The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case over whether the U.S. Air Force can destroy hazardous munitions in Guam.
The case, Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, challenges long-held Air Force disposal practice. Since 1982, the Air Force has disposed of hazardous munitions on a restricted-access beach in Guam.
The Air Force is required to apply for Guam’s Environmental Protection Agency every three years to secure a permit. However, in 2021, Pruethi Guahan, an environmental group in Guam, challenged the the Air Force’s application.
An appeals court agreed with Pruethi Guahan, arguing the Air Force must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which would require it to submit an Environmental Impact Statement on the hazardous waste disposal.
“The good reason to require an agency like the Air Force to undertake a NEPA analysis before seeking a hazardous-waste-disposal permit is self-evident: to force that agency to consider the environmental consequences of its proposed course of action before it chooses that course,” lawyers for Pruethi Guahan wrote in a brief to the court.
Lawyers for the U.S. Air Force argued that it already complies with rigorous environmental standards through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, which oversees the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste.
“RCRA’s specific provisions for environmental review as part of the hazardous-waste permitting process preclude the application to this context of NEPA’s more general environmental-review requirements,” lawyers for the Air Force wrote.
The Air Force also argued that a decision siding with Pruethi Guahan would create regulatory chaos as agencies seek to apply for regulatory renewals.
“Respondent offers no sound reason to doubt that the Ninth Circuit’s decision will impose significant burdens on courts and agencies, including the military, and will disrupt longstanding Executive Branch practice,” lawyers for the Air Force wrote.
The court will likely hear the case at the start of its next term in the fall. A decision will likely be issued in late 2026 or early 2027.
