2006 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: 15 Dec 2006 20:18:08 -0000
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] RAB exclusion at Kelly Air Force Base
 
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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