Base Cleanup Bill Proposes $618-Million Funds Boost

Deepening concerns over environmental contamination at U.S. military bases prompted the introduction Thursday of legislation that would increase spending for cleanup and compliance activities at defense facilities by $618 million.

The bill, introduced by Rep. George J. Hochbrueckner (D-N.Y.), would shift the money from elsewhere in the defense budget. It would work with a bill proposed Wednesday by Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) to increase funds for cleaning up pollution at bases that are being closed.

The Hochbrueckner bill would apply to all bases. It would require the Defense Department to increase spending for cleanups by $333 million to a total of $1.15 billion in fiscal 1991 and to raise funds for compliance with environmental laws by $285 million to $1.2 billion.

The Defense Department has cleaned up only 287 of 14,401 hazardous waste sites at domestic bases, said Hochbrueckner, and many bases violate environmental laws.

“While some work is under way, the effort to clean up these sites and bring them into compliance with our laws is far behind and severely lacks the funds to get the job done,” said Hochbrueckner, a member of the House Armed Services Committee’s environmental oversight panel.

Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council endorsed the new proposal and announced a nationwide grass-roots campaign to generate public support for the Fazio and Hochbrueckner bills.

In addition to providing more money for cleanups and compliance, Hochbrueckner proposed that military spending for research on new cleanup technologies and pollution prevention increase to $80 million from the Bush Administration’s request of $41.3 million.