Some info requires security clearance

Some info requires security clearance

Thursday, 26 November 2009 04:13
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff

THE draft environmental impact statement is not fully accessible to the community because some components and information in the study require “security clearance.”

The draft study is divided into nine volumes that have cross-references for some information.

In Volume 5 of the Army Air and Missile Defense Task Force, for example, details about the locations of the weapons emplacement sites are redirected to Appendix L of Volume 9.

The weapons emplacement site locations have at least three alternative sites, all of which are located on or very close to North West Field and cover hundreds of acres.

Appendix L, however, indicates that the details about the sites are classified and require security clearance.

This is of concern to Sen. Ben Pangelinan, acting Chairman for the Committee on Military Buildup, who said that it appears the deployment of the task force is the only part of the statement that requires security clearance.

“It really is frustrating when they’re asking us to comment when we don’t even know where they’re going to be put or how they’re going to be situated,” Pangelinan said.

“We need to have that kind of information to make any decision at all. They seem to be telling us what they believe we need to know but not what we should know,” he said.