Divert Activity and Exercises (“Divert”)
On September 27, 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”), Department of the Air Force (“USAF”), issued its Notice of Intent to prepare and Environmental Impact Statement for Divert Activities and Exercises, in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”). The initial proposal involved airfield improvements designed to provide additional divert capability for various military aircraft in joint training activities, humanitarian assistance activities, and in support of disaster relief operations for northeast Asia. This proposal involved the development and construction of facilities and infrastructure to support one tanker squadron of 12 KC-135 aircraft and an estimated 500 support personnel.
Following the release of the 2012 DEIS, USAF determined the policies and objectives of the National Environmental Policy Act would be best served through the preparation of a Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“RDEIS”).
On October 5, 2015, USAF announced its NOA for the RDEIS for the Divert and Exercises proposal. The purpose and the need for divert activities and exercises in the CNMI as stated in the 2012 DEIS did not change in the revised draft. The RDEIS provided changes to the levels and types of training proposed to meet the original objectives.
The primary differences between the 2012 DEIS and the 2015 RDEIS were:
· Alternatives were adjusted to provide for a modified Saipan Alternative, a modified Tinian Alternative, and a hybrid modified Alternative which would combine developments on both Saipan and Tinian.
· Construction on the north side of the Tinian International airport is considered
· Fewer aircraft and fewer support personnel was proposed during planned training activities
· Fewer total aircraft operations during planned training activities
· The removal of the requirements for runway extensions, permanent navigational aids, fighter aircraft operations, aircraft hangers, munitions storage facilities, and arm/disarm pads.
The USAF also reduced the total number of proposed aircraft operations from 1,920 take-offs or landings to 720 take-offs or landings. In the RDEIS a preferred alternative was not provided.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) on the Divert Activities and Exercises project was published on September 23, 2016, in which USAF stated its Preferred Alternative was to implement Alternative 2, the modified Tinian Alternative, leaving the selection of use of either the North or South side of the Tinian International Airport for the Record of Decision.
From the RDEIS, the FEIS made two substantive changes to the proposed activity. First change between the RDEIS and the FEIS was in the total land requirements including the total land requirements incorporative of all proposed infrastructure developments and the associated construction footprint. The second change was in clarifying the total number of construction workers required for the construction phase of the project.
Construction Phase Developments
For both the North and South Options of the Modified Tinian Alternative, the Construction Phase would include one parking apron, one cargo pad, one maintenance facility, fuel tanks & supporting infrastructure, a fuel hydrant system, a fire suppression system (water only), and an access road that would be adjusted based on guidance with the Commonwealth Ports Authority. The North Option would require the construction of taxiways to connect the cargo pad and parking aprons with the runway and to connect the existing runway with the existing taxiway. This would require the rerouting of 8th Avenue.
Parking Apron
The North Option Parking Apron would be approximately 1,729,805 ft2 tied to the proposed parallel taxiway. The South Option Parking Apron would be 1,508,251 ft2 connected to the existing taxiway. The design strength for the parking apron would require a 12-inch base with 14 inches of concrete for the entire ramp expansion.
Cargo Pad
The North Option cargo pad would be approximately 250,470 ft2 and would tie into the proposed parallel taxiway. The South Option cargo pad would be approximately 299,754 ft2 and connect into the existing taxiway. The design strength would require a 12-inch base with 14 inches of concrete.
Maintenance Facility
The maintenance facility would be approximately 7,600 ft2 under the North Option and 8,000 ft2 under the South Option and would be adjacent to the proposed fuel tanks under both options.
Access Road
The North Option access road would be approximately 128,924 ft2 , and the South Option access road would be approximately 177,294 ft2
Fire Suppression System
The fire suppression system would contain only water and would provide water in the event of a fire emergency. The water line would be constructed within the disturbance footprint proposed at the airport. The USAF would conduct an analysis of the groundwater flow and the proposed well withdraw rate prior to construction. The North Option fire suppression facility would be approximately 49,527 ft2, and the South Option fire suppression facility would be approximately 53,652 ft2.
Jet Fuel Receiving, Storage, and Distribution
Fuel tanks would be installed at the Tinian International Airport and at the Port of Tinian. Construction will follow design calculations that conform to these requirements. Calculations include seismic, internal and external pressures, and wind loading.
Fuel Distribution Infrastructure
Jet aircraft refueling capability would be provided at the airport by installing a Hydrant Refueling System as a part of the proposed fuel tanks. The hydrant system would circulate fuel to and from the proposed fuel tanks and parking apron and would be constructed within the proposed disturbance area and concrete footprints.
Construction Materials
The Construction Phase for the Modified Tinian Alternative would require significant amounts of concrete. Under the FEIS, dry cement would be barged to Tinian using existing supply chains, and then trucked from the Port of Tinian to a concrete batch plant where the concrete would be mixed. Mixed concrete would then be trucked from the concrete batch facility to Tinian International Airport. A negligible amount of the total volume would also be transported from the concrete batch plant back to the seaport for construction of the fuel tanks.
Taxiways
For the North Option of the Construction Phase of the Modified Tinian Alternative, USAF would build a taxiway north of the existing Tinian International Airport runway to be used to provide access between the runway and the proposed North Option parking apron. USAF would also build a taxiway to connect the existing runway to the existing taxiway. The taxiways would be approximately 1,385,300 ft2.
