US military sets Saipan, Tinian hearings on draft EIS

US military sets Saipan, Tinian hearings on draft EIS

Saipan Tribune
Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Military Integration Management Committee is reminding the public of the Joint Guam Program Office hearings scheduled at Tinian Elementary School today, Jan. 14, and at the Saipan Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe tomorrow, Jan. 15. Each will begin with an Open House from 5pm to 7pm, followed by the public hearings from 7pm to 9pm.

JGPO will be conducting these meetings to discuss the Guam Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was released in November.

MIMC Coordinator Tom Linden will also be on hand at these hearings to field questions and concerns related to the military build-up.

These public hearings will be a great introduction to the EIS, and give the public time to review the document prior to a scheduled public forum held by the MIMC on Jan. 26, 2009, from 5pm to 7pm at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe. The draft EIS can be reviewed at www.guambuildupeis.us or at the public libraries on Tinian and Saipan.

The MIMC public forum will also include representatives from the Office of Economic Adjustment and the Advisory Consulting Team from Guam that has been hired to dissect and interpret the 11,000 page report.

On Jan. 26 , the partnership of the MIMC, OEA, and Guam ACT will hold a public hearing at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe. The event is sponsored by NMC and IT&E, and it will be broadcast to Tinian and Rota via NMC-VTC. This forum is designed to be more of a user-friendly interpretation, elaboration, and breakdown on what the draft EIS/OEIS means to the CNMI, and to allow people to hear non-military point of view. The public is also encouraged to sends their questions to cnmi.mimc@commerce.gov.mp, no later than Jan. 20. On Jan. 26 itself, ACT will randomly provide answers to some questions that are submitted on time.

The public comment period for the draft EIS ends on Feb. 17, 2010, and due to the sheer volume and complexity of the report, the MIMC encourages the public to take advantage of these opportunities to ask questions and share concerns. (MMIC)