Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Training and Exercises at Airfields in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential social, economic, and env...
Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense.
ACTION:
Notice of intent.
SUMMARY:
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential social, economic, and environmental effects associated with conducting aircraft training and exercises at airfields in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), including Saipan International Airport, Tinian International Airport, Tinian North Field, and Rota International Airport. DAF is the lead agency for the CNMI Airfields Training and Exercises (CATE) EIS and intends to invite the Federal Aviation Administration and Commonwealth Ports Authority to be cooperating agencies. DAF will consult with, and obtain the comments of, federal agencies that have jurisdiction by law or special expertise related to the environmental analysis.
DATES:
A public scoping period of 30 days will take place starting from the date of this NOI publication in the
Federal Register
. DAF requests comments on alternatives, impacts, relevant information, studies, or analyses with respect to the Proposed Action. Comments should be submitted in writing to the website or address listed in the
ADDRESSES
section and will be accepted at any time during the EIS process; however, to ensure the DAF has sufficient time to consider public input, please submit within the 30-day scoping period. The Draft EIS is anticipated in Fall 2027 and the Final EIS is anticipated in Summer 2028.
DAF invites the public, stakeholders, and other interested parties to attend the public scoping meetings to be held on the following dates and times.
November 18, 2026, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., ChST, Saipan
November 19, 2026, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., ChST—, Tinian
November 21, 2026, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ChST, Rota
Information that will be provided at the public scoping meetings is available on the project website (
www.CATEEIS.com). Attendees of the public scoping meetings will have the opportunity to submit written comments.
ADDRESSES:
The Saipan meeting will be held at Pacific Islands Club, San Antonio, Saipan. The Tinian meeting will be held at Tinian Western Lodge, Marpo Heights, Tinian. The Rota meeting will be held at the Rota Mayor's Office, Tatachok, Rota with potential alternate locations for Rota being the Courthouse or Round House. Addresses for the in-person public scoping meetings listed in the
DATES
section will be published in local newspaper and on the project website a minimum of 15 days prior to the meetings. Written scoping comments can be submitted at an in-person scoping meeting or via the project website
www.CATEEIS.com.
Scoping comments may also be submitted by email to
PACAF.NEPA.CATEEIS@us.af.mil,
or by mail to AFIMSC Det 2/CEV, ATTN: CATE EIS, 25 E ST STE C-310, JBPHH, HI 96853.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For inquiries regarding accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or questions regarding the Proposed Action, scoping, and EIS development please contact Shawn Williams at
PACAF.NEPA.CATEEIS@us.af.mil
or by phone at 1 (808) 789-7446.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to conduct aircraft training and exercises at operable airfields in the CNMI to enhance DAF operational readiness and resiliency by conducting distributed operations across multiple locations within a single U.S. territory. The Proposed Action would enable DAF to test and employ tailorable force packages; exercise movement, sustainment, logistics, and command-and-control functions across multiple locations to replicate the complexity of distributed operations in contingency environments; and strengthen interoperability with Joint, allied, and partner forces within the Mariana Islands region. The Proposed Action is needed to improve DAF's ability to conduct distributed operations across multiple locations in a compressed U.S. geographic area in support of the Agile Combat Employment concept and to maintain operational readiness and responsiveness in the Indo-Pacific. DAF requires opportunities to train and exercise personnel, aircraft, and equipment across multiple locations in the CNMI to develop the skills, procedures, and relationships necessary to rapidly maneuver, sustain, and employ forces in a dynamic operational environment. The proposal is based on DAF requirements but could also support training and exercises involving other Department of Defense services, allies, or partner nations.
The EIS will assess the potential environmental consequences of the Proposed Action, which includes conducting small, medium, and large training and exercise events at CNMI airfields, consisting of up to 1,200 fixed-wing and 320 rotary-wing operations (
e.g.,
takeoffs and landings) per airfield annually. Training and exercise events would be supported by up to 550,000 gallons of fuel per airfield, including fuel receipt, storage and distribution; up to 1,000 personnel per airfield; temporary installation of expeditionary infrastructure and utilities; munitions handling including chaff and flare; support services; and associated pre-and post- training and exercise activities. The Proposed Action does not include construction, creation or modification of airspace, or an increase or change in munitions expenditures beyond those analyzed in previous NEPA documentation. The EIS will also consider Alternative 1 to the Proposed Action, which consists of conducting aircraft operations at an intensity 20 percent greater than the Proposed Action (
i.e.,
up to 1,400 fixed-wing operations and up to 384 rotary-wing operations per airfield annually), and the No Action Alternative.
DAF will pursue all required permits, licenses, and other authorizations for the project including, but not limited to consultations under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, coastal zone consistency under the Coastal Zone Management Act, and Clean Air Act compliance.
(Authority: 42 United States Code 4321,
et seq.,
and Department of War and Department of Air Force National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures.)
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 67824
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Training and Exercises at Airfields in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” thefederalregister.org (October 28, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-21969/notice-of-intent-to-prepare-an-environmental-impact-statement-for-training-and-exercises-at-airfields-in-the-commonwealt.
www.CATEEIS.com
42 United States Code 4321