[CPEO-IRF] New England

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

In the early 1990s, California was ground zero for base closures. It had
by far the largest share of major closures. Most of those bases were
seriously contaminated. And the people from host communities insisted
the contamination problems should not simply be swept under the rug.
Thus, California's state government and DC delegation played key roles
in the development of national policy on base remediation, transfer, and reuse.

This time around, the damage seems more widespread, but if any area of
the country has been targeted with proposed closures at seriously
contaminated sites, it's New England. The proposed closures at the New
London Naval Submarine Base (Connecticut) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
(Maine) are among the largest closures across the country. The proposed
closure of the Otis Air National Guard Base, on Massachusetts' Cape Cod,
is not considered "major," but Otis has one of the largest installation
restoration programs of any former or current military bases in the country.

California has only two senators, but these three New England facilities
essentially have ten, because the Portsmouth Yard is almost in New
Hampshire and New London isn't that much further from Rhode Island.
Right now the New England Congressional delegations are immersed in
struggles to prevent closure, but if the closures are indeed approved,
they will dive rapidly into the policy issues associated with cleanup,
transfer, and reuse.

I expect, therefore, that once the dust has settled on the 2005 closure
decisions, the bi-partisan bloc of New England senators will hold the
key to any innovations or adjustments in environmental policy for
closing bases.

Lenny
-- 


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
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