Agencies comment on proposed buildup plans
Posted: Dec 12, 2009 1:55 PM
Updated: Dec 12, 2009 1:58 PM
by Michele Catahay
Guam - It's clear that various government agencies continue to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. In fact, the Natural Resources Subcommittee of the Governor's Civilian Military Task Force conducted a Natural Resources Expo today at the Guam Premier Outlets.
A Natural Resources Expo highlighted issues and concerns when it comes to the DEIS for Guam. The event is one of several planned as part of an effort to educate the public on the issues related to the impacts of Guam's natural resources as a result of the military buildup. Guam Coastal Management Program Administrator Evangeline Lujan says while they're still in the process of reviewing the Draft EIS, she says it's critical to begin educating the public about it.
"Some of the issues we look at are the coral reefs and the impacts to the ecosystem; we look at our terrestrial ecosystem and the habitat that will be lost. We look at invasive species. There's a myriad of things that we are reviewing," she said.
Biologist at the Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources at the Department of Agriculture Brent Tibbats says his greatest concern is the impacts on the marine environment and resources. One particular issue is the proposed dredging at Apra Harbor to accommodate a wharf berthing facility.
He said, "Where the dredging is going to be taking place is in areas where fishing occurs, where recreation activity occurs - banana boating, SCUBA diving and where some research activities are going on. We have some marine research going on as well. Some of these areas are going to be directly impacted and will dredged and removed."
He says in addition, the increase in sedimentation is going to greatly impact our coral reefs not only near Apra Harbor, but also areas in the north. "This is going to be one of the largest dredging projects involving coral reefs anywhere in the U.S. It's unavoidable. It's going to be impact. The hope is for us to minimize the amount of impact and maximize the amount of mitigation that is done to compensate Guam for that," Tibbats added.
He says they will also be looking into the impact of runoff from construction or potential fuel chemical spills that could occur as a result of the buildup.
In the meantime, another Government of Guam agency concerned about the increase in construction around the island is the Guam Historic Preservation Office. Historian Tony Ramirez says with plans for construction around the island, cultural resources may diminish. "Our agency covers a lot of areas because we cover 4,000 years of Guam's history and different timelines and these historical timelines are within the federal jurisdictions and also some of the areas that they're thinking of using for the buildup," she said.
Island residents have until February to submit written testimony on the Draft EIS.
Showing posts with label Sedimentation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sedimentation. Show all posts
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Friday, December 04, 2009
Is price tag for carrier wharf worth it?
Is price tag for carrier wharf worth it?
Posted: Dec 03, 2009 2:54 PM
Updated: Dec 03, 2009 6:53 PM
by Heather Hauswirth
GUAM - In the name of national security, the environment will likely take a back seat if JGPO green lights its plans to construct a pier, called a berthing, for a nuclear transient aircraft carrier in either Apra harbor or the ship repair facility located on Big Navy.
You've heard it time and time again, Guam is the tip of the spear. The draft EIS revealed by the Joint Guam Program Office just two weeks ago includes the hypothetical blueprint for the way millions of dollars in construction projects could be spent on land and on sea. The ranking Naval Officer for naval facilities, captain Scott Galbreaith says the navy would like a greater air craft carrier presence on U.S. soil.
"It's a very potable and potent striking force and engagement force for the U.S. Being out here – forward deployed in the Western Pacific where the aircraft carriers often operate. This transient pier would give them flexibility in having a place to come and do maintenance and a little bit more training."
What is to become of the habitat with increased sedimentation, and permanent damage to the coral reefs?
Shawn Wusstig co–leads the Guam sea turtle recovery program for the Department of Agriculture.
According to Wusstig, "Here on Guam one of the greatest threats we have to sea turtles both hawksbill and green is habitat loss. What was once suitable for nesting may no longer be suitable and that would also depend on what type of best management practices that are in place that will keep that shore in tact."
Yet Captain Galbreaith says the threats from the neighboring Philippine sea, the People's Republic of China, and North Korea all make it necessary for the U.S. to establish an aircraft carrier pier in the Pacific.
"It is a floating air station really and it carries about 70 aircraft many of them capable of performing strike missions, refueling airborne, early warning and helicopter asw and other multi–mission capabilities," Galbreaith elaborates.
The Guam Shipyard and Polaris Point are the two proposed locations for an aircraft carrier pier. This would provide the Navy with a third location for an aircraft carrier pier in addition to the ones that exist in Hawaii and Japan.
