Stories
US Supreme Court Weighs Air Force Munitions Disposal on Guam Beach
- •The US Supreme Court is reviewing a dispute over the Air Force's decades-old practice of destroying military munitions on Tarague Beach in Guam.
- •Environmentalists argue that the open-pit explosions threaten the island's primary drinking water aquifer, wildlife, and a 3,000-year-old Indigenous cultural site.
- •The nonprofit group Prutehi Guahan sued the military in 2022, demanding an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
- •The legal battle centers on technical administrative law regarding whether the lawsuit was filed prematurely before the local EPA issued a final permit.
- •A final ruling from the Supreme Court is expected before the current term concludes in June or July.
Key Questions Answered
The US Supreme Court is reviewing a dispute over the Air Force's decades-old practice of destroying military munitions at Tarague Beach. Environmentalists and the nonprofit Prutehi Guahan argue that these explosions threaten local wildlife, a 3,000-year-old Indigenous Chamorro cultural site, and an aquifer supplying drinking water to over 80 percent of Guam's population.
The US Air Force has been using Tarague Beach on Guam's north coast to dispose of bombs, grenades, tear gas, and other munitions since 1982.
The Supreme Court is examining whether Prutehi Guahan's lawsuit was filed prematurely because Guam's Environmental Protection Agency has not yet issued the permit. The government argues that a separate hazardous waste law makes additional NEPA reviews unnecessary and that allowing challenges to mere proposals could open the floodgates to premature litigation.
