Project sites for Guam missile defense system narrowed down to 16; Prep work set to begin in 2025

Construction work to require 400 workers each year

By Jayvee Vallejera

A plan to put up a missile defense system on Guam that will create a 360-degree shield for the territory is expected to kick off in late 2025 and will require an average of 400 workers each year over 10 years, according to the draft environmental impact statement prepared by the federal agency that is spearheading the project.

According to the draft EIS released today by the Missile Defense Agency, the site projects for the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system have been narrowed down from 21 to 16 locations across Guam, all within Department of Defense lands.

The plan calls for about three to five sites to be built per year, and peak construction will occur between 2028 and 2030.

Of the proposed sites, eight will be at U.S. Naval Base Guam (including the NBG Munitions Site), six will be at Anderson Air Force Base, and two will be at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

The MDA estimates that about 60 percent (or 240) of the 400 laborers needed each year would be foreign workers.

The commenting period for the draft environmental impact statement officially begins today and ends on Jan. 8, giving residents 75 days to submit their input.

The EIS does not expect to build temporary housing for these construction workers, saying they would be expected to find homes and live outside the military fence (within the Guam community).

As construction is completed and the enhanced missile defense system becomes operational at each site, the MDA projects operational staffing of the EIAMD system to increase starting from 2025 up to 2031.

Operational personnel would include military staff, civilian support workers, and DoD contractors and would remain at approximately 1,000 personnel from 2032 onward, the EIS said.

Approximately 1,300 dependents are also estimated to accompany personnel starting in 2031. The 2020 U.S. Census reports that Guam has a population of 153,836.

“The temporary population increase would have a negligible impact on the resident population and demographics of Guam. Whether impacts are considered adverse or beneficial is largely a matter of perception. Impacts would be less than significant,” the document said.

Soon after construction work is done, MDA and the Army will test the EIAMD system, followed by its initial operations. That’s where the additional operational workers would come in, plus their dependents.

The integrated facilities would operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

The draft EIS did not explore the additional manpower that would be required in a time of war or increased hostilities. The peacetime posture also does not include live-fire testing at the system sites.

The draft EIS said the project would result in a total increase in 535 jobs in Guam—which “would represent an 0.8 percent increase over Guam’s June 2023 employed workforce of 64,890.”

In terms of economic impact, the report states that labor income would contribute the largest share of generated income, accounting for $27.1 million of the $48.6 million income generated annually.

The draft EIS states that annual direct output generated by construction would be about $43.4 million. That increase in tax revenue for the Government of Guam would come from a variety of sources, including personal income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, corporate taxes, and property taxes.

Some of these impacts, such as increased revenue, job creation and economic activity, would be direct and beneficial, but the draft EIS said these impacts are short-term, minor, and less than significant over the 10-year duration of construction.

As for the construction’s impacts on Guam’s tourism, the draft EIS states that any impacts from these activities would be short-term.

“Site construction would be phased so that no one site is under construction for the entire duration of the construction period. While some tourists may be inconvenienced by construction activities, the impacts on tourism on Guam would be short-term, minor, and less than significant,” it added.

Ground-disturbing activities would occur while the sites are being built and could take up to 12 months per site. The draft EIS said construction activities would typically occur up to 10 hours per day, six days per week. If necessary, to meet construction timelines, work at night may occur.

Submitting comments

The MDA and cooperating agencies invite the public to review the Draft EIS and submit official comments during the public review and comment period from Oct. 25, 2024, through Jan. 8, 2025. The Draft EIS is available for download on the project website or in print at the University of Guam Robert F. Kennedy and the Nieves M. Flores Memorial libraries.

EIS, comments must be postmarked or received online by Jan. 8, 2025. 

Comments on the Draft EIS may be submitted at the public meetings, online at www.EIAMD-EIS.com, by email to info@EIAMD-EIS.com, or by U.S. postal mail to: ManTech International Corporation
Attention: EIAMD EIS Project Support PMB 403  1270 N. Marine Corps Dr., Suite 101 Tamuning, Guam 96913-4331

While the agency highlights the massive project’s economic gains for the territory, its environmental, social and cultural impacts are likely to raise concerns.

On the cultural aspect, site preparation and construction activities alone “could result in direct, permanent adverse effects to 10 historic properties and impact 14 unevaluated resources.”

 “However, where practicable, historic properties would be avoided. If avoidance is not possible, or if there is an inadvertent discovery, resource management measures would be implemented,” the agency said.

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On airspace, the EIS acknowledged that potential impacts “would be long term due to changes to aircraft rerouting around new restricted areas for commercial

flight operations, general aviation, military aviation and transient aircraft flights.”

Guam’s biological resources including native species are also at stake, with approximately 269 acres of limestone forest habitat within the project sites that will be removed.

Most likely to be affected by the removal of the limestone forest habitat is the population of the Mariana fruit bat, which is listed as endangered.

“Therefore, impacts on limestone forest would remain as major, long-term and significant with implementation of the proposed action.”

The document also noted significant and long-term impacts from the removal of 4,866 individuals of Cycas micronesica, a palm-like tree also listed as an endangered species.

The MDA said, “Implementation of the potential mitigation measures would

 reduce impacts from the implementation of the proposed action.”

The agency also noted potential impacts on groundwater resources, particularly the quality and quantity of water in the northern part of the island, resulting from “any water withdrawals necessary to support operations and management activities” and “potential runoff from new impervious surfaces that may percolate into the (Northern Guam lens aquifer) during the long-term operation of the EIAMD system sites.”

At each project site, the proposed missile defense system “would  require

 approximately 47,600 gallons per day, accounting for “approximately 0.10 percent of the total water requirements on the island,” with most water sourced from the northern aquifer.

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The EIS also assessed the impact on Guam’s air quality.

“Greenhouse gas emissions generated from proposed site preparations

 and construction are temporary and equivalent to 0.00006 percent of the global GHG emissions, approximately 0.0005 percent of the reported U.S.

“Emissions in 2021, and approximately 2.54 percent of the 2022 GHG emissions reported by Guam’s large emitting facilities. These would result in a short-term (spread over give–10 years), minor increase of GHG emissions and no detectable GWP changes resulting from the emission levels associated with these activities. Impacts would be less than significant.”

The draft EIS states that all potential impacts from the project would be short-term, negligible, and less than significant.

The draft EIS did note that site preparation and construction activities could result in direct, permanent adverse effects on 10 historic properties in Guam and impact 14 unevaluated resources.

“However, where practicable, historic properties would be avoided. If avoidance is not possible, or if there is an inadvertent discovery, resource management measures would be implemented and conducted in accordance with the 2008 Programmatic Agreement,” it added.

It assured that archaeological resources won't be affected since EIAMD activities will not involve ground disturbances except for the construction areas.

As for any endangered species that may be found at the affected sites where construction work will be done, the MDA draft EIS said that pre-construction surveys would be done to identify all federal Endangered Species Act-listed plants and they would be relocated, if possible, or seeds would be collected.

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