2011 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:36:51 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] CLOSURE, CHEMWEAPONS: Support for Umatilla (OR) unclosure
 
Lawmakers wrong to fight Depot decision

Opinion by DAVE TROTT
Hermiston Herald (OR)
June 29, 2011

Instead of our lawmakers protesting the Office of General Counsel's decision to take the Umatilla Chemical Depot (UMCD) off of the BRAC closure list, they ought to be rejoicing, as this decision could bring continued economic stability and new potential for local area economic opportunities.

It's no secret that I have not been a fan of the Local Reuse Authority's (LRA's) final plan for the depot lands. It will do very little to either bring jobs or enhance the local area's tax base because of its having the majority of depot land becoming both a training area and wildlife refuge. Neither does the LRA itself seem sure what they want done with the smaller land area designated as business-industrial, as they summarily trumped the City of Irrigon's plan for industrial expansion and utilization of Depot property. Irrigon's Plan was certainly ambitious (which they freely admitted), but it was one with the realistic potential for creating jobs and millions of dollars in local-area (sustaining) revenue.

For some reason, our lawmakers just still don't seem to get it. We are starved for “family sustaining” jobs, and with the closure of the Depot and an end to its mission, the current $52 million payroll goes away. It's gone, and it's not going to be rebuilt overnight.

...

For the entire column, see
http://www.hermistonherald.com/news/lawmakers-wrong-to-fight-depot- decision/article_0f36a3e0-a270-11e0-8cbc-001cc4c002e0.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street, 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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