Draft environmental impact statement on military buildup for Guam released
The Navy announced today that the draft environmental impact statement/overseas environmental impact statement (EIS/OEIS) for the military buildup on Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is available.
The draft EIS/OEIS analyzes the impacts of the following proposed actions:
The purpose of the proposed actions is to fulfill U.S. national security policy requirements to provide mutual defense, deter aggression, and dissuade coercion in the western Pacific region.
The Navy and the Department of Defense have held ongoing discussions with cooperating agencies (federal and local agencies with special expertise or regulatory insight) to review all relevant resource areas and have worked closely with elected leaders in Guam and the CNMI in the development of the draft EIS/OEIS.
After releasing the draft EIS/OEIS, the public is given time to review the document and provide comments. Due to the complexity of the draft EIS/OEIS and a desire to ensure all interested parties have the full opportunity to review the document, the comment period was extended from 45 to 90 days. All issues or concerns raised in public comments will be identified and appropriately considered in preparation of the final EIS. Six public hearings will also be held on Guam, Tinian and Saipan in January 2010.
