[CPEO-MEF] Consumer and environmental groups at odds with military over laws

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Alaska
Monday, April 07, 2003
Consumer and environmental groups at odds with military over laws
By SAM BISHOP
News-Miner Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON--Thousands of ducks died of phosphorous poisoning on a
military training area north of Anchorage a decade ago, but they were a
fresh topic last week in Congress as the Pentagon cited a lawsuit
spawned by the episode to justify one of its four proposed changes in
the nation's environmental laws.

"The Fort Richardson litigation could set a precedent fundamentally
affecting military training and testing at virtually every test and
training range," Benedict Cohen, deputy general counsel for the Defense
Department, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

The military says its training has been hampered by several
environmental laws and it is pressing its case before Congress for the
second year. Last session, Congress approved an exemption that allows
the military to kill migratory birds, if incidental to training. But
that hasn't stopped the lawsuit over the Eagle River mud flats and other
litigation, and so the military is back for more relief.

The push has spawned a backlash from environmental and consumer groups,
both on a national and local level. This week in Fairbanks, several
groups have organized a conference to discuss the military's past and
present environmental effects and how to challenge them.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~1306524,00.html

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