514 RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL on a reimburseable basis. H&N estimated that it would have cost $2.5 million to lease and manan intra-atoll cargo vessel, a cost not warranted by TTPI’s limited requirements if DOD transportation would be available. 24 Fundingforinitial financing of the Rehabilitation Program was omitted in error from the regular Fiscal Year (FY) 1977 DOI appropriation. DOI requested $4 million in supplemental funding. If the Office of Management and Budget concurred, DOI planned to reprogram other funds, pending approval of the supplemental appropriation, so that the Rehabilitation Program could begin concurrently with the Cleanup Project. It was estimated that deferral of the program funding to FY 1978 would result in increased support costs of $5.2 million and would complicate and extend both the cleanup andrehabilitation efforts. If FY 1977 funds were available, TTPI planned to begin mobilizing in November 1976 and to begin work in June 1977.25 The supplemental request was not approved, however. The Rehabilitation Program was funded at $12.4 million in DOI’s appropriation for FY 1978. Since scrap removal operations werestill ongoing on the residential islands, the impact of late funding on the Rehabilitation Program was minimized.26 Meanwhile, H&N proceeded to develop the rehabilitation contract specifications based on meetings with the Enewetak Planning Council and Field Command at the atoll in September 1976, with concerned government agencies at Majuro in November 1976, and with military service representatives at the Operations Plan (OPLAN) development conferences in February and March 1977. Soon after funds for the program had been appropriated, TTPI, Field Command, and H&N representatives met to finalize agreements for support of the construction contractors and to coordinate ongoing cleanup and rehabilitation activities.27 In November 1977, the rehabilitation contract was advertised for bid, and H&N engineers began to survey andlay out nursery sites on Medren and Enewetak Islands. In January 1978, the contract for rehabilitation program construction was awarded to American International Constructors, Inc., Pacific (AIC), of Seattle, Washington. Over the next 4 months, several shiploads of construction equipment and materials were received and stockpiled on the atoll. H&N survey crews continued work, but were hampered by indecision and frequent changes of mind on the part of the dri-Enewetak. The Planning Council, the two iroijs, the members of the Municipal Council, and several respected elders (alabs) spent over 6 weeks at the atoll discussing and deliberating the division of land on Medren and Japtan, the location of community center facilities, and the siting of houses. On 29 March 1978, the Municipal Council of Enewetak signed a resolution which, although subsequently changed many times, provided enough information for H&N to complete the initial survey and begin siting houses, nurseries, and plantations. 28.29 a fe