The Army says a proposal by a Republican legislator allowing the Army to continue to use Makua Valley for training while simultaneously conducting an expensive, time-consuming environmental impact study is "too speculative." Army calls the
proposal for Makua
‘too speculative’By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinRep. Bob McDermott, a former Marine Corps officer, believes the Army should get together with Malama Makua, which has sued the Army to stop training in Makua Valley.
Malama Makua is concerned about the impact the Army's live-fire training has had on the valley's cultural and historical sites. The Army maintains that it has rewritten its training programs to steer clear of those sensitive areas.
At the same time, McDermott, who wants to run for Congress, believes the Army should ask the federal government for $7 million to pay for the environmental impact statement, a wildlife protection plan and a cultural education center.
Army Maj. Nancy Makowski, 25th Infantry Division spokesman, said that despite McDermott's claims, she does not know to whom in the Army he has submitted the proposal.
She said that she was "ignorant of the details" of anything proposed by McDermott and that the Army is currently trying to reach a May 29 deadline imposed by U.S. District Judge Susan Mollway.
Nearly three years ago, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, representing Makua Malama, sued the Army to stop the training in Makua Valley. Under an out-of-court settlement, the Army agreed to halt training there until an assessment of its training needs and an abatement plan could be drafted.
The Army believes that under its proposed supplemental environmental assessment proposal, training should be allowed to resume in the valley with only 150 soldiers and without the use of incendiary devices and rockets.
But Earthjustice still wants the Army to conduct a more comprehensive environmental impact statement.
Makowski said the Army is still working on submitting that environmental assessment to Mollway by May 29.
She said McDermott is not involved in the lawsuit and that his proposal is "too speculative for us to address."
She said, however, that McDermott has attended briefings on Makua held by the Army and has been taken by helicopter to survey the training area.
Meanwhile, the state Legislature, which adjourned for the year last week, did set aside limited funds for studies into the conditions in the Leeward Coast valley, which has been a military training and bombing range since World War II.
Lawmakers earmarked $100,000 to be spent over the next two years assessing and monitoring the impact the military's training has had on the drinking water there.
Another $100,000 was authorized to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish an assessment and monitoring program of the cultural sites and burial sites in Makua Valley.