Public comments sought for draft EIS for federal installations on Kauaʻi

Public comments are due Aug. 7 on a draft environmental impact statement for the use of state lands on Kauaʻi for the Navy’s 8,172-acre Pacific Missile Range Facility and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s 23-acre Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory.

The schedule of in-person public meetings follows:

Tuesday, July 15
Kauaʻi Veterans Center
3215 Kauaʻi Veterans Memorial Hwy, Līhuʻe

Wednesday, July 16
Kekaha Neighborhood Center
8130 Elepaio Road, Kekaha

Thursday, July 17
Sheraton Kauaʻi Coconut Beach Resort,
Makai Ballroom
650 Aleka Loop, Kapaʻa

All meetings will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. To participate online, register at PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com.

The US Department of the Navy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are applicants and joint lead agencies in seeking use of state lands on Kauaʻi. They’ve prepared a draft environmental impact statement and welcome the community’s input on the environmental analysis. The public’s participation in the public review and comment period ensures community concerns are identified and addressed. 

The Navy and NASA analyzed the potential environmental consequences of the Navy’s proposal to retain the use of 8,172 acres of state lands on Kauaʻi for operational continuity and sustainment in support of continued military training, testing, and facility operations at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, and NASA’s proposal to retain the use of 23 acres of state lands on Kauaʻi in support of continued operations including measurements of the Earth’s rotation and local land motion at Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory. The Navy and NASA use these lands on Kauaʻi under leases and easements granted by the state of Hawaiʻi.

According to a news release from the Navy, the proposed action is needed because the existing real estate agreements for these state lands are set to expire between 2027 and 2030. Navy use of these state lands is required to maintain technological and safety capabilities supporting Pacific Missile Range training and testing. Navy training and testing operations do not occur on these state lands. The environmental effects of these training and testing operations are fully analyzed in previous, focused environmental documents referenced in Section 1.5 of the draft EIS.

For NASA, these state lands are critical to maintain data collection efforts of global significance, the Navy release says. It also ensures the continued conservation management by the Navy and NASA of natural and cultural resources on the state lands.

“By ensuring continued Navy and NASA operations on Kauaʻi, the real estate action would also preserve local jobs and income for Kauaʻi residents, financially contribute to the overall economic well-being of Kauaʻi, and maintain continued conservation management of natural and cultural resources on state lands at no cost to the state of Hawaiʻi,” according to the Navy.

For the state of Hawaiʻi, the proposed action represents an opportunity to gain revenue to support its public lands and environmental and conservation programs, the Navy says.

The draft EIS analyzed the potential environmental effects of the proposed action and alternatives, including the no action alternative. The draft EIS satisfies both federal and State of Hawaiʻi requirements and provides the necessary analyses to allow the Navy, NASA, and the Board of Land and Natural Resources to consider the environmental effects of the proposed action as part of their decision-making.

The public review and comment period begins June 20 and ends Au. 7. Written and oral comments can be submitted at the public meetings in person or online.

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:

Submit Comments in Person, Online, or by Mail

Submit comments by Aug. 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. The Navy and NASA encourage the public to attend a public meeting and to visit the project website to learn more. The public may submit comments in any of the following ways: 

• In person or online at a public meeting
• Through the project website at PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com
• By email to info@PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com
• By mail, postmarked by Aug. 7, 2025, to the following address:
  Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Environmental OPHEV2
  Attention: PMRF and KPGO RE EIS Project Manager, Ms. Kerry Ling
  400 Marshall Road, Building X-11
  Pearl Harbor, HI 96860