[CPEO-MEF] Call for National Dialogue on Readiness and Environment

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

[The following letter was recently sent to a member of Congress asking 
Congress to direct DoD to establish a FFERDC-type dialogue on the topic 
of military readines and environment.  --Aimee]


International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
444 South Emerson Street
Denver, CO  80209-2216
Phone: 303-733-0481; FAX: 303-744-9808
E-mail: mervtano@iiirm.org

VIA FAX


10 May 2001

Honorable Neil Abercrombie
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Representative Abercrombie:

This is a short note on a readiness issue I was hoping to discuss with 
you or your staff last week.  I was a member of the Federal Facilities 
Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee (“FFERDC”), an advisory 
committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The 
recommendations of the Committee, memorialized in what has come to be 
known as the “FFERDC Report” or “Keystone Report” were endorsed by 
federal agencies, tribal, state and local governments, as well as a host 
of other stakeholders.  The FFERDC Report became the blueprint for 
restoration advisory boards, site-specific advisory boards and other 
citizen committees charged with advising federal facility managers on a 
wide range of cleanup activities.

My sense is that the success of the FFERDC was due in major part by: 
first, acknowledgement by all parties that Department of Energy, 
Department of Defense and other federal facilities were contaminated by 
all manner of hazardous, chemical and radioactive materials; second, 
acknowledgement by federal officials that the cleanup of these 
facilities could not proceed without the support of tribal, state, and 
local governments and other stakeholders; and third, the participation 
of representatives of all these stakeholders on the FFERDC.

I think the solutions to the issues of readiness I discussed last week 
with Senator Akaka, i.e., the tension between training on one hand and 
environmental protection, cultural resource management, endangered 
species protection, and similar concerns on the other hand could be 
advanced by a process similar to the FFERDC.  My sense is that there are 
many folks out there who, like me, believe in the necessity of a strong 
national defense; who believe that a strong national defense requires 
training; but who also believe that training can and should be conducted 
in an environmentally sound manner without destroying the quality of 
life of neighboring communities.  I think it would be useful if the 
Congress would direct the Department of Defense to form a FFERDC-like 
committee to examine these issues and to recommend a national framework 
which describes where, when, and how readiness training should proceed.  
Otherwise we will have to proceed on a case by case basis, relying on 
the vigilance of affected communities and the goodwill of the military 
services and individual base commanders.

Mahalo nui.  And please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,




Mervyn L. Tano

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