[CPEO-IRF] CORRECTED - BRAC '05 cleanup costs

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

OOPS! I already found a mistake in my previous table. I forgot to
include Ellsworth Air Force Base (SD). Please substitute the following
narrative and the attached Excel file for the ones I sent earlier.

LS



The Cleanup Cost of BRAC 2005 Bases
Lenny Siegel
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
May 18, 2005

I have just completed a preliminary review of 35* bases proposed for
full closure by the Department of Defense last Friday, comparing the
list of major bases against data available on line as part of the
Pentagon's 2004 Defense Environmental Restoration Program annual
report.** Seven of the installations are on U.S. EPA's "Superfund"
National Priorities List, and Chemical Weapons Stockpile
Demilitarization is taking place at three others.

Based upon existing uses, the Defense Department projects the
Environmental Restoration cost of those bases to total $1,931,146,000, 
$1,117,036,000 of which has already been spent (through fiscal year
2004). It projects the munitions response cost to be $929,126,000, only
$1,581,000 of which has already been spent. Thus the Environmental
Restoration cost to complete is $814,110,000 and the Munitions Response
Cost to Complete is $930,707,000. The combined total (both environmental
restoration and munitions response) is $2,861,853,000, consisting of
$1,118,617,000 already spent and $1,743,236,000 projected for completion.

These figures are likely to understate significantly the actual cost of
environmental cleanup at these bases for at least six reasons:

1) They are based upon existing military uses. If military industrial
property is transformed into residences, parks, or other uses where
people might come into contact with contamination, additional cleanup
may be required. In particular, the military is not obligated to clear
unexploded ordnance and discarded military munitions from operational
training, testing, and disposal ranges. Closure of those ranges may
create a large environmental liability. Furthermore, a number of closing
Depots, Ammunition Plants, and Forts may have buried chemical munitions.
Those too are likely to be expensive to address.

2) The opening up of bases may lead to additional investigation, in many
cases triggering the discovery of unknown water and soil contamination.

3) Even in the best of circumstances, the military - like other
polluters - tends to underestimate the extent of contamination on its property.

4) Many forms of contamination -  such as lead paint and asbestos in
structures, PCBs, pesticides - are under certain circumstances not
considered "hazardous waste" by the military, yet they need to be
"cleaned up" before reuse can take place.

5) For some pollutants, such as TCE, perchlorate, and arsenic,
regulatory agencies are considering more stringent health standards. If
those are promulgated, cleanup costs may rise at newly closing bases,
formerly closed bases, and those that remain active.

6) Other emerging contaminants have not yet been the target of
widespread sampling.

On the other hand the discovery of new technologies, restrictions on
property use, or the application of less protective health standards
could drive down the cost of remediation. Furthermore, the military
appears unlikely to spend the huge sums required to remediate fully many
of the large munitions response sites found across the country.

The largest cleanup tab, by far, is at the Otis Air National Guard Base,
on Cape Cod's Massachusetts Military Reservation. The total
Environmental Restoration cost is projected to be $1,056,841,000, of
which $515,929,000 has been spent and $540,912,000 is projected to be
needed for completion. Most of expense is for groundwater remediation at
Otis, but some of the funding - listed as an Air Force expense in the
Defense Environmental Restoration Program annual report - may contribute
to the Army's cleanup of the Camp Edwards National Guard Range, also
part of the Massachusetts Military Reservation.

The largest Munitions Response site on the list is Nevada's Hawthorne
Army Depot. The Army estimates the total response cost to be
$500,617,000, $465,078,000  of which remains to be spent. That liability
is likely to increase once additional ranges are closed as chemical
materiel disposal sites are discovered.


Note:

*I identified 37 bases likely to have significant contamination
problems. Of those, I could not find data on the two Naval Stations,
Ingleside (TX) and Pascagoula (MS). I did not research Reserve Centers,
Defense Finance and Accounting Service offices, recruiting facilities,
leased space, or other minor facilities. Some of those - particularly
Reserve Centers - are likely to have small cleanup obligations.

**See https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/News/OSD/DEP2004/deparc2004.html



Notes on the attached Excel table:

All figures are in $US thousands

NPL = "Superfund" National Priorities List
CW = chemical weapons
RAB = Restoration Advisory Board
TRC = Technical Review Committee

This table only covers facilities proposed for "closure." The Pentagon
has not disclosed which proposed realignments are partial closures -
that is facilities where a portion of the property is proposed for transfer.

Some of these facilities appear not to correspond precisely to those on
the proposed closure list. Some names are slightly different. The
boundaries of the cleanup site might not be the same as the closing
base. For example, the Otis Air Guard cleanup budget may include some
activities at the Camp Edwards National Guard training base. I have
excluded funds designated for cleanup at a previously closed section of
Fort Monmouth, NJ.


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

Attachment: BRAC 05 cleanup costs.xls
Description: Unknown Document

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