VICE Speaker BJ Cruz wrote to Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley, criticizing her for allowing the Department of Defense to push ahead with its plan to use Pagat as the site for the Marines’ firing ranges.
“Imagine our disappointment that the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the entity that oversees environmental assessment process, does not object to the use of land in the Pagat area of Guam as firing ranges,” Cruz said.
Cruz said Guam would have been better served by having representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who reviewed the draft environmental impact statement, come to Guam to present their views on the final report.
Cruz noted Pagat’s sacredness and its significance in the Chamorro culture. He stated that the use of Pagat is “sacrilegious.”
“Is Pagat, then, of so little value that it does not warrant protection and preservation?” he asked.
Cruz wrote a separate letter to Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, urging her to take a stronger stance in opposition to the use of Pagat by the military.
The National Preservation Trust included Pagat in the list of 11 most endangered historical sites in the United States.
The Guam Preservation Trust and National Preservation Trust announced Monday that they will consider filing a lawsuit against the Department of Defense after further analysis of the final impact study.
Federal officials who recently visited Guam have repeatedly defended their stance on a proposed firing range to be built in Pagat, despite clear opposition from the local community.
“There’s nothing new,” Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn said during an ambush interview with reporters after his meeting with members of the legislature at Carmen’s Restaurant in Hagatna on Wednesday.
When asked if DOD is prepared for possible legal action, Lynn responded, “As I said we’re trying to deal with the concerns on Pagat.”
“We understand that it’s an important Chamorro culture that’s in that area. We need to address that in order to have—to be able to use that area for a Marine firing range,” he added.
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