Military training range on Tinian still a go

Monday, July 26, 2010
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter

Bice hands over to Fitial Final EIS on Marianas buildup

Joint Guam Program Office executive director David F. Bice presented Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on Friday a copy of the Guam and CNMI Military Relocation Final Environmental Impact Statement, which states that the expected population surge at least in Guam is reduced to some 41,000 compared to the original estimate of 80,000 in the draft EIS.

The final EIS document will be available to the public in full on Friday, when it is published in the Federal Register.

The document has some 20,000 pages, Press Secretary Angel Demapan said.

Fitial, who met with Bice, along with JGPO forward director John Jackson around 11:30am on Friday, said the U.S. military still plans to set up training ranges on Tinian.

Some two-thirds of lands on Tinian are leased by the U.S. Department of Defense, and battalion level non-live fire training areas already exist on these leased parcels.

“They are going to put up some firing ranges, and they want to make sure there is safety, that they will be put in place to prevent any accidents. In other words, everything that is in that impact statement is favorable to the CNMI,” Fitial told reporters on Saturday. He did not want to elaborate.

Because Guam cannot accommodate all training for the relocating Marines from Okinawa, Japan, the U.S. military looks at Tinian to provide opportunities for training groups of 200 Marines or larger due to greater land availability.

The proposed actions on Tinian include firing ranges for rifle known distance, automated combat pistol, platoon battle course, field firing, and airspace use.

The Final EIS will report that Japan has agreed to provide $740 million in financing for utilities upgrades, expansion and development associated with the Marine Corps relocation to Guam.

Over $115 million in projects have also been requested or approved for U.S. Department of Defense funding, with additional projects under consideration. DOD and USDA will also fund $100 million in port improvement projects, which will increase the capacity to support both the buildup and the community's long-term needs.

JGPO, in a statement, said while there have been significant changes made to create the Final EIS, the entire document has not been revised.

“Most significantly, the proposed actions remain the same, as do the preferred alternatives for each action,” it said.

Guam Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo earlier expressed appreciation to the additional work done to address Guam's infrastructure concerns.

She said she remains concerned that the U.S. Navy still has significant work in addressing the selection of the Pagat cliff line as the preferred alternative for a firing range.

“I still believe that Tinian is a preferred location for this training,” she said in a statement.

The Record of decision, which will be released in early September, is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act. It is a document that states the decision, the alternatives considered, and mitigation plans.

Fitial also brought up the issue of the military buildup during a gathering of Carolinian members of the community and guests on Saturday, intended to voice out opposition to the U.S. Department of the Interior's report recommending improved status for foreign workers in the CNMI.

“I told my people here that the impact statement is favorable to the CNMI so I hope the Interior would learn a lesson from that. Instead of giving us a negative impact report or recommendation, they should be like the military (which gives us favorable report),” Fitial said.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel visited Guam last week to meet with Guam's leaders and community members to discuss the upcoming release of the Final EIS.

They were joined by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Dorothy Robyn and representatives from federal agencies involved in the resolution of issues raised throughout the Draft EIS public comment period.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs Tony Babauta was also in Guam last week, but did not go to Saipan.