Yet another bad report related to the Guam Buildup
Program. Local media reports say that
the U.S. Department of Defense has advised the Governor of Guam that the
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was scheduled to be
released in December, won't be let out to the public until March 2014. Buildup Director Mark Calvo told local
broadcast media that the delay appears to be caused by the "complicated
nature of studying the options and the
options they're looking at are numerous. Five cantonment areas and seven range areas."
I don't read the DOD delay like Mark does.
Options have been studied extensively. This is a program that started back in 1996
when the push to move U.S. Marines started.
Many options have been presented over the past 17 years. Studies have already been done. Both the pros and cons of the military effort
have been discussed on the "Beltway" and at Adelup. What is needed is a decision to present a
Master Plan to Congress that spells out the way forward for this buildup
effort. How many GAO reports and
requests from both House and Senate Armed Services Committees will it take to
ensure this proud American community to get a definitive answer on this
important issue facing our people?
I can understand the diligence required for such an
effort. Many of our Government of Guam
Planners have been in lock-step with the federal government since 2009 and have
presented much of the alternatives to ensure a successful program on Guam. Federal bureaucrats responsible for this important
DOD program have changed throughout the past seven years. Many have retired. Many were fired. Many others simply quit. Many are now just getting
up to speed on the progress to date and given the direction to seek more input
from island leaders.
Timing is everything.
Input from island leaders at the start of the new year will
take on a whole new tone-Election Time!
We all can expect rhetoric to be turned on "full
blast". Candidates for Senator will
decry the benefits of the Guam Buildup Program.
Candidates for Governor will work to make you believe that their
respective leadership will finally bring the Guam Buildup Program to a reality. Pundits will make the Guam Buildup Program the
biggest election year issue-Never mind those common pocket book issues like
jobs, economic growth in other non-federal sectors and curbing the costs of
energy on our island.
I expect much of the time between now and March will ignore
the political realities of the island and become a place where voters and
outsiders will look at the talk as something either very moving or just more
chatter on an issue that clearly has taken a back seat in Washington DC and in
Tokyo. Decision 2014 won't help matters
much either. Let's all keep an eye on
this report and others in the waning days of 2013.