[CPEO-MEF] "Environmental and economic disasters at closed bases"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Old Bases Battle for New Life

Communities say more federal money is needed to rehab the ex-military
spaces they've inherited, which are often polluted and impractical to use.

By Ralph Vartabedian
Los Angeles Times 
April 10, 2005

MONTEREY, Calif. - Along a seemingly a pristine stretch of Central
California coastline, the Army is digging holes and sifting through a
mountain of sand, looking for unexploded artillery shells, rocket
propelled grenades and other ordnance buried at the former Ft. Ord
infantry base.

The last soldiers marched out of Ft. Ord 10 years ago, but so far the
Army has cleared just 5% of the base's firing range. The Army has
unearthed more than 8,000 live shells, and the job could take another 20
years. Even then, Army officials can't guarantee they will get every
last bit of ordnance.

The issues at Ft. Ord, which overlooks Monterey Bay, mirror a long list
of environmental and economic disasters at closed bases across the
nation, where critics say the Pentagon has badly mismanaged the cleanup
and redevelopment process.

In coming weeks, the Defense Department will unveil its biggest effort
yet to eliminate surplus military capacity, ordering the closure of as
many as 24% of its facilities. Since 1998, there have been four rounds
of military base closures.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bases10apr10,0,1253561.story?coll=la-home-headlines

-- 


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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