[CPEO-MEF] Senate boosts BRAC funding

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Under the leadership of Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-California), chair of
the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, the Senate
has boosted the fiscal year 2003 appropriation for Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) by $100 million for a "BRAC Environmental Cleanup
Acceleration Initiative." The final appropriation will be determined in
the House-Senate conference committee.

It's difficult to get these numbers right, because Appropriations
legislation sets aside money for BRAC funding overall, not BRAC
environmental cleanup. From fiscal years 1990 through 2002, Congress
appropriated about $22 billion for the Base Realignment and Closure
program, $7.5 billion of which was allocated for activities associated
with environmental restoration. 

As the realignment of Defense activities nears completion, more and more
of the BRAC budget goes for cleanup. In fiscal year 2002 (the year
beginning October 1, 2001), Congress appropriated $633 million for BRAC
overall, $594 million of which went for cleanup. For fiscal year 2002,
the Defense Department requested $545 million, $520 million of which was
planned for environmental. The House approved the $545 million figure.

Senate appropriators, however, expressed frustration with the slow pace
of BRAC cleanup and property transfer. In raising the Senate figure for
BRAC overall to $645 million, they wrote the following in Senate Report
107-202 - "Military Construction Appropriation Bill, 2003."

***

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP ACCELERATION INITIATIVE

The Committee recommendation includes $100,000,000 for a BRAC
Environmental Cleanup Acceleration Initiative. This initiative is
intended to address the backlog of critical environmental cleanup
requirements at military installations throughout the Nation that have
been closed or realigned over the past 12 years. Until environmental
cleanup at these installations is completed, the properties cannot be
returned to productive use in the communities. To date, the Department
of Defense (DOD) has transferred less than half of the property at
closed or realigned bases, primarily as a result of delays due to
environmental cleanup-related issues. 

According to an April 2002 General Accounting Office report,
"Environmental cleanup has been a long-standing concern in the BRAC
program - one that has been not only costly and challenging for DOD but
also frustrating for intended users of the property. While DOD has
already spent an estimated $7,000,000,000 through fiscal year 2001 on
BRAC environmental-related actions, DOD expects to spend an additional
$3,500,000,000 beyond 2001 to complete its cleanup work." 

The Committee remains extremely concerned about the pace of
environmental cleanup at closed or realigned bases, and urges the
Department of Defense to provide additional resources in future budget
requests to address this urgent requirement. The Army, Navy and Air
Force have identified a total of $237,168,000 in unfunded BRAC
environmental cleanup requirements that could be executed in fiscal year
2003 if additional funding were made available. The total includes
$44,868,000 for the Army, $133,100,000 for the Navy and $59,200,000 for
the Air Force. 

Under the BRAC Environmental Cleanup Acceleration Initiative, the
Committee directs that an additional $20,000,000 be made available for
the Army, $55,000,000 for the Navy, and $25,000,000 for the Air Force
for environmental cleanup. These funds are to be allocated at the
discretion of the Services to meet the most pressing unfunded
environmental cleanup requirements at closed or realigned bases.

-- 


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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