[CPEO-MEF] Environment, military can coexist

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Georgia
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Editorial
Environment, military can coexist
May 8, 2003

The Bush administration is trying to use the current public goodwill
toward the military to disguise an assault on some of the nation's key
environmental laws. It's a cheap shot, and totally unnecessary.

A proposal in the Senate would exempt the Department of Defense from
five major environmental protection laws, ranging from cleanup of
hazardous waste sites to the Clean Air Act to the Endangered Species
Act. The exemptions would become part of the main defense authorization
bill being considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.
Committee members in both parties have expressed concern that the
exemptions are too broad and point out that there is no documented need
for them.

The Pentagon even agrees with that last point, admitting that it can
cite few specific conflicts between military training needs and
environmental laws. It claims to want the exemptions only to fend off
potential conflicts -- in essence, a "pre-emptive strike" against rules
requiring environmental responsibility on its part.

This editorial can be viewed at:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0503/08dod.html

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