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United States Department of the Interior
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
Pie 4
i574
Cear Cr. Biles:
Pe Pscof{ved your Tetier dated havecber &, 1674,
rel issues concerning biking end Inavets
in which you agdressed
Ha, too, feel thet cur offices should xaintain a closer working
relaticnship and asree taet rehabili paaied mlans ara rostar olan
dovelennant should be ecordinated with vou in efvernce of isplenentation. Frashly, it “as surprisin? thet the concern vou hid o1 the
hiniat coastruction and rehabilitation was no¢ fercetully vcicad to
ut unt{] this time. Your representatives nave reny tices observed
ehat %2s being done on Efhini, vet wa have roa recerd of comswnication
fren the Ateufe Cnersy Comvissfo n that the dfrection of the pregraa
was -iesroener.
Upon reviewing the Ad Hoc Cosiittca’s renort it fs clear that tneu
wes the first choice for habitation but tikinf wes nat oracluded as
unsafe. Thes, since the pcoole exmressed 2 strong desfre to return
to Dikini, that fs there the erdcinal heuscs tere bullt. It {is our
understanding tnedt the AEC was mace aware oF tee p neple's fealings
and,as sentioned, 03 chiecticn was volccs as AEC wi tnassed the
construction orogranm.
ue feel that
your resort cntitled “Radiation. -
Safety Considerations at fikini reall,7 Yay 1°70 (enclosed),serves ~
es a sound Justification to supesrt cur past efforts.
Other than
coconut crabs, pancanus was the enly feod senticnrad as neading srecial
attention and the rest of the recort Ws eesitive fras a safety point --
of view.
Or. Gustafson’s 1965 report was also positive.
You also tontitned a rusor that coral other than that froa the PeterGbhoe site was used in constructing buildings. Exciesed fs a copy of
a letter frou the ceneral contractor stating that the Peter-Ghee site
was the only coral source. Vou ufll note that tre bikini District
Adzinistrator's Representativa attests to the correctness of the
stateszent.
_
As respects your coment on the slow coconut tree orovwth, the Distad
Harshalis has told us that the trees are cencrally dcina well in licht
of the rather linited rainfall}. Trust Territory agticulturists are
following up with soll checks to ascertain the nced for additicnal
nutrients,
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DOE ARCHIVES