Aldan softens tone on Pagan

Northern Islands Mayor Jerome Aldan and Marine Forces Pacific executive director Craig B. Whelden met yesterday at Aldan’s office to discuss the military’s planned use of Pagan, plans for the island’s resettlement, and the National Environment Act Policy process currently ongoing.

Aldan, who in the past has been a staunch opponent to any use of Pagan by the military, appeared to have a change of heart after the meetings. Now he says he “wants to continue dialogue” and “not shut off the military” as far as Pagan is concerned.

“I mentioned that in the past I don’t think we can co-exist but speaking to Mr. Whelden today, there’s got to be a different approach to this. Because a lot of the information I got from him today is more informative of what the military is actually trying to do on Pagan island.”

The talk yesterday has changed his view that the military will just “come in and bomb the entire area into oblivion,” he said.

“Like any other person, when you hear the military you think about destruction. Let’s say, for example, Farallon de Medinilla—they’re bombing that. But according to Mr. Whelden, that is not the case right now and they are good stewards of the environment. So we are going to try to work this [NEPA] process, go through with that, and see what’s at the end of the line and maybe we can have a firmer decision when we reach the end,” he said.

Pagan has been proposed, along with Tinian, to develop joint military training in the CNMI. Right now there is a plan to have combined live fire and maneuver training on Pagan.

According to Whelden yesterday, the impact area of live fire, with “some munitions use,” would be restricted to the volcanic area in the northern part of Pagan.

The live fire area would have a surface danger zone around it, Whelden said. This would take into account “error right and left, far and short.”

He said the surface danger zone would be limited to areas that don’t have flora or fauna, so that “we can protect Pagan in its very pristine state.”

“The military—in modern times—has a pretty good record of being good stewards to the environment,” Whelden said in an interview, adding that he has extended an invitation to Aldan to visit Hawaii so he can see “how Marines train” and “why Marines train.”

Aldan and Whelden also talked about the resettlement or homesteading of Pagan and “how we can cohabitate.”

“The military only plans to use Pagan about 16 weeks per year, and that means there are many weeks where the military wouldn’t be there,” said Whelden.

The live fire area would be in public space. Two alternatives for the live fire training have been proposed, each of different sizes that would be “basically centered around the [northern] volcanic area where there is just rock lava” versus the south where “there is more pristine fauna and flora,” according to Whelden.

The preferred alternative will be out in the draft environmental impact statement due by the end of April. Whelden assured that the decision will “take into concerns of all the Northern Islands people.”

Public hearings will follow in May, with probably two hearings on Saipan and one on Tinian, according to the director. One of the Saipan meetings will be “focused on the folks from the Northern islands,” he said.

The DEIS has been delayed, with its release pushed back from last year to February or March this year, and now to April.

The reason for this is because the military “has heard about the concerns that the CNMI has,” Whelden said.

“We are trying to craft a solution that is closer to meeting the needs and the desires of the people of the CNMI” so that the military “can put more due diligence in our efforts to address some of the concerns,” he said.

On Tinian, concerns range from cattle leaseback area, the solid waste disposal, special use airspace, and building on the Tinian airport, among others, that must be addressed to support military activities.

Whelden described the EIS as “halfway through.” A Record of Decision will probably be due in the summer of 2016.

Aldan, while expressing he’s willing to continue dialogue, clarified that “there is no position here right now.”

“I’m not going to say that I’m confident that we can co-exist because the military is tricky. But given that they are paying for all these studies, let them do the studies” and “let the process play out and use it to our advantage.”

He said the military is paying millions to study historical areas and assess the environmental impact.

“Having that information for us is good for us,” he said, and encouraged the CNMI public to join in on the public hearings later this year.