"Il am therefore authorized to announce that the United States Government is prepared to release legally the entire atoll to the Trust Territory government at the end of 1973, subject to retention of some minor residual rights. "The Trust Territory Government will in the coming months be working with the Department of Defense and the people of Enewetakto settle the details of transfer and to make the arrangements for the survey, cleanup and rehabilitation of Enewetak. In the meantime the United States is completing some research and development testing on the atoll which will not involve nuclear detonations of any kind or type. These tests will in no way interfere with an early commencement of the rehabilitation process and will be completed by the end of 1973. “Prior to the actual resettlement of the atoll, it will be necessary to carry out the same type of survey, cleanup and rehabilitation procedures that have been utilized for Bikini Atoll. As in Bikini, the schedule for resettlement will depend on the results of the survey and the pace of the rehabilitation program. This sehedule will be drawn up as soon as practicable. "As an initial step the United States plans to commence the survey of the atoll probably late this summer. The cleanup and rehabilitation of the three islands--Parry, Japtan, and Aniyaanii--in the southeastern part of the atoll, will receive first priority. "The Trust Territory Government looks forward to working with the people of Enewetak on the actual planning of the rehabilitation and return of the atoll. They will be able to help us decide upon time schedules and actual locations for the building program and the agricultural rehabilitation. The people of Enewetak will be invited at an early date to visit Bikini and Enewetak in order to familiarize themselves with the program utilized for Bikini and the requirements for Enewetak. "We hope by this joint planning effort to carry out the rehabilitation program in an efficient and well thought-out manner as well as to meet local desires as much as possible. "The Trust Territory Government will enter into immediate consultation with the people of Enewetak to commence the above process and to conclude any necessary legal arrangements." PACE Halted By Court Order. In May following the announcement, six elected leaders of Enewetak were permitted to visit the atoll for the first time since 1947. They were accompanied by their lawyers, officials of the Trust Territory Government, a PACE Project Officer and several AEC representatives from Nevada. The leaders of Enewetak "were deeply gratified to be able to visit their ancestral homeland, but they were mortified by what they saw." (PACE, 1973, p. G-10.) Unhappy with the activities of PACE, the People of Enewetak sought and obtained a court order halting the PACE programs in October 1972, There followed almost a year of political and legal maneuvering before a limited, restructured version of PACE 1 was allowed to continue. Exploratory Program on Enewetak (EXPOE). The 12 June 1973 court order which allowed work to continue included thefollowing conditions: (1) The PACE 2 program would not be carried out on Enewetak; (2) Core drilling and seismic refraction surveys could continue but could not exceed 200 profiles on 16 namedislands, and the program would be renamed Exploratory Program on Enewetak (EXPOE); (3) One Cavity In Situ Test (CIST) experiment could be conducted on the Sally test bed, but the site would be returned to pre-test conditions; (4) The conduct of EXPOE could not interfere with planning, preparation, or conduct of the decontamination and rehabilitation program being planned for the atoll, nor with the return of an advance party of Enewetakese to Japtan; (5) The 1971 contours of the island of Sally would be restored, or the area regraded to other contours if the desired contours could be achieved with the available earth; (6) No objection would be raised to the conduct of EXPOE, as described, since these actions would have no significant adverse impact on the quality of the human environment. EXPOE proceeded with only minor revisions and the program was completed in September 1974, except for restoration of the excavated area on Sally. The EXPOE program added 46 drilled holes to the inventory during 1973-74. (EXPOE, 1975.) 18