Topasña highlights billions in military projects with village mayors 

BY PAULY SUBA
Journal Staff

Vera Topasña, executive director of the office of the governor’s Community Defense Liaison Office (CDLO), presented a detailed update on Guam’s defense-related construction, grant funding, and military mitigation efforts during the Mayor’s Council of Guam meeting on July 9. 

Topasña explained that the CDLO has been active for over 15 years, originally created to address the impact of the U.S. Marine Corps relocation from Okinawa. 

The office, receives funding from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation and administers grants aimed at offsetting the impacts of military buildup. “We’ve done whole-of-government programs… looking at involving the federal government in addition to the Department of Defense,” she said.

Topasña announced that a new Village Needs Assessment Grant is expected to be approved by September 1. “It is the largest grant that our office has received in the 15 years of its existence,” she said. “A portion of that grant will go to the Mayor’s Council of Guam… to do a vulnerability assessment of your emergency response capabilities and any vulnerability that you believe exists in the village.”

This initiative will assess each village’s readiness in the face of natural disasters or foreign threats. “Are the mayors, are our villages ready?” she asked. “We’ll be looking at communication protocols, even wireless cyber capability within the villages.”

Topasña said, “We’ll be required to bring on subject matter experts… whether it’s engineers, environmental groups, biologists, economists.”

During the presentation, Topasña reviewed previous CDLO-managed projects, including the wastewater treatment plant, the University of Guam’s cultural repository, and the biosafety laboratory. She emphasized that these were funded through negotiations with DOD as mitigation measures. “Had we had the biosafety lab (during COVID), we probably would have been able to test our own samples without sending it off-island,” she said.

Topasña described a rapidly growing military footprint that requires strong local advocacy to ensure that Guam’s communities aren’t left behind. “We almost fell off our chair,” she said. “It’s about $5 billion in the next three years, four years, and then some.”

See: mbjguam.com guam-government-dod-leaders-discuss-5b-military-projects-and-impacts

At the center of her presentation was the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the Missile Defense of Guam program, which Topasña called “a really important document.” She explained that the EIS allows local agencies to respond to proposed Department of Defense (DOD) actions. “You’re going to build it in this area, and that area has been designated as a critical habitat for endangered species,” she said, as an example. “Or… you’re going to be doing exercises out in the ocean. We’re concerned that you’re blocking off the fishing time for our people. We’d like to mitigate a schedule.”

Topasña emphasized that CDLO leads this environmental review work on behalf of the government of Guam and brings together both DOD and local agencies to negotiate outcomes. “That is probably the main thrust of what we do,” she said. “Because this then helps to secure funds for mitigation, like the cultural repository, like the biosafety lab.”

She outlined several major infrastructure proposals currently being advocated by the CDLO, including:
    •    Guam Power Authority underground infrastructure projects
    •    Modernization of Port Authority of Guam cranes
    •    Guam International Airport Authority upgrades
    •    Defense Access Roads improvements through DPW

“These critical projects also support DOD operations,” she said. “If the port cranes  were to go down… they’re not going to get what they need to build the defense system. We’re not going to get our food.”

Topasña said proving this “strong nexus” between military growth and Guam’s civilian infrastructure is key to securing federal support. “We advocate on behalf of the people of Guam to fund these important projects,” she said. “That’s the thrust of CDLO’s work today.”

She also reviewed a notional construction workload chart showing major ongoing and planned activities, which included the Singapore squadron relocation. Topasña confirmed the project is on hold. 

Topasña told the journal, “the Singapore bed-down movement is not canceled, all we know is that it’s delayed for now.”

According to journal files, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam was set to receive half of Singapore’s F-15 fleet, or about 12 planes, with accompanying infrastructure to be built and the detachment formally established by 2029.

See: mbjguam.com/industry-days-set-missile-defense-milcon-contract

Topasña said there have been talks with DOD about possible partnerships involving DoDEA schools and Guam public schools, especially as local school closures are being considered. “There’s been discussion about whether or not they would be willing to partner, use our schools and reintegrate the students. But that is an ongoing discussion,” she said.

Topasña also described her role in the Civil-Military Coordinating Council (CMCC), which meets every 60 days and includes executive-level teams from the Governor’s Office and the U.S. military. “We talk about the issues… housing, labor, environment, cultural and historic preservation, public works and infrastructure and utilities,” she said. “It all connects to the one main thing, and that is prioritizing the level of service to the people.”

Topasña said the CDLO team remains small. “There’s seven of us handling about five to seven billion dollars of military work, trying to represent and just do the right thing… for the people of Guam.” mbj