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Contact Islands Program

Pacific Southwest, Region 9

Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations

Territory of Guam

This map of the island of Guam shows its relatively isolated position in the far western Pacific
CIA World Factbook: Guam Exiting EPA (disclaimer)

Guam Deep Ocean Disposal Site (G-DODS)

Military Relocation, Environmental Impact Statement (PDF) (10 pp, 400K)

Additional Resources
The ramparts of Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad maintain a vigil of solitude over the now peaceful waters of the bay in Guam
Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, "Our Lady of Solitude", Guam

Background

Guam is 30 miles long and 9 miles wide, with an area of 212 square miles, located 6,000 miles west of San Francisco and 3,700 miles west-southwest of Honolulu. Guam's population is over 180,000, of which 24,000 are military-related. Nearly half the people are indigenous Chamorro, 25% are Filipino, 15% migrated from the US mainland, and the rest are Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Micronesian, and Indian. "Hafa Adai" (pronounced "half a day") is the traditional greeting.

Guam faces significant environmental challenges:

  • Guam has a fragile drinking water infrastructure which has been chronically at risk of contamination.
  • Guam's wastewater treatment plants have been chronically out of compliance with federal rules and Guam's own water quality standards.
  • The additional population expected on Guam over the next several years in connection with the military buildup has the potential to put additional stresses on Guam's infrastructure and environment.

U.S. EPA, working closely with the 50 staff at Guam EPA and other organizations within Guam, has made significant progress to address these issues.

Contact:

Michael Mann (mann.michael@epa.gov)
Guam Program Manager
(415) 972-3505

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