Category: Programmatic Agreement

Vice Speaker Terlaje’s Statement on 6th Annual Programmatic Agreement Workshop

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (May 24, 2018– Hagåtña)-

Today, at the invitation of the State Historic Preservation Office, I attended the 6th Annual Guam Programmatic Agreement Workshop. The annual PA Workshop is a meeting closed to the general public that is hosted by the Department of Defense to discuss DOD’s compliance with the Guam Programmatic Agreement relative to historic properties affected by DOD Buildup projects, with PA signatories-various leaders from the DOD regional command, and the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Last year, I raised questions at the annual workshop as to unfulfilled promises in the PA relative to DOD buildup projects affecting historic properties, including a repository and a museum. DOD announced last month that the repository would be built at UOG pursuant to a grant.

At todays workshop, DOD announced that it was unable to deliver any funds for the promised museum complex, and that no federal agencies had additional congressional authority or discretionary funds to support construction of the Guam Museum.

I also reiterated concerns during the workshop that the avoidance of adverse impacts to historic sites is not being fully achieved and instead the “data recovery” which is the removal of a sampling of archaeologically relevant material, is the only option being utilized for several important historic sites. This includes the Northwest Field live fire training range location (adjacent to Ritidian/Litekyan), where over 100 historic sites have been discovered and 14 will not be protected.

Guam’s SHPO also raised objections relative to several military projects including, LFTRC (Live Fire Training Range, Northwest Field), Main Cantonment (Marine Base, Finegayan), Anderson South Training Complex, and Water Well Development (Anderson Air Force Base), invoking Stipulation XIII of the Programmatic Agreement, which requires parties 45 days to resolve objections.

I have sent a letter to the Governor detailing my concerns with the Programmatic Agreement, requesting that he address these concerns and halt clearing and construction, where historic properties and limestone forest habitat will be impacted.

Read Vice Speaker Terlaje’s Letter to the Governor:
Letter to Gov_PA Workshop and Issues

Information Briefing: March 21, 2017

The Committee on Culture and Justice convened an Information Briefing on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña. The intent of the Briefing was to focus on the following:

  • Historic Properties to be adversely impacted by the proposed urban warfare training range at Andersen South, proposed mitigation plans, and the process by which public comments are due to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas on April 24, 2017;
  • Cultural and Historic resources impacted by the proposed Live-Fire Training Range Complex (LFTRC) at Northwest Field, AAFB, the Biological Opinion on critical habitat due to U.S. Fish & Wildlife in Fall 2017, the Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan (INRMP) between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the Department of Defense, and an update on the Programmatic Agreement for this project.

The Committee Report on the Briefing can be viewed through this link: CR Informational Briefing 3.21.17_Final

Vice Speaker Terlaje raises concerns at Programmatic Agreement Meeting and states ancient villages at Ritidian/Litekyan should not be disturbed.

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (April 27, 2017 – Hagåtña) – During today’s annual Programmatic Agreement meeting Vice Speaker Therese Terlaje (D-Yona) raised several concerns.  One of the concerns raised by Vice Speaker Terlaje was that the terms of the Programmatic Agreement had not been fully complied with.  Specifically, Terlaje asked for an opinion from the representative from the Advisory Council on Historic Property (ACHP) as to whether DoD had complied in good faith with mitigation of the cumulative effects of the military buildup on cultural and historic properties pursuant to Section VII.C.4.b . ACHP requested that the USN submit a white paper discussing its efforts to comply with the mitigation mandated in Section VII. C. 4. b, which provides :

“b. In addition to the Guam Cultural Repository facility addressed above, DoD will also advocate to other Federal agencies to fund a complete museum complex on Guam to house and display Guam’s unique cultural artifacts for the public’s benefit”.

The museum complex is a mitigation requirement separate from and in addition to the 20,000 square foot Guam Cultural Repository described in Section Vii.C.4.a., which was promised to be funded in 2012 but has only recently been fully authorized in the amount of $12M. DoD reported that the repository plans are not finalized and it is unknown whether the amount will be sufficient given the current labor shortage and inflation since 2012.

DoD also reported that historic properties in Finegayan and Northwest Field that may have been eligible for the National Register would be disturbed by military activity and that the PA authorized them to mitigate by data recovery instead of avoidance.

Vice Speaker Terlaje also discussed with the ACHP that the firing ranges at Northwest Field were not specifically contemplated in the PA and overlay very significant historical properties, including an ancient village at Ritidian/Litekyan that should not be disturbed.

 

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For more information, please call the Office of Vice Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586.