Compiled History by Ewa Historian John Bond
MOTSU, NC Provides Important Clues About Planned
Army West Loch Munitions Storage Complex Near Homes
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) is one of the largest military terminals in the world. In 2018 the long secretive and mostly classified facility used a $270,000 Department of Defense grant with $30,000 local matching funds for a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) designed to improve military and community collaboration. The 209-page study acknowledges MOTSU can improve its communication efforts with the public and outlines ways municipal partners can consider the military’s mission while managing the NC region’s explosive growth. (i.e. like Ewa West Oahu)
https://www.ourstate.com/military-ocean-terminal-sunny-point/
This is where the mighty ships come in to load or unload their cargo of weapons: rockets, missiles, howitzers, grenades, projectiles, pyrotechnics. The Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU), run by the U.S. Army, is the nation’s largest ocean terminal for military munitions. “Wherever we’re fighting is probably where we’re sending stuff, or they’re sending stuff back to us,” says Steve Kerr, the deputy to the commander at MOTSU. (West Loch serves and is being greatly expanded for a similar purpose for Indo-Pacific military operations.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Ocean_Terminal_Sunny_Point
A catastrophe served as the genesis for MOTSU. On July 17, 1944, military munitions exploded at Port Chicago near San Francisco. The fireball soared nearly two miles into the sky and port was flattened, every building in the neighboring town was damaged, and the rumble was felt as far away as Nevada.
NOTE: MOTSU doesn't mention the 1944 West Loch explosion because it was kept SECRET until the early 1960's. MOTSU was established in 1955.
This begs the question that too much secrecy means the wider MOTSU safety arc (ESQD) confidentiality apparently didn't cause the Navy West Loch Ammunition Depot to expand its safety arc (ESQD) when they could have in the 1960's while the Ewa Plain was still mostly sugar cane fields.
The MOTSU Blast Zone Arc and criteria to determine it revealed
to the local public for the first time in 2017-2018
The so-called “blast zone” arc is confined to land owned outright by the federal government, inside the “buffer zone” on Carolina and Kure Beaches. This arc represents the minimum distance that can be safely maintained between an explosive site and habitable building.
Last year, after initiating the JLUS, the military terminal shared the radius of its previously undisclosed blast safety arcs. https://capefearcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/November-Policy-Committee_web.pdf
Local news coverage: https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2019/07/14/what-motsu-wants-u-s-army-presents-53-recommendations-for-local-governments/
Note: IBD radius is approximately 3.5 miles and the K88 Distance radius is approximately 6 miles.
Public community meetings revealed that at roughly twice the size of the Inhabited Building Distance (IBD), the K88 quantity-distance arc includes areas with a high probability of glass breakage in the event of a terminal explosion. According to its former commander, Col. Marc Mueller, the K88 has remained unchanged for MOTSU, but the distance was new to the public when the military released it in 2018. There is also criteria for community emergency evacuations for initial response to an incident involving ammunition/explosives. Distance applies to any given facility – docks were used as an example.
MOTSU Provides Important Clues About Planned Army West Loch Munitions Storage Complex
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) is one of the largest military terminals in the world. In 2018 the long secretive and mostly classified facility used a $270,000 Department of Defense grant with $30,000 local matching funds for a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) designed to improve military and community collaboration. The 209-page study acknowledges MOTSU can improve its communication efforts with the public and outlines ways municipal partners can consider the military’s mission while managing the NC region’s explosive growth. (i.e. like Ewa West Oahu)
MOTSU Blast Safety Arcs (ESQD) Are More Than DOUBLE
That Of Old West Loch Arc Radius Of 1.4 Miles
The K88 arc ESQD of approximately 2.8 miles is an area where there is “enhanced” glass breakage if there was a 1,000,000 kg (2,204622.62 pounds) Hazard Division 1.1 Explosive event in Ewa West Oahu.
NavFac says they use NAVSEA OP 5, Volume 1 which is loaded with references to other DoD manuals but does provide some specifics:
"The ESQD arcs for ships and vessels carrying cargo ammunition are based on the total NEW of cargo ammunition aboard plus the total NEW of the ammunition handled or staged."
"The ESQD for FBM submarines is based on the total quantity of missiles on the submarine if a hatch is open for any operation directly related to a missile.
(1) If the hatches on a fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarine are opened for any
operation related directly to the missile (i.e., loading or maintenance), the total NEW of all missiles aboard must be applied to the pier NEW limit. (2) AE stowed outside of designated ship's magazines, launchers, or ready service lockers will be considered cargo ammunition, --etc"
It is very important to understand that placing explosives in covered earth magazines DOES NOT mean they are much safer. The fact is that all munitions are staged to be transported. When in the transit stage, forklift, dolly, truck, to pier crane, ship etc. is when the small accidents become big DISASTERS.
Using another example from MOTSU, a 1,000,000 blast zone radius for Vulnerable Building Distance (VBD) would be 4440 meters or 2.76 miles. This means Waipahu, Ewa west of Kualaka’i Parkway (AKA North South Road) Ewa Beach- Ocean Pointe (Haseko) Ewa Gentry – Ewa Villages, and over to Iroquois Point. The Inhabited Building Distance (IBD) is 2220M or 1.4 miles. This is very interesting as it is exactly the same distance as shown in the historic Building 1 map of “Whisky” wharf W 1-2-3, which shows an ESQD (Explosives Safety Quantity Distance) arrow pointing southwest of 7405 feet (1.4 miles.) This strongly suggests that the original West Loch explosive blast arc was based upon the same Hazard Division 1.1 Explosives input of 1,000,000 kg (2,204622.62 pounds, 1102.3 tons) of TNT munitions.
I know DoD has their own vendor software they use to calculate explosive arcs, requiring Arc GIS, however I invite you to try out the very easy to use and free software to determine ESQD - (Explosives Safety Quantity Distance) - United Nations ITAG (International Technical Ammunitions Guideline) which scales to net explosives input: https://www.un.org/disarmament/un-saferguard/map/
for Pearl Harbor West Loch use these coordinates:
Latitude: 21.345589355722055
Longitude: -158.01463734402498
The blast arcs in my testimony are using Army DoD MOTSU criteria
Also look at the well reported meetings with the Cape Fear community. Last year, after initiating the JLUS, the military terminal shared the radius of its previously undisclosed blast safety arcs.
https://capefearcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/November-Policy-Committee_web.pdf
The Army West Loch munitions facility plans to bring in huge ammunition ships. That is buried in the bottom of their EA.
Local North Carolina news coverage about MOTSU:
Public community meetings revealed that at roughly twice the size of the Inhabited Building Distance (IBD), the K88 quantity-distance arc includes areas with a high probability of glass breakage in the event of a terminal explosion. According to its former commander, Col. Marc Mueller, the K88 has remained unchanged for MOTSU, but the distance was new to the public when the military released it in 2018.
Cape Fear: Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point Joint Land Use Study
https://capefearcog.org/sunnypoint/
See: GENERAL DOCUMENTS
This is the type of study that should be done in Hawaii if the City, State and Federal government are actually concerned about the health, safety and welfare of the local West Oahu communities.
· COL Mueller's presentation (PDF)
JLUS Overview (PDF)
JLUS Executive Summary (PDF)JLUS Final Document (PDF)
JLUS Data Management Plan and Technical Addendum (PDF)
JLUS Public Participation Plan (PDF)
John Bond Ewa historian
