United States Settles with Environmental Groups on Construction of Missile Site in Alaska

The plaintiffs,who include Greenpeace, Kodiak Rocket Launch Information Group and No Nukes North, allege that the Department of Defense failed to complete a federally mandated environmental impact statement for construction of controversial missile defense sites in Alaska.

"We originally filed this suit because the Department of Defense tried to skirt around the law and move forward with this construction based on an outdated and incomplete environmental analysis," said Stacy Studebaker of the Kodiak Rocket Launch Information Group. "This settlement will force the U.S. to analyze the impacts that this construction may have on Kodiak Island and Ft. Greely, and will allow the public to have an opportunity to review and participate in the analysis. That was not the case before we filed this lawsuit."

According to the conditions of the settlement, the Department of Defense will adhere to environmental regulations set by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This includes undertaking environmental studies of the impacts Star Wars will have on Kodiak Island and Fort Greely. For example, any flight interceptor tests from Kodiak or Fort Greely will require full-blown analysis under NEPA. Greenpeace intends to take an active role in assuring that the Department of Defense holds to the letter and spirit of the settlement and properly performs the required environmental reviews.

"The missile defense construction not only endangers the environment on Kodiak Island and Ft. Greely it is also a threat to global security," said Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace Nuclear Disarmament and Climate Campaigner. "This construction puts the world closer to employing Star Wars. These public environmental analyses will expose the dangers of not just this construction but the entire missile defense program."

Other plaintiffs named in the original lawsuits include Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Action Center, and Alaska Public Interest Research Group. In addition to these sites, the U.S. plans to use the Thule radar site in Greenland to employ the proposed Star Wars system. Just a few weeks before the Department of Defense agreed to settle this lawsuit, Greenpeace embarked on a tour via dogsled to collect testimonies from residents in remote areas of Greenland who are opposed to the United States' missile defense system. Photographs of the Greenland tour are available.