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May 13, 2005
Military bases and the environment
Acinom the Intern lends his expertise on an issue I'm not very familiar with:
Had a interesting discussion with a friend of mine concerning a CNN article she read about the EPA placing some 34 closed U.S. military bases on the Superfund list of worst toxic waste sites. Her argument was that this was proof of how destructive military training was to the environment. She also wondered what the state of all the open bases were. As a former military man, let me try to convince you that this is selective interpretation of what might be vague reporting.The first impression a person (not familiar with the military) will
get from this article is that this is because of the destructive
nature of military training. While it is true that, by nature,
military training can be destructive, the modern military has gone to
great lengths to ensure that proper maintenance and repairs are
performed to training sites to restore them to a somewhat natural
state. This is not because of pressure from environmental interest
groups or the EPA, but because it is in the interest of the
military to repair and maintain a healthy training site so that it can be used tomorrow and the next day (An added benefit is to keep the EPA off their backs).My point? Don't be misled into thinking that the training the
military performs is the true cause of all these Superfund listings.
I would submit to you (ewww, sounded like one of my college prof's
just now) is that the actual closing of these bases is what has made them so toxic (My only exception would be any references of
radiological damage—that's all on the DoD). Think about it: if you
tore down an entire suburb (malls, 7-11's, houses and all) don't you
think that the leftovers would look like Thanksgiving turkey that made it to February? It's the act of gutting an entire community that has placed these on Superfund—not the training that used to go there. So whatever opinions or issues you have with the military, please don't make the mistake of thinking this Superfund listing is par for the course with all military facilities. Understand that the military has been ordered to shut down these bases, within their budget, on top of all the other stuff they are being ordered to do by the government. If there is a scapegoat it is not the men and women in uniform—but the folks in Washington.Interesting (at least to me) Read: Managing Endangered Species on Military Lands
Posted by Elyas at 10:10 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Comments
I read with some interest the blog regarding military bases and the environment. I would like to add my perspective as a former senior enforcement official at EPA who was directly involved with cleanup of military bases, both closed and operating.
In 1986 Congress required all military installations to formerly comply with Superfund, the toxic cleanup law. By 1993 over 200 military bases were on the Superfund list. The military, after some initial reluctance, came to the table, requested budgets, hired good people, and got busy with the cleanups.
The pollution arose from typical base operations, no different really from the private industrial sector with respect to conventional waste management practices and types of contaminants. Over time the military branches have completed considerable cleanup and made sure those who live on the bases and nearby were not at any risk.
As important, DoD and the military branches have developed policy that integrates environmental matters into operational and mission considerations. Every base commander up to the four star is fully aware of environmental responsibilities.
Environmental matters are complex and expensive to deal with and our military has done a good job from a policy perspective and getting things done on the ground. Closing bases are even more complex in that cleanup has to be integrated with economic development, but there has been some successes there too.
There is a long way to go but there is no question that the military, even while waging war, is doing a good job of addressing environmental risks while not sacrificing being prepared to fulfill their missions protecting our country.
Howard
Posted by: Howard at May 13, 2005 04:23 PM
Howard:
My military experience is recent so I should have clarified that my awareness of DoD efforts was limited to times after you discussed. I also should have said that the current environmental situation is by no means perfect...I just took issue with and responded to how the CNN article made it seem like there is a future Superfund site behind every DoD installation out there. It was like they were implying that the military uses a location, does nothing to maintain it, and then leaves behind a disaster area.
Thanks for the info and addtional perspective--always is nice to hear it from the experts...as opposed, in this case, to CNN.
Acinom the Intern
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