Re: [CPEO-MEF] COMMUNITIES: RABs and TAPP - time to retrain

[ISIS <isis@hampshire.edu>]

ISIS agrees:

	The old adage 
"fight like you train; train like you fight" should probably apply to the 
restoration efforts as well as the combat efforts of the military 
services.

  The correlary is that if we forget to train for community 
involvement/oversight in the restoration programs, we will eventually fail 
to involve the community at all.
			sign us up
		  ISIS milwaste staff




On Sat, 27 Mar 2010, Lenny Siegel wrote:

> I was part of the effort, beginning 1994, that led to the establishment of 
> more than 300 Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) at Department of Defense 
> cleanup programs, and which soon included the option of Technical Assistance 
> for Public Participation (TAPP). On the whole, that remarkable experiment in 
> public involvement, a form of direct democracy addressing highly technical 
> issues, has been successful. Many RABs, such as the one at Moffett Field, 
> California, where I remain an active member, provide a forum for constructive 
> criticism of military and regulator plans.
>
> All along, there have been problems at both ends of the spectrum. Some RABs, 
> such as Fort Ord, devolved into shouting matches. Others have proven to be 
> ineffective rubber stamps of government proposals. But on the whole, the 
> neighbors of contaminated military facilities have been given access to 
> information, opportunities to comment, and through TAPP and EPA's Technical 
> Assistance Grant program, the ability to take part in technical discussions. 
> This has not only benefited host communities; it has made the military's 
> cleanup effort stronger.
>
> Back when we set up the RABs, the military hosted a series of conferences and 
> trainings for installation environmental personnel, introducing, among other 
> things, the concept of public participation. I know, because I spoke at a 
> number of such events. But as time progressed, responsibility has been 
> transferred to officials who "knew not Joseph." That is, decisions about RAB 
> operations and the TAPP program are being made by Defense Department 
> personnel who do not fully understand the origins of the program and the 
> value of INDEPENDENT community oversight. So we are seeing a growing number 
> of military installations, such as Badger and New Jersey's Picatinny Arsenal, 
> where disputes over the nature of that oversight have emerged.
>
> I call upon the Defense Department and the Armed Services to work with 
> community representatives to again set up conferences or other training 
> sessions to revive the spirit of the Defense cleanup community involvement 
> program and again put all of us on the same page.
>
> Lenny
>
> --
>
>
> 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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