Preservation officer: military projects on Guam may proceed with or without public input on draft agreement

By Jayvee Vallejera

Patrick Lujan, Guam's state historic preservation officer, faced off with critics of the draft 2025 Programmatic Agreement at the legislature, telling senators he could actually sign the document even without any public comments.

Lujan was responding to Guam senators' call for a total rewrite of the programmatic agreement, a master plan that will govern the military's project execution on Guam and its responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Sens. Chris Barnett, Sabina Perez and Therese Terlaje wanted the process to be inclusive.

But Lujan is not keen on going back to the drawing board, pointing out that shelving the existing draft or blocking the process will not stop any military projects on Guam.

“It's either you drive on the left-hand side of the car or the right-hand side. We're going to go down the same road,” he said at the oversight hearing at the legislature on Wednesday.

“Within the powers of the SHPO, I can sign this without any of this public comment, but I chose not to. I chose to go out to the public and get comments,” he added.

In a statement issued after the oversight hearing, Perez poined out that programmatic agreements are intended to streamline compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires identification of historic properties, consultation with stakeholders and protection of cultural resources.

“It became clear during the oversight hearing that what was presented does not fully reflect what is actually written in the draft agreement," Perez said. "That disconnect alone warrants a reset and a full redrafting process grounded in transparency and public engagement.”

She noted that the draft agreement includes provisions allowing unilateral execution by a single signatory, maintains military authority in dispute resolution, and reduces reporting requirements for archaeologically sensitive sites from quarterly to twice-yearly.

"These changes raise concerns about reduced oversight and weakened protections compared to existing standards," Perez said.

The deadline to submit comments is March 20.

Lujan said he does not see the benefit of starting from a blank slate.

“I think 105 days of being open for public comments was enough time,” he added. “We're listening to the public, we're listening to the calls."

Lujan said his office has so far received 30 emailed comments and testimony from the two public hearings in the last two weeks.

"Instead of rebuilding, we've offered you a viable agreement. I don't know how beneficial it will be if we start from scratch when we're offering this openness to make comments," he said.

Lujan recommended that senators write down their suggestions, identify loopholes in the draft agreement and other areas of concern.

“We’re going to evaluate them—the gaps, the loopholes, the suggestions—and we’ll take it from there,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I'm the one who's operating this agreement. You are going to be going off and making policy and law and I'm going to be stuck with the ball. So I think my perspective should mean the most when it comes to this PA, because this is what I do," Lujan added.

Terlaje said that rewriting the draft agreement should involve consulting with cultural and environmental groups during the process rather than asking for their comments after the fact.

Barnett noted that the SHPO and Joint Region Marianas put together the draft document with no consultation from any local partners, cultural groups or any concerned citizens.

“Like all the other agreements we've had with the military, we enter this comment period. The comments are largely ignored because, although the SHPO had a seat at the table in negotiating this agreement, most other people who have concerns about this process and agreements didn't have a seat at the table,” Barnett added.

Military projects on Guam are currently governed by the 2008 programmatic agreement. But Lujan believes that the 2025 version is a better document that incorporates many of the public comments and suggestions he has received.

One of the additions to the new document is the Joint Region Marianas' scholarship program offered to University of Guam students seeking to pursue archaeology or other professions related to historic preservation.

“I left the office for nine years. When I came back, it was still the same archaeologists," Lujan said. "Hopefully, our local people will take advantage of this and strengthen us for the next generation."

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The draft agreement, he said, also allows for consistency across military installations on island, including Anderson Air Force Base, U.S. Naval Base Guam and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

Without a programmatic agreement, each military base would operate independently on its projects and overwhelm SHPO, Lujan said.

“The SHPO has had the authority to give our people a seat at the negotiating table, but he has chosen not to use it,” Barnett said in a statement after the hearing.

“Outside looking in, it seems like JRM is at the wheel, and countless concerns raised by residents and stakeholders should not take a back seat to agreeing for agreement’s sake. I urge SHPO Lujan to assert himself and remind him of his proper role serving on behalf of our people and our island.”

Sen. Shelly Calvo, who presided over the oversight hearing, said the draft 2025 programmatic agreement is not simply an administrative exercise. “It directly affects how we safeguard the places, stories and ancestral connections that define who we are as a community and stewards of this island,” she added.

She expressed confidence in Lujan and his extensive background in historic preservation, but said the oversight hearing is meant to inform the public about Guam’s path forward.

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“It is a channel to offer updates as well as to enlighten us on the benefits that such an agreement may offer Guam,” she added.

Defense projects on Guam involve dredging of harbors, maintenance, rehabilitation, repair, construction, demolition of buildings, updating utilities and infrastructure, and associated landscaping, among others.

The draft agreement, released on Dec. 9, outlines the Department of War's compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, which covers procedures for archaeological review, treatment of historic properties, inadvertent discoveries and human remains. 

Lujan said the draft agreement puts the archaeological review process at the front end of projects, even before any digging starts, governed by rules set in place whether a property is depicted as having low, medium or high archaeological sensitivity.

The agreement also addresses the use of archaeological sensitivity maps, public access planning for culturally significant sites, and ongoing consultation with SHPO.

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