Navy and NASA look to renew Kauai land use deals

DENNIS FUJIMOTO / GARDEN ISLAND
Capt. Brett Stevenson, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, talked with local residents Tuesday at the first of three environmental impact statement scoping meetings. The first meeting was held at the Kauai Veterans Center.

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DENNIS FUJIMOTO / GARDEN ISLAND

Capt. Brett Stevenson, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, talked with local residents Tuesday at the first of three environmental impact statement scoping meetings. The first meeting was held at the Kauai Veterans Center.

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DENNIS FUJIMOTO / GARDEN ISLAND

Lt. Commander John Kimmel and Fred Styer of the Pacific Missile Range Facility welcomed guests to their display board, while NASA representatives explained the function of the Kokee facility Tuesday during the first of three environmental impact statement scoping meetings. The meeting was held at the Kauai Veterans Center.

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LIHUE >> The current real estate agreements between the U.S. Navy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration are set to expire between 2027 and 2030.

Both the Navy and NASA propose to maintain long-term use of the land they occupy, and to satisfy the requirements for negotiations, both parties are working on creating an environmental impact statement to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposed real estate agreements.

The EIS is scheduled to take several years to complete, which coincides with the expiration of the real estate agreements.

“It would be nice if the Navy sets aside some of the land for a landfill,” said a kupuna who on Tuesday visited the first of three public meetings at the Kauai Veterans Center intended to gather input and comments from residents and communities as part of the EIS creation process. “I came to the meeting to specifically tell them that. I’m not leaving until they hear me say it.”

The Navy currently leases or holds easements for approximately 8.348 acres of state land primarily for passive encroachment buffer, as well as for mission readiness, access and utilities for PMRF. The Navy proposes to maintain long-term Department of Defense use of the 8.348 acres of lands for operational continuity and its military readiness mission.

NASA Koke‘e Park Geophysical Observatory leases or holds easements for 23 acres of state land for its operations. NASA has issued a use permit for the Navy to use portions of KPGO to conduct PMRF mission support with radar, telemetry and communications services.

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NASA operates KPGO to collect geodetic data about Earth’s shape, orientation in space and gravity. This data supports modern navigation technology, such as the Global Positioning System, which is used daily in a wide variety of devices, including hand-held smartphones. Additionally, the data is used for scientific studies, spacecraft navigation and geolocation of Earth observatories.

The scoping phase continues until June 17. People can comment through the project website at PMRF-KPGO- EIS.com. Comments can also be submitted through email at info@PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com or through the U.S. Postal Service with a postmark by June 17.

Comments can be mailed to Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Hawai‘i Environmental OPHEV2, Attention: PMRF and KPGO RE EIS Project Manager: Ms. Kerry Wells, 400 Marshall Road, Building X-11, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860.