Comments sought for planned cable through Marianas Trench

[TexasTowelie]

A federal agency is seeking testimony from the public about a requested permit to build a communications cable through the Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuge.

A press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the project from RTI Solutions Inc. affects the refuge it manages, which is a portion of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. The cable "would provide improved telecommunications interconnectivity between the Western Pacific region and the U.S. mainland," the agency stated.

The monument was created through a presidential proclamation in 2009 and is more than 95,000 square miles, larger than the state of Florida. It includes the islands of Uracus, Maug and Asuncion in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 21 volcanic sites, and the northern and southern limits of the exclusive economic zones for the CNMI and Guam, respectively. The federal designation "provides international, national, and local recognition that the Marianas is a refuge for seabirds, sea turtles, unique coral reefs, and a great diversity of seamount and hydrothermal vent life worth preservation," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which helps to manage the monument, states on its website.

Comments about a draft environmental assessment of the proposal are being accepted through April 6. The study includes a "Proposed Action Alternative" that would lay a cable that crosses over the Mariana Trench and through the monument for approximately 44 miles. This action "would not result in significant impacts to environmental resources, and was determined to be the preferred alternative, since it meets the purpose and need of the project," according to a summary of the assessment.

Read more: https://www.postguam.com/news/local/comments-sought-for-planned-cable-through-marianas-trench/article_816373ca-8ae2-11eb-b47e-c30f18f2ecb2.html