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Inos: Decision on EIS review will come after the public hearings
Gov. Eloy S. Inos has confirmed that the U.S. military will decide on a request to extend the CNMI’s review period of the military’s draft environment impact statement only after the public hearings on the EIS are completed.
The draft EIS details the military’s planned “live-fire” training exercises, particularly on Tinian and Pagan.
But the voluminous draft EIS and its technical content prompted Inos and lawmakers in the CNMI to write a letter of request for a six-month extension of its review, instead of the military’s prescribed 45-day review period.
The Inos administration is also seeking experts outside the CNMI to study and further analyze the draft EIS.
“The military has responded to me and that they will go through the public hearings. It appears they will not make any decision until after all the scheduled public hearings are complete,” Inos said.
The governor said he continues to meet with the military but only on the ad hoc level to discuss some details on the draft EIS. “But I think their schedule is already set for the hearings,” Inos said.
The public hearings are set on Saipan and Tinian next week. Inos said he will attend the hearing on Saipan, but hinted that he might skip the hearing on Tinian.
“I don’t want to interfere, so to speak, with the people of Tinian, so they may speak more freely,” Inos said.
