Thirty-four military bases shut down since 1988 are on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list of worst toxic waste sites -- most of them for at least 15 years -- and not one is completely cleaned up.
As the latest base-closing commission begins its work, an examination by the Associated Press shows EPA is concerned with incomplete pollution cleanups at more than 100 Defense Department facilities. Other military-related cleanups are being led solely by states. <snip>
Of the $23.3 billion in costs from four previous rounds of base closures and realignments, the Pentagon has spent $8.3 billion so far on pollution cleanups and other compliance with environmental laws, congressional investigators say. EPA officials say it will be at least a decade before many are completed -- at a cost the government estimates will reach an additional $3.6 billion.
They anticipate more military facilities will be added to the Superfund list after the newest round of base closings is completed. The Pentagon was to give a list of recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) on Friday, the first major step in the process. <snip>
http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3593
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