BEC replacement questioned at Moffett

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[At the last meeting of the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board
(RAB), Base Environmental Coordinator (and Installation Co-Chair of the
RAB) Steve Chao told the RAB that he and another Moffett cleanup staffer
were being replaced as part of the downsizing of the Navy's Engineering
Field Activity-West in nearby San Bruno. Though members of the RAB have
differed with Chao on particular cleanup plans, they believe he is major
reason why the Navy's restoration program at Moffett is generally
considered unusually successful. Cathrene Glick, community co-chair of
the RAB, wrote this letter asking the Navy to reconsider the change in
personnel. Other letters are expected to follow. - Lenny Siegel]



September 17, 1999

Captain T. M. Boothe
Commanding Officer
Southwest Division
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
1220 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92131-5188

Subject: Request to Rescind the Scheduled Termination of Mr. Stephen
Chao, 
Navy Co-Chair/Base Environmental Coordinator, EFA West, San Bruno, CA

Dear Sir:

I am writing this letter on behalf of the community members of the
Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) and as a private citizen
of Mountain View, California.  We learned during our September RAB
meeting that our Navy Co-Chair and Base Environmental Coordinator, Mr.
Stephen Chao, has been notified that his position, as with many others
at EFA West, will be terminated in the current round of
reduction-in-force (RIF) actions.

As the Moffett Field RAB Community Co-Chair, I was appalled to hear that
such a successful, well regarded project manager, who has worked
diligently on the Navy's behalf for over ten years to resolve
environmental and logistical issues throughout northern California, is
scheduled to be laid off.  The unsurpassed success of the Moffett Field
cleanup program and its RAB in particular has largely been a direct
result of Mr. Chao's role as Navy Co-Chair: his professional and
technical experience; his ability to communicate with a diverse
community as well as environmental regulators; and his willingness to
negotiate and resolve difficult technical, political, and social
challenges.

I firmly understand that reductions in personnel at EFA West have
occurred in the past and very likely will continue. However, it has been
my experience as a former WESTDIV employee that one of the key goals of
a RIF is to assure that a dedicated, functional, and operative core of
individuals remains in place to continue operations. The members of our
RAB agree: The Navy and the communities neighboring Moffett Field cannot
afford to lose Stephen Chao.

The release of Mr. Chao and his direct staff would undermine the
community-regulator-Navy partnership that has made the Moffett Field
environmental restoration program a model, not only within the Navy, but
for the federal government as a whole. Even the most competent
replacement would need years to match Mr. Chao's technical and
regulatory experience and achieve the personal trust that he has earned
among the other parties at Moffett.

Stephen Chao has steered the Moffett cleanup ship to within sight of the
figurative shore - the selection and implementation of effective,
protective remedial actions. Please find a way to utilize his leadership
and expertise to complete our common voyage.

I would be happy to meet with you or your staff to pursue this matter
and to continue to provide support to the environmental restoration and
base closure process.

Respectfully


Cathrene Diane Glick
Moffett Field RAB Community Co-Chair

cc:
Commanding Officer, EFA West, San Bruno, Ca
Commanding Officer, NAVFAC
Senator Diane Feinstein
Senator Barbara Boxer
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo
Congressman Tom Campbell
Moffett Field RAB members



-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org