Re: Attack on Env. Protection.

[coho@whidbey.net]

Posting from coho@whidbey.net (Bill Skubi)

>I received a phone call on Friday from one of the recipients of that 
>information who had made phone calls to their Representatives and Senators.
>Senator Hank Brown's (R-CO) office stated that the reasoning behind 
>the current language is that the Senate Armed Services Committee 
>couldn't see the benefit of providing DOD with funding to argue their 
>point and then provide the RAB with funding to refute that point.
>
I think the best selling point for independent technical assistance for RABs
is not leveling the playing field, but quality assurance. Clean up is a
shared goal of all parties, but the community (especially in the case of
closing bases) are the parties who have to live with the results. 
A basic "Show me, I'm from Missouri." attitude on the part of the community
is an additional fail-safe to insure that the taxpayer is getting what they
are paying for. 
I feel very strongly that with technical assistance our RAB could have
accelerated the clean up process on most sites and provided more
constructive advice on the few really problematical aspects of clean-up. As
it was we weighted all clean-up sites about equally and worked slowly
through the discussions. I therefore sent the following message to as many
members of the Senate Armed Services Committee as have e-mail:

Dear Senator,
I serve as a community representative on the Naval Air Station Whidbey
Island Restoration Advisory Board. With more than two years of volunteer RAB
service to call on I am convinced that access to independent technical
assistance would have speeded the process of review and resulted in a more
cost effective clean-up. As it is, without independent technical assistance,
community members generally push for the more aggressive treatment options.
Contractors offer little resistance the the ensuing delays and add-ons
because they are getting paid for it.

In the case of NAS Whidbey Island I am convinced that independent technical
assistance would have paid for itself many times over. I urge you to
maximize the constructive potential of hundreds of volunteer citizen RAB
members all over the country by fully supporting DOD efforts and initiatives
to put independent technical assistance at the disposal of every RAB.
Than you for your attention to this matter
. 
Bill Skubi
Communications Coordinator
Whidbey Islanders for a Sound Environment
P.O. Box 773/ Coupeville WA 98239
Tel. (360) 678-6377
e-mail: coho@whidbey.net