Re: [CPEO-MEF] UXO at Tobyhanna

[themissinglink@eznetinc.com]

I would say that the problems associated with getting the military to do the
right thing
transcends the two party system.  I did not notice any greater help from the
administration(EPA)
during the Clinton terms than we are now in getting during the Bush
administration.  The EPA seems
intimidated and brow beat by the military environental apperatus.

"Legally speaking, the EPA is also not able to go up against the Army--or any
other federal
agency, for that matter. According to
Thompson, federal law requires that one federal agency can't force another
agency to spend money
without Congress first
appropriating the money. Executive Order 12580, signed in 1986 by
then-President Ronald Reagan,
further hamstrings the EPA by
transferring to the Department of Justice most environmental enforcement
actions against a federal
agency.

If a corporation was found to have done the environmental damage that the
Army has done at Fort
Sheridan (or at any of their other
bases), the EPA could force compliance with environmental regulations through
a lawsuit. But
thanks to the two laws mentioned
above, the EPA effectively can't sue another federal agency. It's essentially
an advisor, and
while it may well influence some parts of
the clean-up, the EPA can't force the Army to take any specific actions."
(http://www.shepherd-express.com/shepherd/19/37/headlines/cover_story.html)

Congress seems equally cowed since military spending and bases mean so much
economically to each
constituency.  I definately noticed a lack of will on the part of our
congressman Porter, who sat
on the military construction something or other, to get involved due to
"insufficient constituent
concerns being expressed".  But what if the constituents don't know?  Does it
seem appropriate for
congress and politicians to only get involved when people become aware of a
problem?  As we have
seen in Vieques, this is the case.

The judicial branch may be the only hope for reining in the military but as
the quote above shows,
the legislative branch does not seem to have the fortitude to enact laws that
keep checks and
balances on the military.  I would like to see a challenge in the supreme
court to the above laws
and executive orders which act to allow the military to sidestep current
environmental law.

We have, in our military, effectively a fourth branch of government.  And
worse yet, one that does
not seem to be within the same system of checks and balances that the
constitutionally recognized
three branches have.

Steven Pollack

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