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Executive Summary CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... ES-I ES.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... ES-1 ES.2 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION ............................................................ ES-4 ES.3 AGENCY AND STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION ................................................................... ES-5 ES.4 ALTERNATIVES DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................... ES-6 ES.5 PROPOSED ACTION ........................................................................................................ ES-12 ES.6 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MEASURES ........................................................................... ES-49 ES.7 MITIGATION MEASURES ................................................................................................. ES-49 ES.8 PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE .............................................................................................. ES-49 ES.9 OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ..................................................................... ES-50 ES.10 REFERENCES................................................................................................................... ES-78 List of Figures ES-1 U.S. Pacific Command Area of Responsibility ........................................................................ ES-2 ES-2 Mariana Islands Regional Map .............................................................................................. ES-3 ES-3 Tinian All Action Alternatives Military Lease Area-wide Training Assets ............................ ES-25 ES-4 Tinian All Action Alternatives Surface Danger Zones .......................................................... ES-27 ES-5 Tinian All Action Alternatives Special Use Airspace: Two-Dimensional Perspective ........... ES-29 ES-6 Tinian All Action Alternatives Base Camp ............................................................................ ES-30 ES-7 Tinian All Action Alternatives Munitions Storage Area ....................................................... ES-31 ES-8 Tinian All Action Alternatives Airport Improvements ......................................................... ES-32 ES-9 Tinian All Action Alternatives Port Improvements and Supply Route ................................. ES-33 ES-10 Tinian All Action Alternatives Range Access Improvements, Fence Lines, and Gates ........ ES-35 ES-11 Tinian All Action Alternatives Utility Improvements ........................................................... ES-37 ES-12 Unai Chulu Tactical Amphibious Beach Landing Dredging and Construction ..................... ES-38 ES-13 Unai Chulu Tactical Amphibious Beach Landing Operations ............................................... ES-39 ES-14 Pagan Alternative 1 Range Complexes ................................................................................ ES-45 ES-15 Pagan Alternative 2 Range Complexes ................................................................................ ES-46 ES-16 Pagan All Action Alternatives Surface Danger Zones .......................................................... ES-47 ES-i CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Table of Contents List of Tables ES-1 Summary of No-Action Alternative Training on Tinian Exclusive Military Use Area by U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Guam National Guard/Reserve ................ ES-17 ES-2 Summary Comparison of Action Tinian Alternatives ........................................................... ES-19 ES-3 Summary Comparison of Pagan Alternatives ...................................................................... ES-42 ES-4 Summary of Impacts for Tinian Alternatives ....................................................................... ES-51 ES-5 Summary of Impacts for Pagan Alternatives ....................................................................... ES-58 ES-6 Summary of Potential Mitigation Measures........................................................................ ES-62 ES-ii CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Acronyms and Abbreviations Acronyms and Abbreviations % percent EIS Environmental Impact Statement CFR Code of Federal Regulations MSL mean sea level CIP Capital Improvements Projects Program Office NEPA National Environmental Policy Act CJMT Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana OEIS Overseas EIS Islands Joint Military Training QDR Quadrennial Defense Review CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern RTA Range and Training Areas Mariana Islands U.S. United States DoN Department of the Navy ES-iii CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Acronyms and Abbreviations This page intentionally left blank. ES‐iv CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Executive Summary ES.1 INTRODUCTION The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to examine the potential effects of their proposed actions on the human environment. The human environment includes the natural and physical environment and the relationship of people with that environment. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a detailed public document that complies with the requirements of NEPA by assessing the potential effects that a major federal action may have on the human environment. This Executive Summary presents a summary of information presented in the EIS/Overseas EIS (OEIS). A list of technical terms and definitions is presented in the Glossary. The proposed action is to establish a series of live-fire ranges, training courses, and maneuver areas within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to reduce existing joint service training deficiencies and meet the United States (U.S.) Pacific Command Service Components’ unfilled unit level and combined level training requirements in the Western Pacific. Under the proposed action, unit level training would occur on Tinian and combined level training would occur on Pagan. Use of both islands is required to meet the purpose and need for the proposed action. The proposed action includes: construction, range management, expanded training and operations (to include combined arms, live- fire, and maneuver training at the unit and combined level), establishment of danger zones, designation of Special Use Airspace, and interest in land to support simultaneous and integrated training. An OEIS is required per Executive Order 12114 when a proposed action has the potential to significantly harm the environment of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, the global commons, or a foreign nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone, territorial sea, or land mass. An OEIS is warranted for the proposed action described in this document because of proposed changes to international airspace past 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers). To reduce duplication, the EIS and OEIS are combined into one document. This EIS/OEIS identifies the proposed action, along with a preferred alternative, and evaluates the potential environmental effects associated with a variety of reasonable alternatives. Each of the action alternatives, as well as the no-action alternative, is described in Chapter 2, Proposed Action and Alternatives. Several studies, reports, assessments, and international agreements have documented the need for additional training capabilities in the U.S. Pacific Command’s Area of Responsibility in the Western Pacific (Figure ES-1). Relevant documents are summarized in Section ES.2, Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action. Within the Western Pacific, the greatest need and potential opportunity for increased training capacity and capability occurs in the Mariana Islands, specifically the CNMI which is comprised of 14 islands north of Guam (Figure ES-2). ES-1 Legend Mariana Islands (see inset, exaggerated for visibility) Areas of Responsibility Pagan Pacific Command (PACOM) MARIANA ISLANDS Northern Command (NORTHCOM) (included in the U.S. Pacific Command Area of Responsibility) Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Tinian European Command (EUCOM) Africa Command (AFRICOM) Central Command (CENTCOM) EUCOM NORTHCOM CENTCOM PACOM AFRICOM SOUTHCOM 0 2,000 4,000 Miles Figure ES-1 Kilometers U.S. Pacific Command Area of Responsibility N 0 2,000 4,000 ES-2 Uracus Mariana Pagan Islands Maug North Beach Asuncion Laguna Sanhalom Laguna Sanhiyon Mount Blue Beach Pagan Red Beach Agrihan Green Beach Philippine Sea Gold Beach Pagan South Beach South Pagan Pacific Volcano Mount Maru Ocean Mount Togari Alamagan Philippine Guguan Sea Kutake Yashi Minami Saki (South Point) 00.5 1 2 Sarigan Miles Kilometers 0 1 2 Anatahan Ushi "Cross" Point Tinian Unai Lam Lam Farallon De Philippine Sea Unai Babui Medinilla Unai Chulu Lake North Hagoi Field Unai Chiget Saipan Lamanibot Bay Mount Unai Dankulo e Lasso Tinian u n e y v a A Unai Masalok Aguijan w h d t a 8 86th Street o r Pacific Ocean B Tinian International Airport Angyuta Islet Rota Pacific Ocean San Jose Tinian Harbor Guam Area of Extent Marpo Point 07.5 15 30 00.5 1 2 Nautical Miles Guam International Broadcasting Bureau Miles Kilometers CNMI Kilometers 0 15 30 Military Lease Area 0 1 2 Southwest Carolinas Point Figure ES-2 Mariana Islands Regional Map N ES-3 CJMT EIS/OEIS April 2015 Draft Executive Summary ES.2 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce joint training deficiencies for military services in the Western Pacific. Existing U.S. military live-fire, unit
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