Building this wharf requires
• up to 1,325 ft in length
• deck height of + 12 ft
• pier strength: 800 lbs per sq. Ft.
• mobile crane load: 2,140 ton
"The nuclear carriers are deeper than Kitty Hawk so in the past when we brought in nuclear carriers they had gone to our kilo wharf out by Orote Point, but that is really a wharf meant for ammunition movement so whenever we brought a carrier in that meant we couldn't do our job of ammunition movement so we want a dedicated wharf for the carrier," Galbreaith explains.
although not yet factored into the military budget for this next fiscal year, Captain Galbreaith says it is likely to be included in Fiscal Year 2012 at which time it will be up to Congress to approve or amend this project.
Carrier berthing carries huge costs
Posted: Dec 03, 2009 2:54 PM
Updated: Dec 03, 2009 6:53 PM
by Heather Hauswirth
GUAM - In the name of national security, the environment will likely take a back seat if JGPO green lights its plans to construct a pier, called a berthing, for a nuclear transient aircraft carrier in either Apra harbor or the ship repair facility located on Big Navy.
You've heard it time and time again, Guam is the tip of the spear. The draft EIS revealed by the Joint Guam Program Office just two weeks ago includes the hypothetical blueprint for the way millions of dollars in construction projects could be spent on land and on sea. The ranking Naval Officer for naval facilities, captain Scott Galbreaith says the navy would like a greater air craft carrier presence on U.S. soil.
"It's a very potable and potent striking force and engagement force for the U.S. Being out here – forward deployed in the Western Pacific where the aircraft carriers often operate. This transient pier would give them flexibility in having a place to come and do maintenance and a little bit more training."
What is to become of the habitat with increased sedimentation, and permanent damage to the coral reefs?
Shawn Wusstig co–leads the Guam sea turtle recovery program for the Department of Agriculture.
According to Wusstig, "Here on Guam one of the greatest threats we have to sea turtles both hawksbill and green is habitat loss. What was once suitable for nesting may no longer be suitable and that would also depend on what type of best management practices that are in place that will keep that shore in tact."
Yet Captain Galbreaith says the threats from the neighboring Philippine sea, the People's Republic of China, and North Korea all make it necessary for the U.S. to establish an aircraft carrier pier in the Pacific.
"It is a floating air station really and it carries about 70 aircraft many of them capable of performing strike missions, refueling airborne, early warning and helicopter asw and other multi–mission capabilities," Galbreaith elaborates.
The Guam Shipyard and Polaris Point are the two proposed locations for an aircraft carrier pier. This would provide the Navy with a third location for an aircraft carrier pier in addition to the ones that exist in Hawaii and Japan.
Building this wharf requires
• up to 1,325 ft in length
• deck height of + 12 ft
• pier strength: 800 lbs per sq. Ft.
• mobile crane load: 2,140 ton
"The nuclear carriers are deeper than Kitty Hawk so in the past when we brought in nuclear carriers they had gone to our kilo wharf out by Orote Point, but that is really a wharf meant for ammunition movement so whenever we brought a carrier in that meant we couldn't do our job of ammunition movement so we want a dedicated wharf for the carrier," Galbreaith explains.
although not yet factored into the military budget for this next fiscal year, Captain Galbreaith says it is likely to be included in Fiscal Year 2012 at which time it will be up to Congress to approve or amend this project.
Carrier berthing carries huge costs
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Increased sedimentation threatens ecosystem
Increased sedimentation threatens ecosystem
Posted: Nov 28, 2009 1:36 PM Updated: Nov 28, 2009 5:04 PM
by Heather Hauswirth
Constructing a berthing for a nuclear transient aircraft carrier pier slated for either Apra Harbor or the shipping repair facility near Polaris Point does not come without significant environmental consequences. Dredging and other construction related activities increases sedimentation levels in the water.
Manny Duenas said, "Apra Harbor is a major lagoon for Guam and lagoons are normally good places for breeding grounds for fish and marine life and with the sediment that will be coming from Apra Harbor, I don't know how you can mitigate fine particles and the turbidity issue. It will affect Guam in itself because we know the fish don't just live in one area." The Fisherman's Co-Op president said biologists agree that the most acceptable paradigm for the natural environment is one where sedimentation is kept to a minimum.
