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GAO report hints at delay in Guam relocation

WASHINGTON — A U.S. government agency said Thursday the planned relocation of Marines to Guam from Okinawa by 2014 could be delayed, citing the new host’s infrastructure and both governments’ fiscal burdens.

The Government Accountability Office said in a report submitted to the Senate that some Defense Department and Guam officials “believe that this is an optimistic schedule.”

The relocation plan is part of an agreement struck between the U.S. and Japan in May 2006 to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan by 2014.

Any delay in relocating Marines to Guam could affect another key element of the agreement — relocating Marine Corps Air Station Futenma’s heliport functions from downtown Ginowan to Nago, both in Okinawa.

While noting uncertainties over the final size of the military population and the kind of military facilities to be built, the GAO report touched on the possibility that an environmental impact assessment could be delayed.

It also referred to “the complexities of moving thousands of Marines and their dependents to Guam, and the need to obtain sufficient funding from the governments of the United States and Japan to support the move.”

Furthermore, the report raised concerns about the capacity of Guam’s infrastructure such as highways, the electrical system, the water and wastewater treatment systems, and solid waste facilities.