Below is the letter that was sent today from the leadership of 5 major motorized recreation groups to the USMC. I'd say that those who agree with this letter send in a letter of support for this request TODAY!

It would sure appear to me that the USMC has some explaining to do about the Federal Register Notice issue.

This is a very complex document and 60 additional days to comment would provide additional time for well researched comment.


Mr. Chris Proudfoot
Proposed 29Palms Land Acquisition/Airspace Establishment Project
MAGTFTC, MCAGCC
Bldg. 1554, Box 788104
Twentynine Palms, CA 92278-8104

Re: Request for Extension of Time to Comment – Draft Environmental Impact Statement - Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment To Support Large-Scale MAGTF Live-Fire and Maneuver Training at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California.

Mr. Proudfoot:

The purpose of this letter is to make a formal request for and extension of time to provide comments to the aforementioned document.

The rational for this request is several-fold:

1. The DEIS and its appendix are a complex and lengthy document. Given the USMC has had nearly two years to compile this document and has only given the public 90 days to provide comment, it is our belief that it would be in the public interest to allow for additional time to provide such comment.

2. Only recently, we discovered that the Federal Register Notice of Availability of this Statement provides that the public comment period ended April 11, 2011. The said Notice is in conflict with Press-Release No: PR-110224NM1 as it provides for the comment period ending May 26, 2011.

Since indeed the Federal Register Notice is the only legal Notice of the USMC’s intent of this document, the public is now confused and may have not submitted comments after this April due date.

3. The issue cited in number two, above, is now compounded by fact that the USMC has submitted to the Federal Register the following Notice:

EIS No. 20110051, Draft EIS, USN, CA, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat
Center Project, Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment to Support
Large-Scale MAGTF Live-Fire and Maneuver Training Facility, San
Bernardino County, CA, Comment Period Ends: 05/26/2011, Contact: Chris
Proudfoot 760-830-3764.

Revision of FR Notice Published 02/24/2011: Extending Comment
Period from 04/11/2011 to 05/26/2011.

Of particular concern to the undersigned is the provision of “Extending Comment Period”. It is our assertion that the USMC has published this later Notice as a correction rather than an extension.

Moreover, as of the writing of this letter, the USMC web site for the expansion does not include the Revision Notice, nor a press release, of the revised Notice published in the Federal Register on Friday, May 13, 2011.

In light of the issues cited above, the undersigned request an extension of sixty (60) calendar days for the public to submit its comments to this document. Again, we believe this is in the public interest considering the gravity of the issues cited above and the implications of the project on public lands and related access to the same.

Respectfully submitted:

Harry Baker – Chairman: Partnership for Johnson Valley

Jerry Grabow – President: District 37 American Motorcyclist Association

Jim Woods – President: California Off-Road Vehicle Association (“CORVA”)

Mark Cave – President: California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs

Ed Waldheim - President: California Trail Users Coalition

Sounds to me like they owe us 32 days minimum.

Orignal notice said comment period closed April 11.

Correction/extension notice was published May 13 saying comments would be accepted until May 26.

Difference between April 11 and May 13 is 32 days (minimum) that comment period should be extended.

Did the Marines say anything yesterday about an extension for the comments?

Guess we got until midnight then to drop a few final thoughts to them:

https://extranet.tecinc.com/29Palms_DEIS/

In addition to what is stated above when we tried to deliver comment letters to:

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
Attention 29 Palms EIS Project Manager
1220 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92132-5190

When we delivered comment letters to that address yesterday (May 25, 2011) no one had any idea who or where we should deliver them. They were telling us that we needed a contact name. I showed them an email, with the information below and there was no contact name given.

After waiting in the security office for up to 25 minutes, we were finally told to go to a different address to make the delivery and given a first name and phone number to call we we got there. I believe it was 880 Pacific Highway.

We were unable to enter through the gate as it was a security installation. The guard just shrugged his shoulder and offered no help. I suggested that we could park outside the gate and call the number we were given. We were able to get 'Pam' on the phone. She had to come down and meet us, get us visitor badges so we could enter the facility to help move the comment letters to her office.

