[CPEO-MEF] MAKING A FUTURE PARK SAFE

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MAKING A FUTURE PARK SAFE: CAMP BONNEVILLE RECKONING
ARMY, ECOLOGY TRY TO DETERMINE EXTENT AND COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL,
MUNITIONS CLEANUP

Tuesday, November 26, 2002
By ERIN MIDDLEWOOD, Columbian staff writer

Seven years after the military retired Camp Bonneville, the U.S. Army
and the state Department of Ecology still are trying to size up the
threat posed by pollution and unexploded munitions on the base north of
Camas.

The Army intends to turn over the 3,800 acres to Clark County for use as
a regional park, as well as a law enforcement training center, an
outdoor school and American Indian cultural center.

But for years the base has remained in limbo. Targets of Soviet soldiers
lean at odd angles on overgrown shooting ranges. Barrels stand sentinel
near wells where the Army tests groundwater. Tape cordons off suspicious
craters.

The base ---- coveted for its 59,000 square feet of buildings, Lacamas
Creek frontage and wooded acreage ---- is anywhere from four to 20 years
away from becoming a county park, said Pete Capell, the county's public
works director.

"There's a lot of work to do," he said.

First, the Army must determine the extent of the cleanup and cost. Then
the Army and the county need to decide whether contractors will do the
work before or after the base is transferred to the county.

"We haven't determined yet which way we want to go," county Commissioner
Judie Stanton said. "We'd like the parkland. We'd like to get it cleaned
up. We'd like to remove the fire danger. It's important for us to move
ahead to get cleanup done."

A draft of an agreement between the Army and the Department of Ecology
that will guide cleanup will be out for public comment in the next month
or so. By next fall, the Army expects to release a report outlining
possible approaches.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.columbian.com/11262002/clark_co/338067.html

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