Guam EPA Environmental Monitoring and Analytical Services Administrator Jesse Cruz says it is disruptive to the overall marine environment, saying, "During the dredging process, the sedimentation that could result from dredging has an impact on mainly the corals and the coral reef area where the fine sediments that will be released during the dredging process could be distributed through the larger area with the currents and settle down on top of the coral, which could cause a smothering affect of the corals."
A smothering of the corals would diminish their survivor ship in the area as sedimentation shades out the sunlight, which corals need for survival. Despite strict protocol in place for dredging, the Joint Guam Program Office's asst environmental director on Guam, Randel Sablan says there is no way to avoid it, but there may be a way to mitigate the impact.
He said, "On the compensatory side - what do we do with the coral that were impacted? Well, the army corps permit that the navy needs to obtain in order to do the dredging will require compensatory mitigation and in the DEIS there are four types of compensatory mitigation proposed."
These options include building an artificial reef to replace the services and functions lost, doing water shed enhancements to reduce erosion that impacts coral reefs, coastal mitigation proposals such as increasing waste water treatment, and a mitigation banking program where the Navy would outsource mitigation projects to a third-party.
But Cruz pointed out that isolating construction and dredging as much as possible is actually what's key to mitigation, saying, "Silk curtains or silk screens during the operations to minimize the fines from the area of the dredging, keep the dredging area to as minimal space as possible."
The debate continues about the best way to approach mitigation. As time goes on, fishermen like Duenas say they won't pipe down as long as there are fish that are going to be impacted by dirtier water. "Any fish in Apra Harbor part of the reproductive stage or part of the replenishing of this islands resource that will be removed," he said.
Duenas continued, "I saw the map for dredging of Apra Harbor and they are going to come right down the middle. That is a whole reef area that they are going to impact.
"And that's really sad."
Posted: Nov 28, 2009 1:36 PM Updated: Nov 28, 2009 5:04 PM
by Heather Hauswirth
Constructing a berthing for a nuclear transient aircraft carrier pier slated for either Apra Harbor or the shipping repair facility near Polaris Point does not come without significant environmental consequences. Dredging and other construction related activities increases sedimentation levels in the water.
Manny Duenas said, "Apra Harbor is a major lagoon for Guam and lagoons are normally good places for breeding grounds for fish and marine life and with the sediment that will be coming from Apra Harbor, I don't know how you can mitigate fine particles and the turbidity issue. It will affect Guam in itself because we know the fish don't just live in one area." The Fisherman's Co-Op president said biologists agree that the most acceptable paradigm for the natural environment is one where sedimentation is kept to a minimum.
Guam EPA Environmental Monitoring and Analytical Services Administrator Jesse Cruz says it is disruptive to the overall marine environment, saying, "During the dredging process, the sedimentation that could result from dredging has an impact on mainly the corals and the coral reef area where the fine sediments that will be released during the dredging process could be distributed through the larger area with the currents and settle down on top of the coral, which could cause a smothering affect of the corals."
A smothering of the corals would diminish their survivor ship in the area as sedimentation shades out the sunlight, which corals need for survival. Despite strict protocol in place for dredging, the Joint Guam Program Office's asst environmental director on Guam, Randel Sablan says there is no way to avoid it, but there may be a way to mitigate the impact.
He said, "On the compensatory side - what do we do with the coral that were impacted? Well, the army corps permit that the navy needs to obtain in order to do the dredging will require compensatory mitigation and in the DEIS there are four types of compensatory mitigation proposed."
These options include building an artificial reef to replace the services and functions lost, doing water shed enhancements to reduce erosion that impacts coral reefs, coastal mitigation proposals such as increasing waste water treatment, and a mitigation banking program where the Navy would outsource mitigation projects to a third-party.
But Cruz pointed out that isolating construction and dredging as much as possible is actually what's key to mitigation, saying, "Silk curtains or silk screens during the operations to minimize the fines from the area of the dredging, keep the dredging area to as minimal space as possible."
The debate continues about the best way to approach mitigation. As time goes on, fishermen like Duenas say they won't pipe down as long as there are fish that are going to be impacted by dirtier water. "Any fish in Apra Harbor part of the reproductive stage or part of the replenishing of this islands resource that will be removed," he said.
Duenas continued, "I saw the map for dredging of Apra Harbor and they are going to come right down the middle. That is a whole reef area that they are going to impact.
"And that's really sad."
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