It is my contention that the Marines are either incompetent or purposely making it difficult to get our comments to them. In either case the result is the same.

My questions are:

1) What happened to any letters mailed to the Combat Center in 29 Palms? (as you can see below, 'Lara' failed to answer this question when asked).

2) If letters are delivered to the 1220 Pacific Hwy address with no contact name, what happened to those?

3) If letters get to the correct office after the deadline date, how will they handle those?

I did put the first questions into the form of a comment instructing them to either offer an extension or start the entire DEIS process over again but that comment letter will only get processed with the rest of the comments.

The second two questions came to mind yesterday as we were getting the tour of the different entrance stations at the Naval Facility in San Diego.

I will be following up with additional phone calls , emails and letters until I get a response.

Steve G

Email #1:
All of the references I can find for a mailing address for comments are vague. No where does it say “Public comments can be mailed here …”. The referenced address in the DEIS is:

Project Manager: Mr. Chris Proudfoot
Proposed 29Palms Land Acquisition/Airspace Establishment Project
MAGTFTC, MCAGCC
Bldg. 1554, Box 788104
Twentynine Palms, CA 92278-8104
(760) 830-3764

We are now being told that printed/written comments need to be delivered here:

http://utvweekly.com/index.php/2011/05/u-s-marine-corp-responds-to-johnson-valley-letter-campaign/
(http://utvweekly.com/index.php/2011/05/u-s-marine-corp-responds-to-johnson-valley-letter-campaign/)
to an address that is no where in the DEIS document or on the Marines’ website. A quote from the linked article:

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to make sure that the letters are submitted in the ways we have communicated throughout the scope of the project. We can’t accept them at the Combat Center so I wanted to make sure you were aware so we can ensure the public’s interests and concerns are heard and officially recorded.”

I have since confirmed this address but what happens to all comments that may end up at the ‘Combat Center”?

Mr. Gardiner,

We received your email and greatly appreciate your interest in the Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment project. You may mail your written comments to the address below.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
Attention 29 Palms EIS Project Manager
1220 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92132-5190

Thank you again for your interest. We encourage you to visit the web site at http://www.marines.mil/unit/29palms/LAS for additional information on the project.

Lara Earin

Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment
MAGTFTC MCAGCC 29 Palms CA
Marstel-Day LLC


Email #2:
Mr. Gardiner,

Absolutely, you can use any courier you choose to deliver them. Just in case the address is:

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
Attention 29 Palms EIS Project Manager
1220 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92132-5190

Telephone: (619)532-4742

Thank you.

Lara Earin

Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment

MAGTFTC MCAGCC 29 Palms CA

Marstel-Day LLC

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Gardiner [mailto:lttlbddy@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 12:09
To: Earin CTR Lara C
Subject: RE: Proposed 29 Palms Base Expansion

Lara,

We have a large quantity of comment letters to deliver next week. What methods of delivery are acceptible? Can we have a courier service deliver boxes? UPS? FedEx?

Thanks,

Steven Gardiner

We have a large quantity of comment letters to deliver next week.
I **LOVE** the understatement here.

Randii

I **LOVE** the understatement here.

Randii

No they did not expect what they got, GO EAST MARINES OR BETTER YET JUST STAY HOME.

It is my contention that the Marines are either incompetent or purposely making it difficult to get our comments to them. In either case the result is the same.

Last night about 7 PM I tried to send comments via the attachment button on the 29 Palms Marine Comment page. The form did not recognize the attachment and I had to cut and paste it into the form body. Naturally, there is a character limit in the body.

Incompetent, inept or is it something more sinister? The public process has been handled poorly by the Marines since the get go. Meeting style, public notification process, mailing address problems, the list goes on.

It is time for us to say enough. We cannot allow the very people who fight for our free speech, to take it away.

I tried the submission form this morning. It still worked. Did you see that they finally added there May 13 federal registry notice to the website? Now that comment period has ended. Very poor indeed.