DoD Future Land Use

[jconnell@icma.org]

 Hi Lenny,

 I'm hoping that you could answer a question for me. Did the recently
 released DoD Future Land Use Policy address DERP sites as well as BRAC
 sites? Allow me to explain my question a little further.

 I only recently looked into the DERP, and wasn't able to find much
 information about it on any DoD sites. (I did find the annual report
 to Congress, but that didn't answer my main questions.) As I
 understand the program, DoD is characterizing its active bases with
 the stated intent of cleaning them up. DoD forms RABs at the bases (I
 couldn't tell if it only formed a RAB at a base where the community
 asked for one) to comment on the cleanup. The base commander makes
 all final cleanup decisions, including ones which involve cleaning
 sites up to a risk-based level that would require a restricted future
 land use.

 The rest of my question is based upon the assumption that the 
above is
 correct.

 If property remediated to a restricted future use under DERP stays
 under the jurisdiction of DoD, I don't see any problems with the
 restricted use. However, what would happen to property which has
 already been remediated to a restricted future use under DERP and is
 then transferred to a local community under a future BRAC round? If
 the DoD Future Land Use policy addressed this possibility, I missed
 it.

 Since environmental contamination has been a major hold-up on property
 transfer at closing bases, it seems logical to me that one of the
 factors which the Secretary of Defense will consider when recommending
 bases for future closures will be the amount of environmental
 contamination present. If many of the bases listed under future BRAC
 rounds contain previously remediated property, I can see this 
being an
 important issue.

 On the other hand, maybe the DERP is proceeding very slowly, and very
 little property will have been cleaned up by that time. I don't know
 enough about the program.

 Did the policy address this issue? If not, what do you think? If you
 want, feel free to put this on Career/Pro for other people's comments.

 James Connell
 ICMA
 jconnell@icma.org