[CPEO-MEF] Controlled Burns Could Light Up Fort Ord Again

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Controlled Burns Could Light Up Fort Ord Again

FORT ORD, Calif., 10:45 a.m. PST March 1, 2002 - If the Army has its 
way, controversial controlled burns could soon light up Fort Ord again. 

The fires have been controversial for years, because the Army does them 
to burn thick brush so that crews can remove unexploded ordnance. But 
many people say that the burns are a major health hazard. 

The Army hopes to begin doing the burns in October, but it still has to 
get approval. The Army started doing the controlled burns in 1997, but 
stopped the process a year later, after it was sued by a local air 
quality agency. 

Opponents believe the burns release toxic chemicals into the air. The 
army disputes that, and now believes that it may have a legal right to 
continue the burns. 

Army officials said that they need to do the burns, because they have 
identified three areas with extremely dangerous unexploded ordnance, and 
the only way to get to it is by doing a controlled burn. "Nobody wants 
to find alternatives to prescribed burning more than the Army, but 
frankly, for these ranges, the alternative is not to remove the 
ordnance. And we don't think that's a good situation for the community," 
U.S. Army spokesman James Willison said. 
 
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/ksbw/a1105035.asp