From: | Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org> |
Date: | 7 Sep 2001 06:56:19 -0000 |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | [CPEO-MEF] Vieques update |
The Navy's June announcement that it would halt the bombing of Vieques, by May 2003, without the scheduled November, 2001 referendum on the question may not hold water. The referendum is still required by law, and it is unlikely that either the Defense Authorization Act or any stand-alone legislation on the topic will be enacted before the election is supposed to take place. The Bush Administration is reportedly offering language to implement the Navy's decision. - that is, to terminate the use of Vieques as a training range without a referendum. It's quite possible that this language will be included in the Senate Defense bill, but even if the Senate prevails in conference committee, it's hard to see how it could be enacted before the Vieques election machinery gets set into motion. The House Armed Services Committee is also likely to recommend that there be no vote, but its other provisions are likely to challenge the Navy/White House position. The Republican leadership of that committee is likely to report language, in the Defense Authorization Bill, that would: 1) cancel the referendum, 2) allow the Navy to shut down training on Vieques only if it first finds an equal or superior substitute training location in the Atlantic area, and 3) if training is halted, require that the Navy retain ownership of the east side of the island for use in a national emergency. While the Navy would own the property, the Interior Department would manage the live impact area as a wilderness area, with no public access, and the remainder of the property as an undeveloped wildlife refuge. Because it is probably too late to cancel the referendum, proponents of the House legislation probably would have to abandon the second point. However, the third element of the legislation could take effect no matter when the legislation is enacted. That is, the Navy could stop using eastern Vieques but the use of the property, by the Viequenses, could be severely restricted - above and beyond what is necessary to protect habitat and wildlife. The Navy would probably argue that it has no obligation to clean up the live impact area, which would be considered an "inactive" range available for future bombing. Opponents of the Navy's continued use of Vieques are expected to contest the Committee's proposal on the House floor. Still, at this point it would make much more sense for Congress to consider ways to promote cleanup and the proper management of the natural resources on eastern Vieques than to re-argue the Navy's need to continue training there. Finally, the Navy is seriously exploring alternatives to the continued use of VIeques. It's likely to spread the different elements of the Vieques training experience to a number of existing ranges, and it may even drop some aspects of Vieques exercises that may prove irrelevant in future conflicts. -- 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: 650/961-8918 lsiegel@cpeo.org http://www.cpeo.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
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