Public Involvement

The Navy and NASA value and welcomed input from the community, as well as the chance to share, communicate, and inform the community about the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the need for the real estate agreements.

Public involvement is an integral part of the environmental planning process. The public has an important role in providing input during this process to help the Navy and NASA make more informed decisions about the proposed real estate action.

On May 8, 2024, the Navy and NASA initiated a public scoping period to receive comments on the scope of the EIS. The public participated in the environmental planning process by providing input on the proposed real estate actions including potential 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 EIS.

The public scoping period also provided an opportunity for public participation in reviewing potential effects to historic properties pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Section 6E-8.

On June 20, 2025, the Navy and NASA published the Draft EIS for public review and comment. During the public comment period, which closed on August 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. HST, the public had an opportunity to review the document, meet with project team members during the public meetings held July 15-17, 2025, and provide comments on the Draft EIS.

The Notice of Availability of the Final EIS will be published in the Federal Register on August 21, 2026. Following publication of the Final EIS on August 23, 2026, in The Environmental Notice, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will determine acceptability of the Final EIS in accordance with Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343 (referred to as “HEPA”) and publish their determination in The Environmental Notice. The Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting will be held on September 11, 2026. A 60-day HEPA wait period follows the Board of Land and Natural Resources’ publication of determination. The Navy and NASA will publish their own Record of Decision following a 30-day wait period. The Record of Decision is a concise public record that will address the Navy and NASA decisions.

The NEPA version and the HEPA version of the Final EIS are available on the Documents page. The HEPA version shows changes from Draft to Final.

Click here for an overview of the environmental planning process.