McCLELLAN AFB - RAB SAYS NO FASTTRA

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

McCLELLAN WANTS NO FAST TRACK

Community members of the McClellan Air Force Base Restoration 
Advisory Board (RAB) have sent a letter to the Base Realignment 
and Closure Commission opposing the closure of the facility, now 
being considered by the Commission. McClellan is a major air 
maintenance center in Sacramento, California. It is believed to be the 
Air Force's most contaminated base.

It isn't unusual for the members of host communities to oppose base 
closure. However, some of the arguments in the letter are unique. In 
particular, drawing from an Air Force fact sheet, the RAB members 
suggest that fast-track cleanup of a closing/closed McClellan would 
cost nearly twice as much as a slower, more deliberate effort.

The Air Force says that the current approach, which targets 
completion for the year 2034, would cost $709 to $925 million. 
Accelerating cleanup, to implement systems by 2008 and finish the 
job by 2018, would cost $1.2 to $1.8 billion. $200 million has 
already been spent on installation restoration at McClellan.

The RAB also expressed concern that the Air Force's innovative 
partnerships with the private sector and other government agencies 
would be shut down along with the base, but it is conceivable that 
those Air Force operations could stay at McClellan until cleanup 
winds down.