[CPEO-MEF] Army promises cleanup at Bonneville, eventually

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Washington
THE OREGONIAN
Army promises cleanup at Bonneville, eventually
By Foster Church
09/10/03

VANCOUVER -- The U.S. Army officer in charge of the nationwide program
to transfer ownership of surplus Army properties and find new uses for
them -- including Camp Bonneville north of Camas -- told a local
advisory group Tuesday night that the camp will be cleaned up. He just
cannot guarantee when.

"We will clean up Camp Bonneville," said Col. Douglas Baker, chief of
the Army's Base Realignment and Closure Office. "We are not going to let
contamination move off the site."

Baker was speaking about contamination that has been discovered in
groundwater at the camp. There has been concern that the contamination
could move beyond the camp's boundaries.

Baker said he cannot guarantee, however, that every piece of unexploded
ordnance -- or other debris -- will be removed from the camp.

"We will not be able to guarantee that something will not be found after
we are finished," he said. "But if something is found, we are
responsible and we will come back."

Clark County has spent eight years negotiating with the U.S. Army to
acquire Camp Bonneville and create a 3,020-acre park. But the camp is
littered with unexploded ammunition, and contaminated groundwater has
been discovered in the northeastern corner of the camp. Estimates of the
cost to clean it up have ranged from $30 million to $100 million or
more.

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