact statement,” the JGPO official said.
Jackson was one of two presenters on the military buildup update during the summit. The other was one Gary Kuwabara, Western Regional director of the U.S. Department of Defense.
In his presentation, Jackson said the final EIS on the military buildup will be out in the last week of July 2010.
He said the Federal Register and JGPO will provide information about accessing the document online and where copies will be available on island.
The final EIS notice of availability marks the start of a waiting period. A minimum of 30 days must pass before the action proponent can make a decision on the proposed action.
Jackson said the Record of Decision, which is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act, is the document that states what the decision is, identifies the alternatives considered, including the environmentally preferred alternative; and discusses mitigation plans, including any enforcement and monitoring documents.
The Record of Decision is expected to be released in early September 2010.
Jackson said all comments on the draft EIS were considered.
Because Guam cannot accommodate all training for the relocating Marines, the military looks at Tinian to provide opportunities for training groups of 200 Marines or larger due to greater land availability.
Both the CNMI and Guam governments expressed concern on the socio-economic impacts of the buildup.
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