[CPEO-MEF] RAB exclusion at Kelly Air Force Base

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Recently (http://www.cpeo.org/lists/military/2006/msg00663.html) we 
reprinted a viewpoint about the exclusionary membership approach at the 
Spring Valley (DC) Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). It turns out that 
this is not an isolated case.

At Kelly Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas), the Air Force Real 
Property Agency has adopted restrictive interpretation of "affected 
community," excluding interested community representatives - including 
past RAB members - because they don't live close enough to the former 
base. The RAB membership application even requests proof of residence or 
employment within specific street-boundaries listed by the Air Force.

This approach runs counter to the entire spirit of DoD's Restoration 
Advisory Board system, which has served as a model for other agencies 
and institutions. The military has over 300 RABs, and for more than a 
decade it has welcomed community input, even if critical of cleanup 
plans. Not only is this approach the right thing to do, but in the long 
run it avoids obstacles to completing the program.

It's my understanding that most installations or Formerly Used Defense 
Sites still allow community members to decide for themselves whether 
they are affected. At Moffett Field (former Naval Air Station Moffett), 
the original model for the military's RABs, the board contains active 
members who don't live particularly close, but have strong feelings 
about the future of Hangar One, the massive dirigible hangar that the 
Navy has proposed to demolish. To the Navy's credit, it has not sought 
to exclude these members. Instead, each has been voted onto the RAB by 
other RAB members.

It's time for the Air Force at Kelly and the Army at Spring Valley to 
drop their exclusionary practices. And by all means, they shouldn't 
report diminishing public interest if they are pushing concerned members 
of the public away from the process.

Lenny Siegel

--


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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