Norco Base Granted Reprieve
Residents and local leaders in northwest Riverside County breathed easier Wednesday after a federal commission recommended against a proposal to close a naval weapons research center that employs at least 1,200 in Norco.
The Pentagon in May had recommended closing the Naval Surface Warfare Center and moving the operation to the Naval Air Weapons Station at Point Mugu in Ventura County.
As word of the panel’s unanimous vote spread throughout the Norco base Wednesday, the mood among employees lightened.
“Right now the atmosphere is optimistic,” said Cmdr. Harrison Heublein, base executive officer.
“This has been an amazing day,” said Brian Oulman, economic development director for Norco. “It would have meant a brain drain in the Inland Empire, and that really would have been tragic for our area.”
The base is among Norco’s largest employers, Oulman said.
The Pentagon’s recommendation to transfer 892 employees from Norco to Point Mugu would have been a significant loss, Oulman said. He estimated that the base brings $150 million to the region annually.
The region suffered an economic blow previously when March Air Force Base, between Riverside and Perris, was downsized to a reserve post during a1996 round of base closures.
“The sustainment of the base is going to allow our economy to continue to grow without any hiccups,” said Riverside County Supervisor John F. Tavaglione, whose district includes Norco. “It’s a great win for Riverside County and the region.”
When the two members of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) visited the area in July, Oulman and other local officials lobbied to keep the Naval Surface Warfare Center open.
The Pentagon originally estimated that moving the base would cost $80 million, with a savings of $400,000 over 20 years.
A local study recently completed by the Bechtel Corp. engineering company determined that such a move could set the Pentagon back an additional $59.3 million. The Norco base’s vibration-proof laboratories would be costly to reconstruct in a new location, the study found. Plus the sedimentary foundation and tsunami risk at Point Mugu would pose construction challenges.
“At the end of the day, BRAC is around to ... save money and improve military efficiency,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who lobbied Defense officials to keep the base in Norco, “and [the move to Point Mugu] didn’t do either.”
The 247-acre, World War II-era facility employs scientists and engineers who independently test and analyze the effectiveness of weapons systems for the Navy and have an average salary of $80,000.
Norco was on the chopping block during the 1995 BRAC hearings. Between 10% and 15% of the Pentagon recommendations are typically overturned by the commission, said Robert McCreary, BRAC’s deputy director of communications.
President Bush will receive the commission’s final recommendation by Sept. 8, and can accept or reject it by Sept. 23.
If accepted by the president, Congress can still reject the recommendation in its entirety.
