[CPEO-MEF] Military seeks to bend environmental rules

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

The following is a transcription of a piece that aired on KTUU in Alaska
last night (Jan 16, 2003).

Military seeks to bend environmental rules

Washington, D.C., Jan. 16 - More battles could take place soon on
Capitol Hill about how the military trains for battle. The Pentagon
plans to ask Congress for environmental exemptions so that more training
can be done on military ranges.

Defense officials want exemptions from major environmental laws,
including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act.

Environmental activists say granting such exemptions could lead to more
pollution in Alaska.

"I'm supporting it 100 percent," said Rep. Don Young of the move to roll
back some restrictions.

"You cannot have a military that isn't properly trained. You can't have
a military that can't have a space to train in. And when you're
training, you can't do it with kid gloves."

The military has a history of conducting exercises that have left
communities with environmental damage in Alaska and other states. But
environmentalists say the Pentagon could do more to damage ecosystems
and wildlife, if Congress grants the exemptions.

"In Alaska, you have a subsistence community and they can be very
affected by this," said Aimee Houghton of the Center for Public
Environmental Oversight. "These contaminants, not only can they get into
groundwater, but they can get into surface water. They can affect the
fish. So they can affect wildlife."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/ktuu/m263710.asp?0ct=-302

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