Hi Steven and all,
Good question. The Army cited its contract with the RAB's TAPP consultant
as the basis for the gag order to me. While I am the community point of
contact for the RAB's request for TAPP funding, I am not a party to the
contract between U.S. TACOM-Rock Island and our TAPP consultant.
To be honest, I find the bullying both intimidating and hostile --
after all, this is the U.S. Department of Defense ordering me to hide an
environmental report pending some action on their part and I’ve no idea
what the “or else” might be. Further, the action is
discriminatory as I am the only RAB member who has been so approached by the
Army.
As far as the specific language in the TAPP contract, the Army cites the
following terms:
“…The contractor is expected to present information
at the RAB meetings. The Army and the contractors that prepared the
documents will also make presentations at the same meetings. There will
be coordination between these parties required before the meeting, so the information
presented is not redundant and responsibility for presentation topics are
clearly defined…”
“…The contractor shall make Power Point or other
presentations for public education at FS-associated public meetings (RAB or
site-specific). These presentations shall be provided to the BAAAP
installation staff at least 24 hours before the meeting to allow for fact
checking and verification of equipment compatibility. The installation
can provide the computer and projection equipment for the meeting…”
I’ll leave it to readers to decide for themselves if these
conditions require that TAPP work products such as fact sheets and written comments
are subject to Army retention and approval and that the release of unapproved TAPP
work products is expressly prohibited.
And further, that community members who volunteer to facilitate the
engagement of TAPP consultants for their RAB may be bullied by the U.S.
Department of Defense.
Laura
--
Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB)
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, WI 53561
(608) 643-3124
info@cswab.org
www.cswab.org