[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, BIOTA - GAO reviews legislative exemptions

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Military Training: Compliance with Environmental Laws Affects Some 
Training Activities, but DOD Has Not Made a Sound Business Case for 
Additional Environmental Exemptions

Government Accountability Office
GAO-08-407
March 7, 2008


A fundamental principle of military readiness is that the military must 
train as it intends to fight, and military training ranges allow the 
Department of Defense (DOD) to accomplish this goal. According to DOD 
officials, heightened focus on the application of environmental statutes 
has affected the use of its training areas. Since 2003, DOD has obtained 
exemptions from three environmental laws and has sought exemptions from 
three others. This report discusses the impact, if any, of (1) 
environmental laws on DOD's training activities and military readiness, 
(2) DOD's use of statutory exemptions from environmental laws on 
training activities, (3) DOD's use of statutory exemptions on the 
environment, and (4) the extent to which DOD has demonstrated the need 
for additional exemptions. To address these objectives, GAO visited 17 
training locations; analyzed environmental impact and readiness reports; 
and met with officials at service headquarters, the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense, federal regulatory agencies, and nongovernmental 
environmental groups.

Compliance with environmental laws has caused some training activities 
to be cancelled, postponed, or modified, and DOD has used adjustments to 
training events, referred to as "workarounds," to accomplish some 
training objectives while meeting environmental requirements. Some DOD 
trainers instruct units to pretend restricted training areas are holy 
grounds, mine fields, or other restricted areas in theater, simulating 
the need to avoid specific areas and locations when deployed. GAO's 
review of readiness data for active duty combat units did not confirm 
that compliance with environmental laws hampers overall military 
readiness. Since 2006, the Navy has twice invoked the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act exemption to continue using mid-frequency active sonar in 
training exercises that would otherwise have been prevented. DOD's 
exemption from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, authorizing the taking of 
migratory birds, eliminated the possibility of having to delay or cancel 
military training exercises, such as Navy live-fire training at the 
Farallon de Medinilla Target Range. The exemption to the Endangered 
Species Act, which precludes critical habitat designation on DOD lands, 
enables DOD to avoid potential training delays by providing greater 
autonomy in managing its training lands. On the basis of meetings with 
officials within and outside DOD and visits to 17 training ranges, GAO 
found no instances where DOD's use of exemptions from the Endangered 
Species Act or Migratory Bird Treaty Act has adversely affected the 
environment, but the impact of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
exemption has not yet been determined. The services employ a variety of 
measures and conservation activities to mitigate the effects of training 
activities on the natural resources located on DOD lands. Additionally, 
regulatory officials GAO spoke to said DOD has done an effective job 
protecting and preserving endangered species and habitats on its 
installations. However, some nongovernmental organizations have 
expressed concern that the Endangered Species Act exemption allowing DOD 
to avoid critical habitat designations may weaken oversight from the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. DOD has not presented a sound business 
case demonstrating the need for the proposed exemptions from the Clean 
Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. 
Best practices and prior GAO work recommend that agencies develop a 
business case that includes, among other things, expected benefits, 
costs, and risks associated with a proposal's implementation. However, 
DOD has not provided any specific examples showing that training and 
readiness have been hampered by requirements of these laws. Meanwhile 
some federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations have expressed 
concern that the proposed exemptions, if granted, could harm the 
environment. Until DOD develops a business case demonstrating the need 
for these exemptions, Congress will lack a sound basis for assessing 
whether to enact requested exemptions.



For the original summary and a link to the full report, go to
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-08-407

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
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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