Military, GovGuam agreement on historic preservation expires in a week

A historic preservation agreement between the Navy and the government of Guam expires in a week, and while negotiations for a new agreement have been ongoing for almost two years, there hasn't been much progress.

A near-final draft of the agreement was ready by the end of 2019, but the process effectively started over in March when the Navy shifted who represented its interests, according to Patrick Lujan, the Guam State Historic Preservation Officer. A team from the Navy's Pacific Fleet originally led the conversations. Now, Joint Region Marianas is in charge. 

"When Joint Region Marianas took over they went in a different direction that set us back a little," Lujan said Wednesday.  "They pretty much started all over. ...It wasn't entirely scrapped. The concepts were taken out to start a new negotiation phase. Why they did that, I don't know."

Joint Region Marianas said that it assumed the lead for discussions "following feedback from our government of Guam partners." 

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"Due to concerns with the content of the Programmatic Agreement draft, including the lack of specificity on training locations in Guam, and the nature of the consultation process, government of Guam representatives requested to continue further Programmatic Agreement discussions and coordination with Joint Region Marianas, as the local U.S. Pacific Fleet representative. Joint Region Marianas has maintained a close working relationship with the government of Guam and is a staunch advocate for the environmental and cultural concerns of local citizens," said Lt. Cmdr. Rick Moore, Joint Region Marianas spokesperson.

The 2009 Programmatic Agreement expired last year. It outlines the Navy's responsibilities to reduce negative impacts on historic and cultural sites during training and testing activities, not associated with the Marine Corps buildup.

The Guam State Historic Preservation Office and Navy officials have been in talks since January 2019 to form a new agreement. An interim document, replicating the expired agreement, was put in place until June. This interim document was extended until the end of September. Joint Region Marianas requested another extension, which Lujan formally declined on Wednesday. 

This means that until a new agreement is signed, the military will have to submit requests to the Guam State Historic Preservation Office for each individual training and testing exercise that may affect the island's cultural sites. 

"In order to methodically work through the new Programmatic Agreement, it is in the best interest of all parties to issue an extension to the existing 2009 Programmatic Agreement to ensure a high-quality document. If an extension is not granted, Department of Defense will continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations," Moore stated.

Lujan said he will not grant any more extensions at all. 

"It's been a long process and it should've been done by now," Lujan said. 

"Right now, we're dealing directly with (Joint Region Marianas') team. They have their own draft. ...We're just now getting into the weeds of it," he said. "Our draft requests remain the same."

Lujan received the latest draft of the agreement from Joint Region Marianas Wednesday morning, which he said he still needed to review. Lujan will be GovGuam's signatory on the new agreement. 

"It's too early to say yay or nay," Lujan said. "We're making progress with them. My asks are the same. ...I'm just trying to get what we need to get done from a SHPO, GovGuam, civilian aspect side. It's not really for me to decide who I'm negotiating with."

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Public comment period

So far, there has been no forum for public comment on the new agreement. 

Neither the Guam State Historic Preservation Office nor the Department of Defense has hosted a forum for public opinion thus far. The governor's office and Lujan previously said they are leaving it up to the Navy to host a public forum. 

"We want to have public comment period," Lujan said. "I want a document that I personally am comfortable with before I present it to the stakeholders and the public, that way I can justify my position for the civilian side."

Once signed, the new agreement may last 10 years. 

How the draft differs

Lujan stated he's seeking the following stipulations in the new document that were not in the 2009 agreement: 

• The military is required to monitor training areas within 30 days of a major military exercise and assess for any negative impacts; 
• The military is required to compile an annual report regarding any major findings, effects on historic properties and summaries of its monitoring;
• The military will host an annual meeting with the Guam State Historic Preservation Office and other local officials to discuss any major findings, effects on historic properties and effectiveness of the programmatic agreement; 
• The military will be required to deliver cultural resource briefings to its members; 
• There are detailed standards to determine any traditional cultural properties on Guam, under the National Register of Historic Places;
• The military is required to update its constraint maps, which delineate where training and testing activities can and cannot take place and any changes must be shared with the Guam State Historic Preservation Office; 
• The Guam State Historic Preservation Office will have more time to respond to military notifications regarding any changes, effects or discoveries pertaining to cultural, historical properties.

Reporter Anumita Kaur covers military, business and tourism on Guam. Follow her on Twitter @anumitakaur. Reach her at akaur@guampdn.com. 

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Military, GovGuam agreement on historic preservation expires in a week