Bid for DEIS comment extension snubbed

Bid for DEIS comment extension snubbed

Tuesday, 16 February 2010 00:57
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff

CONGRESSWOMAN Madeleine Bordallo’s request for extension of the comment period for the draft environmental impact statement appears to have been ignored.

“We did write the letter, but we just haven’t had any answer,” Bordallo said.
“The deadline is approaching you know and we don’t have any answer on the extension.”

The deadline for the comments to be turned in is this Wednesday at midnight eastern standard time or Thursday 3 p.m. Guam standard time.

Bordallo sent the request letter to Department of the Navy Secretary Ray Nabus late last year.

Joint Guam Program Office’s spokesman, Major Neil Ruggiero, said that any response regarding the request would have to come directly from the Department of the Navy.

Former Navy Secretary B.J. Penn, who is on island to attend Bordallo’s congressional address today and Gov. Felix Camacho’s state of the island address yesterday, in the past when questions regarding the impact study came up, the Navy always replied.

“We want to make sure it’s done correctly and if we happen to cut it off prematurely it doesn’t serve anyone to do that and this is a huge draft environmental impact study. We had 86 separate studies,” Penn said. “So we’re at least trying to make it done right and I’m sure that if a request has been made, they’re trying to everything in their power.”

Penn noted that the funding for the impending military buildup is on its way to Guam and the Department of Defense is trying to complete the study as quickly as possible.