[CPEO-MEF] Fort Ord Site Security

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The Ordnance and Explosive Risk Management Act (HR 2605), Blumenauer and
Riley, proposes to require that the Defense Department establish Site
Security Plans for each former range within 18 months of its listing on
the proposed inventory of ranges. Though the Defense Department seems to
like the concept, it has said that the time period is much too tight for
such a large task.

At some facilities, the development of site security programs is already
under way. At the former Ford Ord, California, the Army has prepared an
Ordnance and Explosives Site Security Program Summary. There may be
similar documents at other installations, but this report might serve as
a model for such plans in general. See 
http://www.fortordcleanup.com/reportsviewdoc.asp?document=oe_site_security.

First, the Summary makes clear that signs and fences are no substitute
for remediation. It explains, "The best OE [Ordnance and Explosives]
site security measure is a removal action because it reduces or
eliminates the immediate explosive threat to the community." Though
there is a great deal of work left to be done, a good deal of ordnance
clearance has already been accomplished.

The Summary describes requirements and plans for fencing, signage,
gates, and patrols designed to keep the public out of specific dangerous
areas. I don't know the property well enough to know whether the listed
measures are adequate, but they appear to represent a serious advance
over the early years of the facility's closure process. The program also
describes brochures that are distributed to the public as well as a
school safety program. Finally, it reports that "the Army offers
familiarization training to anyone digging holes or disturbing soil at
the former Fort Ord..."

The document also calls for two reporting systems. First, the Army will
keep track of all trespassing incidents - that is, when members of the
public enter or try to enter hazardous areas. Second, it will record all
discoveries of OE or "anything resembling" OE. Information from both
sets of incidents, as well as other information such as fence damage,
will be incorporated into the facility's Geographic Information System.
The Army and its regulatory agencies will use the data to improve both
site security and the actual cleanup of the property.

Nationally, very little is know about what types of measures effectively
restrict access to ordnance-contaminated lands. The Fort Ord Program
will help us all understand better what works and what doesn't,
particularly because the Army is collecting data on trespassing and
ordnance incidents as they occur. OE site security isn't easy, but it's essential.

Lenny
-- 


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

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