[CPEO-MEF] Congress requires encroachment study

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Section 320 of the Fiscal Year 2004 Defense Authorization Act requires
the Defense Department to study the effects of civilian encroachment on
military facilities as well as the impact of environment compliance on
readiness activities. It also requires the Department to develop a plan
to respond to the problems documented in that study.

In this section Congress recognizes the potential significance of buffer
zones in resolving conflicts between community development and military
activities. It also asks the Defense Department to explain how the State
Implementation Plan provisions of the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act), and
 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (the Superfund law) interfere or are likely to interfere with
readiness. These are the three environmental laws that the Defense
Department unsuccessfully sought to amend in its Readiness and Range
Preservation Initiative.

We'd all be in a much better position today if the Defense Department
had undertaken such a study BEFORE proposing legislative changes. I
suggest, to maximize the benefit of the study, that the Department work
with other stakeholders, including local governments, environmental and
community groups, developers, and state environmental regulators, as
well as other federal agencies, in conducting the study and creating the plan.


The fully formatted language appears on pages 68-71 of the PDF file
downloadable from http://www.house.gov/rules/H1588_CR.PDF. I have pasted
a text version below.  

Lenny Siegel  

***  

SEC. 320. REPORT REGARDING IMPACT OF CIVILIAN  COMMUNITY ENCROACHMENT
AND CERTAIN  LEGAL REQUIREMENTS ON MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND RANGES AND
PLAN TO  ADDRESS ENCROACHMENT.  

(a) STUDY REQUIRED. - The Secretary of Defense shall  conduct a study on
the impact, if any, of the following types  of encroachment issues
affecting military installations and  operational ranges:  

(1) Civilian community encroachment on those military installations and
ranges whose operational training activities, research, development,
test, and evaluation activities, or other operational, test and
evaluation, maintenance,  storage, disposal, or other support functions
require, or in  the future reasonably may require, safety or operational
 buffer areas. The requirement for such a buffer area may  be due to a
variety of factors, including air operations, ordnance operations and
storage, or other activities that generate or might generate noise,
electro-magnetic interference, ordnance arcs, or environmental impacts
that require or may require safety or operational buffer areas.  

(2) Compliance by the Department of Defense with  State Implementation
Plans for Air Quality under section  110 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7410).  

(3) Compliance by the Department of Defense with  the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) and  the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).  

(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED WITH RESPECT TO CIVILIAN COMMUNITY
ENCROACHMENTS. - With respect to paragraph (1) of subsection (a), the
study shall include the following:  

(1) A list of all military installations described in subsection (a)(1)
at which civilian community encroachment is  occurring.  

(2) A description and analysis of the types and degree  of such civilian
community encroachment at each military  installation included on the
list.  

(3) An analysis, including views and estimates of the  Secretary of
Defense, of the current and potential future  impact of such civilian
community encroachment on operational training activities, research,
development, test, and  evaluation activities, and other significant
operational, test  and evaluation, maintenance, storage, disposal, or
other  support functions performed by military installations included on
the list. The analysis shall include the following:  
(A) A review of training and test ranges at military installations,
including laboratories and technical  centers of the military
departments, included on the list.  
(B) A description and explanation of the trends of  such encroachment,
as well as consideration of potential future readiness problems
resulting from unabated  encroachment.  

(4) An estimate of the costs associated with current  and anticipated
partnerships between the Department of  Defense and non-Federal entities
to create buffer zones to  preclude further development around military
installations  included on the list, and the costs associated with the
conveyance of surplus property around such military installations for
purposes of creating buffer zones.  

(5) Options and recommendations for possible legislative or budgetary
changes necessary to mitigate current  and anticipated future civilian
community encroachment  problems.  

(c) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED WITH RESPECT TO COMPLIANCE WITH SPECIFIED
LAWS. - With respect to paragraphs  (2) and (3) of subsection (a), the
study shall include the following:  

(1) A list of all military installations and other locations at which
the Armed Forces are encountering problems related to compliance with
the laws specified in such  paragraphs.  

(2) A description and analysis of the types and degree  of compliance
problems encountered.  

(3) An analysis, including views and estimates of the  Secretary of
Defense, of the current and potential future  impact of such compliance
problems on the following functions performed at military installations:
 
(A) Operational training activities.  
(B) Research, development, test, and evaluation  activities.  
(C) Other significant operational, test and evaluation, maintenance,
storage, disposal, or other support  functions.  

(4) A description and explanation of the trends of such compliance
problems, as well as consideration of potential future readiness
problems resulting from such compliance problems.  

(d) PLAN TO RESPOND TO ENCROACHMENT ISSUES. - On  the basis of the study
conducted under subsection (a), including  the specific matters required
to be addressed by subsections (b)  and (c), the Secretary of Defense
shall prepare a plan to respond to the encroachment issues described in
subsection (a)  affecting military installations and operational ranges.
 

(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. - The Secretary of Defense shall submit to
the Committee on Armed Services of the  Senate and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of  Representatives the following reports
regarding the study conducted under subsection (a), including the
specific matters required to be addressed by subsections (b) and (c):  

(1) Not later than January 31, 2004, an interim report describing the
progress made in conducting the study  and containing the information
collected under the study as  of that date.  

(2) Not later than January 31, 2006, a report containing the results of
the study and the encroachment response plan required by subsection (d).
 

(3) Not later than January 31, 2007, and each January 31 thereafter
through January 31, 2010, a report describing the progress made in
implementing the encroachment response plan.         


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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