to secure dredging permits until the following week due to opposition from environmentalist groups, who unsuccessfully appealed in court to halt construction. On September 9, 1988, the Navy awarded the $56 million construction contract for the carrier pier, which is long and wide. On June 4, 1992, three Navy ships participated in the formal opening of the new $56.4 million pier. On June 26, 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted unanimously to retain the planned Everett homeport and close the Naval Air Station Alameda in California. In January 1994, Naval Station Puget Sound personnel began transitioning to the new Fleet Support and Administration buildings and officially began operations at Naval Station Everett. On April 8, 1994, an official dedication ceremony was conducted with over 1,500 guests in attendance. Ship assignments On September 3, 1994, and arrived as the first of seven ships to be assigned here, welcomed by a celebration from the city. On November 22, 1995, arrived at the naval station. On that same date, the Navy officially announced the assignment of , , and to Naval Station Everett. David R. Ray arrived July 29, 1996, and Callaghan and Chandler both arrived September 27, 1996. To complete the complement of ships at Naval Station Everett, made a change of homeport from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton to Everett on January 8, 1997. and made their official change of homeport from Japan to Everett on May 5, 1998. Callaghan was decommissioned on March 31, 1998, followed by the Chandler on September 23, 1999. In July 1999 the Navy completed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) designed to determine the appropriate homeports for three Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the Pacific Fleet. The EIS examined four locations: Bremerton, Everett, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor. The Navy's decision was to develop facilities to homeport two Nimitz-class carriers at Naval Air Station North Island, California in addition to , and to maintain Everett as a homeport for one Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The successful completion of Abraham Lincoln's six-month maintenance period at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, validated the Navy's preference to keep a carrier homeported in Everett. The in-depth EIS process began in December 1996. Following public scoping meetings held in communities at each of the four alternate locations in February 1997, the Navy spent more than 18 months examining the ports to determine how well they satisfied