Håfa Adai and Welcome!
Håfa Adai and welcome to the environmental planning website for the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Overseas EIS (OEIS).
This website is an online resource for information on the preparation of the MITT SEIS/OEIS. The Department of the Navy (lead agency), including both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps; the U.S. Air Force; the U.S. Army; and the U.S. Coast Guard (referred to as “Action Proponents”), are preparing a supplement to the 2015 MITT EIS/OEIS and the 2020 MITT SEIS/OEIS to assess the potential environmental effects associated with the Proposed Action to continue military readiness activities at sea and on Farallon de Medinilla (FDM) within the MITT Study Area (referred to as the “Study Area”). The Navy as the lead agency for the Proposed Action is responsible for the scope and content of the SEIS/OEIS and Section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to ensure U.S. military services, to include the Coast Guard, can organize, train, and equip service members and personnel to meet their respective national defense missions.
Military readiness activities include training; research, development, testing, and evaluation (referred to as “testing”) activities; and range modernization and sustainment. Proposed training and testing activities are similar to those previously analyzed and are representative of activities conducted around the Mariana Islands for decades, with some updates to the type, frequency, duration, intensity, and location. Proposed range modernization and sustainment includes placement and maintenance of subsurface targets, such as training minefields, and placement of temporary instrumentation in the Study Area.
In the SEIS/OEIS, the Action Proponents will analyze new information and changes to military readiness activities as they relate to effects on the environment. Examples of new information and changes to the Proposed Action from the 2015 MITT EIS/OEIS and 2020 MITT SEIS/OEIS include:
- Updates to training and testing activities previously analyzed and which currently reflect the most up-to-date compilation of activities deemed necessary to accomplish military readiness requirements;
- A revised acoustic effects model;
- Updated marine mammal density data, acoustic effects criteria, and thresholds;
- Research published since the 2015 MITT EIS/OEIS and the 2020 MITT SEIS/OEIS; and
- Range modernization and sustainment in a manner necessary to support these training and testing activities.
Proposed training continues to include joint- and combined-force exercises, including those in which foreign partners and allied nations participate. At-sea military readiness activities may include the use of active sonar, explosives, or other sources of sound. The Action Proponents would continue to employ mitigation measures when conducting at-sea activities to reduce or avoid potential adverse effects on marine species.
The Navy will seek the reissuance of an authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and consultations under the Endangered Species Act to support at-sea military readiness requirements within the Study Area beyond July 2027 and will comply with other applicable laws and regulations.
The Action Proponents invited the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to be a cooperating agency in preparation of the SEIS/OEIS. NMFS was requested to be a cooperating agency because of its expertise and regulatory authority over marine resources. As a cooperating agency, NMFS subject matter experts review sections related to potential effects on marine mammals and other protected marine species. Additionally, after independent review, NMFS may adopt the SEIS/OEIS to fulfill its NEPA obligations for the rule-making process under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Additional project information can be found in the fact sheet, project overview video, and virtual scoping presentation.