U.S. Navy and NASA release Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed, continued use of state lands on Kauai for the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility and NASA’s Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory.

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

06.20.2025

Story by Chief Petty Officer Jose Jaen 

Commander Navy Region Hawaii

The Navy and NASA invite and encourage the public to participate in the Draft EIS public comment period and to attend upcoming public meetings.
The U.S. Department of the Navy (Navy) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as applicants and joint lead agencies, have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and welcome the community’s input on the environmental analysis. The public’s participation in the public review and comment period is important to ensure 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 Kauai for operational continuity and sustainment in support of continued military training, testing, and facility operations at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), and NASA’s proposal to retain the use of 23 acres of state lands on Kauai in support of continued operations including measurements of the Earth’s rotation and local land motion at Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO). The Navy and NASA utilize these lands on Kauai pursuant to leases and easements granted by the State of Hawaii.

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 PMRF 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. It also ensures the continued conservation management by the Navy and NASA of natural and cultural resources on these lands.

By ensuring continued Navy and NASA operations on Kauai, the real estate action would also preserve local jobs and income for Kauai residents, financially contribute to the overall economic well-being of Kauai, and maintain continued conservation management of natural and cultural resources on state lands at no cost to the State of Hawaii.
For portions of PMRF, the Navy has real estate agreements with the State of Hawaiʻi for 8,172 acres, comprised of 684 acres of leaseholds and 7,488 acres of easement lands. The Navy operates on approximately 410 acres of the total acres leased from the State of Hawaii. The majority of the leasehold and easement areas remain intentionally undeveloped as they are used as an encroachment buffer and security for the range’s mission. The Navy’s current leases and easements support mission operations, access, and utilities at five general locations: Main Base , Kamokalā Ridge, Mānā Water Well, Miloli‘i Ridge, and Mākaha Ridge.
NASA operates 23 acres, comprised of 16 acres of leaseholds and seven acres of easement lands, across five parcels along a 1 mile stretch of road in Kōke‘e State Park. NASA issued the Navy a Use Permit in 2016 for portions of KPGO to conduct radar, telemetry, and communications services in support of PMRF operations.

For the Board of Land and Natural Resources, in addition to its role as the lessor of state lands, the proposed real estate action presents an opportunity to secure a revenue source to support its management of public lands and associated environmental and conservation programs. Fees from leases and easements would be put into a state fund as required by law.

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 Hawaii 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. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in the review process by providing input on the proposed real estate action, including on the environmental impacts of the alternatives, environmental or cultural concerns, information the public would like the Navy and NASA to know, and any other information the public would like to see addressed in the Final EIS.
IMPORTANT DATES: The Navy and NASA invite the public to review and comment on the Draft EIS and to attend public meetings. These public meetings will be conducted in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and in support of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343. The public meetings will also serve as an opportunity to obtain public input concerning potential effects to historic properties pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and HRS Section 6E-8.

The public review and comment period begins June 20, 2025, and ends August 7, 2025. The public is encouraged to submit comments by August 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. HST. Written and oral comments can be submitted at the public meetings in person or online.
PUBLIC MEETINGS: The Navy and NASA will host public meetings at three locations on Kauai. Each meeting will include a live online broadcast and public comment opportunity. The public is encouraged to attend any of the public meetings to talk story, learn more, and submit written or oral comments. The meetings will include information stations, a presentation that will be broadcast live online, and oral comments from the public in person and online. All meetings will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. HST at the locations listed below. To participate online, register at PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Kauai Veterans Center
3215 Kauai Veterans Memorial Hwy, Līhuʻe
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Kekaha Neighborhood Center
8130 Elepaio Rd., Kekaha

Thursday, July 17, 2025
Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort,
Makai Ballroom
650 Aleka Loop, Kapaʻa



HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:
Submit Comments in Person, Online, or by Mail
Submit comments by August 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. HST. 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 [e-mail]
• By mail, postmarked by August 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
For language assistance or special accommodations, the public should contact the PMRF Public Affairs Officer at [phone] or [e-mail]. Requests for language assistance or special accommodations should be made at least seven days prior to the public meeting.
A copy of the Draft EIS is available at PMRF-KPGO-EIS.com and at the Waimea Public Library (Kauai) and the Hawaii Documents Center (Hawaii State Library, Oahu).

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES STUDIED

The Navy and NASA evaluated the potential environmental impacts of each of the alternatives on the following resource areas identified below:

• Archaeological and Architectural Resources
• Cultural Practices
• Biological Resources
• Public Health and Safety
• Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases
• Transportation
• Hazardous Materials and Waste
• Land Use and Access
• Socioeconomics
• Water Resources
• Utilities
• Visual Resources
ABOUT THE PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY AND KŌKEʻE PARK GEOPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
The U.S. Navy’s PMRF is the world’s largest instrumented multi-domain training and testing facility. PMRF is an essential part of Department of Defense training, research, development, testing, and evaluation. PMRF is unique because of its simultaneous capability to support surface, subsurface, air, and space operations. PMRF supports operations from single-unit exercises to large-scale multiple-unit training events. PMRF is located on the southwest coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
NASA operates KPGO to collect geodetic data about the Earth’s shape, orientation in space, and gravity. This data supports modern navigation technology such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) that is used every day in a wide variety of devices, from handheld smartphones to satellites. In addition, this data is used for scientific studies, spacecraft navigation, and the geolocation of Earth observations. NASA issued the Navy a Use Permit in 2016 for portions of KPGO to conduct radar, telemetry, and communications services in support of PMRF operations.
Continued operation of KPGO is needed to ensure these data-related operations of global and local significance can continue, allowing multiple agencies’ missions to persist without interruption. KPGO is located on a remote ridge within Kōkeʻe State Park in the western portion of Kauai.
For more information about KPGO, visit https://space-geodesy.nasa.gov/NSGN/sites/KPGO/KPGO.html.
For more information about PMRF, visit https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/PMRF-Barking-Sands/.
The Navy use of these state lands is required to maintain technological and safety capabilities supporting PMRF 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. It also ensures the continued conservation management by the Navy and NASA of natural and cultural resources on these lands.

• Date Taken: 06.20.2025
• Date Posted: 06.20.2025 15:31
• Story ID: 501161
• Location: JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HAWAII, US
• Hometown: HONOLULU, HAWAII, US
• Hometown: PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY BARKING SANDS, HAWAII, US