This week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guåhan to reconsider a decision by the Ninth Circuit that required the U.S. Air Force to conduct additional environmental review before proceeding with open burning and detonation of hazardous materials at Anderson Air Force Base on the northern tip of Guam. Prutehi Guåhan, a Guam-based organization dedicated to protecting the islands’ natural and cultural resources, initially filed its lawsuit against the Air Force in January 2022, with the Ninth Circuit ruling in its favor in February 2025. Prutehi Guåhan is represented by EarthJustice. More information from EarthJustice about the case here.

Right to Democracy, an organization that works to advance democracy, equity, and self-determination in U.S. territories, provided the following comment:

“The people of Guam face significant dangers from U.S. military activities, from environmental and cultural damages caused by detonations and the open burning of hazardous explosives, to the constant fear of Chinese and North Korean Ballistic Missiles known to be targeting their homes. Yet the people of Guam have little power or agency in the scale or scope of these risks,” said Adi Martínez-Román, Co-Director of Right to Democracy. “Not only are they denied basic political rights, with a lack of voting rights in both the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch, but they are also denied their basic right to self-determination under international law.”

“We once again have the U.S. Supreme Court granting review to reconsider a lower court ruling that placed limits on federal power in U.S. territories. This is part of a long trend where the Supreme Court consistently shows near total deference to federal power over people in U.S. territories,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy. “All this highlights an undemocratic colonial framework that the U.S. Supreme Court itself is complicit in both creating and perpetuating as its controversial decisions in the Insular Cases approach their 125th Anniversary in May. This is wrong and needs to end now.”

“It’s becoming increasingly clear how issues of the environment and democracy are linked when it comes to people in U.S. territories. While the specific issues in each territory vary, this latest Supreme Court case only highlights how little say we all have when the United States makes decisions that threaten our land, water, oceans, and culture,” said Adi Martínez-Román. “ No other community in the United States or the world would accept this; we should not have to either.”