The United States Navy is being urged to conduct annual dive surveys to check on the health of marine life around Farallon De Medinilla island in the Northern Marianas.
This request from the Environment Protection Agency comes as the US Navy eyes a three-fold increase in the weapons it explodes on the island, which is a routine bombing area leased to the U.S. military.
The EPA wants the Navy to also evaluate the level of contamination in the food chain resulting from the bombing exercises.
The agency's requests are in its comments on the final draft environmental impact statement for the Marianas Islands Training and Testing area on the uninhabited island.
Farallon de Medinilla, CNMI Photo: supplied
