Army accused of hiding plans
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
An attorney with the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund charges that the 25th Infantry Division (Light) has failed to provide required public information for a planned $693 million fast-strike brigade in Hawai'i.
Honolulu-based attorney David Henkin said the Army violated multiple provisions "of their brand new regulations on what information needs to go out to the public" when it recently held a series of "scoping" meetings on O'ahu to gather comment for an Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. Similar meetings were held on the Big Island.
The Army strongly disagrees.
"I will tell you, the scoping meetings were legal, and done in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act," said Col. William R. Puttmann Jr., garrison commander for U.S. Army Hawai'i. "We're fully committed to complying with NEPA and all the regulatory provisions that are required."
Henkin said the "transformation" plan presented by the 25th Division has been overly vague, failing to spell out proposed land buys, probable environmental impacts or proposed alternatives.
The sweeping Army plan to bring 380 eight-wheeled armored troop carriers to O'ahu left The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i worried that up to half of Honouliuli Preserve would be bought up, and environmentalists concerned about expanded Army training on the Big Island.
"My strong advice to them (the Army) is to admit their mistake and go back to the community with all the information the law requires and do it right, because it's early and there is time to do it right," Henkin said.
Henkin, who represented community group Malama Makua in its lawsuit to get the Army to produce an EIS for live-fire training in Makua Valley, said it's premature to discuss possible legal action.
But he also made his opinion known at an April 24 scoping meeting at Kawananakoa Middle School.
"I made it real clear to the Army — you've got to do this (scoping) again," Henkin said. "They (the Army) can't say, 'This is the only opportunity to comment on scoping — we'll see you next year when we come out with the draft EIS.' "
Army officials in turn say that although the scoping meetings have ended, the scoping period has not. Further details of the transformation plan are being posted on an Army Web site and may be mailed out, officials said, and the public still can comment in writing by letter, e-mail or fax until May 30.
The scoping process is intended to identify issues to be examined in the EIS, which is projected to be released in draft form in February.
Under the Army plan, an Interim Brigade Combat Team of 3,580 soldiers on O'ahu will be equipped with 380 "Strykers," eight-wheeled armored vehicles that can be deployed faster than heavy tank divisions and with more firepower and protection than traditional light infantry forces.
Miles of private trails would be built on O'ahu and the Big Island to get to training grounds, Schofield Barracks would be expanded with the purchase of 1,500 to 2,100 acres, and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island — now at 108,890 acres — would be enlarged by up to 23,000 acres.
The Army expects the first Strykers to be delivered in 2005. Training would begin the following year. None of the 32 construction projects envisioned will begin until the EIS process is completed, possibly in October of 2003.
The Department of the Army on March 29 revised its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, the federal law establishing goals and policies for protecting the environment. An EIS is the most comprehensive environmental documentation under NEPA.
Scoping meetings held April 16 and 17 on the Big Island were followed by five such meetings between April 23 and 30 on O'ahu. After the Army provided an overview of the plan, the public was invited to comment on what should be in the EIS.
Although the regulations do not spell out how many scoping meetings must be held, Capt. Stacy Bathrick, a 25th Division spokeswoman, said, "We held numerous meetings so we could try and find out what people's concerns are."
At the first O'ahu scoping meeting on April 23, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i raised concern about Army discussions to purchase a large portion of 3,700-acre Honouliuli Preserve, which extends across the southern end of the Wai'anae range. The acquisition would be for a new small-arms firing range and motor pool adjacent to Schofield Barracks.
Initially, the Army did not disclose how much land it wanted to buy. Kyle Kajihiro, program director of the American Friends Service Committee, said at the April 23 meeting that "not having maps (for land purchases) is really a problem in commenting adequately on the scoping process."
At the April 29 meeting, meanwhile, Ron Borne, the Army's transformation manager, said additional information was being included and that 1,500 to 2,100 acres was being looked at for purchase next to Schofield.
Puttmann said the process involves "an enormous amount of information. We're trying to make this as transparent as we can," he said. "The meetings are just an initial step to identify what the community concerns are."
He said the Army is releasing as much information as it can with elements of the plan such as land purchases still in negotiation.
Concerns by the community about Honouliuli Preserve, home to more than 70 rare and endangered species, led the Army to scale back its planned purchase there to 120 acres in the northeastern corner of the preserve.
The conservancy has a long-term lease on the land from the Campbell Estate, and officials said the Army would have to use condemnation to acquire it.
The Army also has agreed to re-orient the proposed range so that a safety zone beyond the range would not keep the conservancy out of some of the land it manages most intensively.
But Henkin said with the Army adding information as it goes, those attending the first meetings have been left out of the loop.
"What are they doing about all the people who showed up (then)?" Henkin said.
Henkin said the 25th also failed to comply with new Army NEPA regulations, including requirements to provide "general descriptions of the probable environmental effects" of a plan, and a "sufficiently detailed" description of proposed alternatives.
"I raised my hand and said, 'What alternatives are you considering?' and the response the Army gave was, 'We really don't know. Based on the scoping, we'll figure out what alternatives to look at,' " Henkin said.
Puttmann said the Army met the requirements by talking about potential traffic effects from the outset — saying a network of trails would be built to keep the armored carriers off public roads — and later incorporated possible effects to natural and cultural resources.
As for alternatives, Puttmann said the Army talked about pursuing the interim brigade plan using existing infrastructure, with new facilities, or not at all.
The Army late Friday also said it would be posting a brief description of the proposed projects and maps for possible land purchases at www.ttsfo.com/ibcteis, along with other information.
But Henkin said "the fact that there may be somewhere, somehow, some of the information that the law requires they provide, doesn't get them off the hook."
"Legally, this is not an EIS scoping process," Henkin said. "Whether they are in a particular rush for transformation, I don't know. But all I'm saying is that they are not in such a rush they couldn't do it (scoping) again next month."
Puttmann said Friday there is no need to repeat the scoping meetings.
Asked what kind of impact repeating the process might have on the transformation plan's timeline, Puttmann said, "We're not concerned about a timeline. We're just trying to make sure we fulfill the obligations of the process."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
