U.S. proposes change in flight routes for base relocation site

+

TOKYO, Aug. 24 Kyodo -
The United States has proposed a major change in aircraft flight routes to and
from the planned relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station
in Okinawa Prefecture that could worsen noise levels and pose risks to
residential areas there, bilateral diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
The new proposal, presented during working-level talks Aug. 9 to 10, could
trigger fresh opposition from people in Okinawa as it would allow U.S. aircraft
to fly closer to onshore areas than Tokyo had earlier expected under visual
flight rules using two runways in a V-shaped formation to be built at the
replacement base in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
On Monday, Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa asked U.S. Ambassador to
Japan John Roos to maintain the previous flight routes, saying the new routes
could provoke stronger opposition from among people in Okinawa, but Roos
rejected it, the sources said.
The U.S. proposal could force the Japanese government to reassess the
alternative base's environmental impact, which would make it more difficult to
settle the relocation issue.
Previously, the Japanese government maintained that U.S. military aircraft
would avoid flying near residential areas and instead fly over the water when
taking off and landing at the two runways in a V-shaped formation under visual
flight rules. Visual flight means that pilots fly their aircraft manually
during favorable weather conditions.
It also said that aircraft would fly above a coastal residential area in Nago
only during instrument flights due to bad weather.
In the meeting, Kitazawa told Roos that a change in flight routes would require
Tokyo to conduct another round of environmental assessment work, noting it has
already spent three years for such work.
In May, Japan and the United States agreed to relocate the Futenma air station
within Okinawa, moving it from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the less
populated Henoko district in Nago.
A report on details of the relocation will be compiled by experts from the two
countries by the end of this month. It will mention two choices for the design
of the facility at the new base -- building two runways in a V-shaped formation
or constructing a single runway.
However, the new U.S. proposal could worsen noise levels and risks at the
alternative site, undermining the relocation plan itself regardless of the
design of runways.
The two countries are in the final stage of talks on whether to include the new
proposal on flight routes in the report.
The May agreement states, ''Both sides confirmed the intention to locate,
configure and construct the replacement facility in such a manner as to ensure
that environmental impact assessment procedures and construction of the
replacement facility can be completed without significant delay.'' It also
confirms the intention to locate the replacement facility at the Henoko
district and adjacent waters.
The United States has requested that Japan not reassess the alternative site's
environmental impact due to the proposal over the flight routes.
==Kyodo
2010-08-24 23:12:45