the ongoing military buildup planning as the island anticipates absorbing upwards of 45,000 people over the course of the next five years.
Residents dissatisfied with faulty dialogue and a lack of clear information demonstrated Friday afternoon at the International Trade Center intersection in Tamuning.
“We are American citizens and I believe that we deserve better,” former Sen. Hope Cristobal stated passionately. “We have this little island of ours that we are depending on to be the kind of environment that will sustain us as a people,” she said.
Cristobal was adamant: “There is no other study more important than the draft environmental statement,” she said referring to the complex document comprised of more than 10,000 pages contained in 10 massive volumes.
“We are poor people. We are on the receiving end. We don’t have the kind of resources that the Department of Defense has,” the former senator explained about the public’s inability to access the technical expertise required to decipher the draft impact statement.
The outspoken activist and critic of military bases further noted serious flaws with the plan’s development besides the short review period allowed the public and local government officials.
Cristobal cited a personal contact in Washington, D.C. who informed her “an environmental impact study on a small island community such as Guam, with the kind of impact this $15 billion project would have, requires not a one or two year environmental impact statement, but at least a 10 year impact statement that would include comprehensive and proper land use planning.”
Sen. Matt Rector was present at the Friday protest as well. He emphasized the complexity of the situation. “I have a degree in chemistry with a concentration in environmental science and I don’t have the expertise to evaluate the environmental impact statement. It’s an insanely complicated document.”
