Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
Abstract
Near the end of its first session, the 109th Congress approved a new round of military base closures and realignments. As the Department of Defense (DoD) implements the new round, issues for the 110th Congress include the pace and costs of closing and realigning the bases and the impacts on surrounding communities. The disposal of surplus property has stimulated interest among affected communities in terms of how the land can be redeveloped to replace lost jobs. Environmental contamination can present a challenge to economic redevelopment if funding or technological constraints would limit the degree of cleanup needed to make the land safe for its intended use. Most of the land on bases closed under prior rounds has been cleaned up and transferred for redevelopment. However, some bases have yet to be cleaned up to an extent that would be safe for their intended use. Bases closed under the 2005 round could face similar delays in reuse if a community's preferred land use requires a costly and time-consuming degree of cleanup. This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed bases, discusses the status of properties transferred for reuse, and examines estimates of costs to complete cleanup at those awaiting transfer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 31, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA472104
Entities
People
- David M. Bearden
Organizations
- Library of Congress