Reroute 8th Avenue
Under the North Option for the Construction Phase of the Modified Tinian Alternative, a portion of 8th Avenue west of the airport would be rerouted. The reroute of 8th Avenue would result in the disturbance of approximately 40,585 ft2 for the new road.
Construction Workers
The FEIS anticipates that the Construction Phase of the Modified Tinian Alternative would require a peak construction labor demand of 150 construction workers for the North Option or 100 construction workers for the South Option.
Implementation Phase
Under the Modified Tinian Alternative, the Tinian International Airport would be the sole divert airfield to support military operations, humanitarian assistance staging, exercises, and other aircraft support activities in the CNMI.
The detailed components from the FEIS are:
Divert Operations
Tinian International Airport would be used for divert operations to operate aircraft when other locations in the western Pacific are temporarily unavailable due to disaster or other events that affect the use of Andersen Airforce Base.
Humanitarian Assistance Staging
Tinian International Airport would be used for humanitarian assistance staging in response to a natural or man-made disaster, when needed.
Military Exercises
Only cargo, tanker, or similar type aircraft such as the KC-135 would participate in joint military exercises. The USAF estimates that approximately 720 operations (360 take-offs and 360 landings) by KC-135 or similar aircraft would be completed annually at Tinian International Airport. All flight activity after take-off (i.e., above 10,000 feet) would occur within the MIRC and is authorized in the MIRC and MITT Records of Decision. These exercises may include the use of a mobile air traffic control tower during planned joint military exercises.
Jet Fuel Receiving, Storage, and Distribution
Jet fuel would be offloaded at the existing fuel offloading facility at the seaport from vessels capable of navigating the harbor and would be received through the existing commercial supply chain and regularly scheduled fuel deliveries, which would be managed by the Defense Logistics Agency under contract with a commercial fuel supplier. USAF did not propose to increase the total number of fuel tanker trips to Tinian or to improve the Tinian Harbor.
The FEIS estimates that it would take six fuel trucks (10,000 gallons each) 30 days working approximately 10 hours per day initially to fill the fuel storage tank at the airport. To maintain the airport tank fuel supply for operations exceeding 30 days, fuel trucks would need to transport fuel over surface roads. It was assumed that up to six trucks operating 10 hours per day for the duration of the operation would be required.
Jet aircraft refueling capability would be provided using a combination of current capabilities of the Tinian International Airport and installing a Hydrant Refueling System as a part of proposed fuel tanks and a parking apron.
Lodging
Temporary lodging would be required for up to 265 personnel on Tinian that would support aircraft operations during a divert operation, humanitarian assistance, or military exercise event.
USAF and PACAF would enter into agreements with local hotels to accommodate personnel in commercial lodging during planned activities such as exercises. In an emergency, medical care would continue to be provided by military personnel and would occur at Saipan Hospital under an agreement with the hospital. This would require military personnel to receive validation of their credentials before practicing at a civilian hospital from (presumably) the CNMI Board of Professional Licensure. Medical care would be provided by military personnel on Tinian in non-life-threatening situations.
Support personnel would be provided food purchased from commercial vendors on Tinian and personnel would be transported using vehicles rented from commercial retailers on Tinian. It is assumed that commercial buses would be used to transport a maximum of 265 personnel to and from commercial lodging and the airfield. It is assumed that buses would transport approximately 50 personnel per bus to and from the airfield once a day, or approximately 10 trips per day. This equates to five buses making two trips each to and from the airfield during the 8 weeks of exercises.
Record of Decision
The Record of Decision (“ROD”) was signed on December 7, 2016, selecting the modified Tinian Alternative, specifically the North Field option, as the location for the divert airfield.
In order to begin construction of the facilities and infrastructure contained required for the project USAF first required the approval of the Airport Layout Plan (“ALP”) from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) submitted by the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
After several rounds of negotiations, on November 2018, the CNMI and the Department of Defense officially signed a purchase agreement for the Tinian divert airfield. On May 3, 2019, the Department of Defense and the Commonwealth Ports Authority signed a 40-year lease agreement worth $21.9 million.
Shortly after the signing of the lease agreement for the Tinian divert airfield, the USAF released its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“DSEIS”) for Tinian Divert Infrastructure Improvements in May 2019. The DSEIS, stated that after the ROD was signed based on the 2016 Divert EIS, further evaluation of fuel transfer methods was undertaken that were not included in the 2016 FEIS. In the supplement to the 2016 FEIS, USAF proposed to construct a fuel pipeline, and associated infrastructure at the Tinian Harbor to transport fuel from the seaport to the airport. This pipeline would eliminate the need for bulk fuel storage tanks at the Tinian seaport and negate the need for fuel tanker trucks to shuttle fuel from the seaport to the airport.
The SDEIS proposed two actions:
· Construct a fuel pipeline from the Tinian Seaport to the Tinian International Airport, inclusive of a booster pump house and associated fire protection systems, a boom storage building, and associated utility connections at the seaport; and
· Improve existing roads between the seaport and the airport along the routes previously proposed for Divert vehicle traffic in the 2016 FEIS.
In July 2020, USAF released its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Tinian Divert Infrastructure Improvements, wherein it identified the East Route Alternative described in the 2019 DSEIS as the preferred alternative, adding that the West Route Alternative, although shorter in length, is partially encumbered by a long-term land lease by a private entity.